36 



AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



From now on, affairs progressed rapidly at the nest and soon the lit- 

 tle ones were feathered out and were very noisy. Their chattering, 

 coming from the depths of the tree, had a peculiar sound and it would 

 have puzzled anyone, not knowing where they were, to have located 

 them. They were also becoming quite active, and when they heard 

 their parents coming, would all rush to the entrance to get the first bit 

 of food. 



Two days later, I tapped on the limb and out flew eight young wrens. 

 It was their maiden attempt at flying; some landed on the ground, some 

 on the trunks of neighboring trees, and one or two managed to alight 

 on twigs, where they swayed to and fro in the endeavor to maintain 

 their balance. 



The next day Jack was very busy going the rounds to feed his num- 

 erous children. To my surprise, however, Jenny was at work renovat- 

 ing the old nest, and before another month had passed, had successfully 

 reared another brood of eight. These wrens proved to be a very thrifty 

 pair, having reared sixteen young besides having nine eggs stolen. 



I passed many very pleasant hours watching them and was sorry to see 



them leave in the fall, but I shall look for a large wren population in the 



same orchard, next year. 



Chester A. Reed. 



Photo from life. 



'GOOD BYE. 



