i86 Bird -Lore 



spring and fall house-cleaning. As it was then the first week in August, the location, 

 sheltered alike from sun and thunder-showers, was evidently appreciated. This 

 third brood, to the number of five, i)rospered. 



It can be easil\- seen by those who wish to have Wrens about their places 

 that house-room must be provided, as the English Sparrow is likely to take to 

 himself many of the old haunts. However, the box with the one-inch opening 

 is as yet a ])roblem to the Sparrow, or the red squirrel, though the latter can and 

 will enlarge the hole unless it be edged with tin. Make your houses of the right 

 size, not one or two, but a dozen. Think out the location and see that they are 

 at least jjartl}' protected from sun. Do not put the houses too close together. 

 Madam Wren is a bad neighbor and her temper is as quick as her flight. 



At the end of the season clear the old nests from the house. A Wren can carry 

 and lay unbelievably long twigs, but to undo the work is too great a trial of 

 l^atience. Last year a series of a dozen of my Wren boxes remained unoccupied 

 because they had not been emptied. Nests in nooks and corners fall apart in the 

 wind and winter weather, but those in houses stiffen and are hard to remove even 

 with human fingers, unless the roof of the box can be unhooked. 



Under proper auspices the House Wren is increasing, and if it is not doing 

 this in your neighborhood ma}' it not be your own fault ? Once established in a 

 locality, the Wren clings to it. This year, other space failing, a pair have made a 

 strange nest in a house-maid's pail that was hung, bottom upwards, to air on a 

 stake behind a trellis where they had once nested. The pail had a slightly in- 

 curved edge and between this and the supporting stake they built a narrow 

 platform up toward the bottom of the pail, which acted as a roof. The structure 

 was made of sticks, which it seemed impossible that so small a bird could lift, 

 much less turn endwise and carry through the round meshes of the trellis. The 

 nest when finished was of the shape of that of the Eave Swallow, the supporting 

 stake holding it against the side of the pail. 



" What shall we do ? " I said to the maid, on being shown the nest, which was 

 well outlined between the morning and the evening of the first day. " My, but the 

 work of them!" was her admiring reply. "Leave them have it; I can do with 

 something else, for it's a sin to discourage that much pluck when it trusts you 

 for the lend of the pail." 



More of this spirit will mean many more Wrens about our houses. 



Questions for Teachers and Students 



What are the common song-birds of your neighborhood? Are they increasing or 

 decreasing in numbers? What can we do to assist in their increase? When do you first 

 see the House Wren? How long does it remain? When does it begin to nest? In what 

 kind of sites have you found nests? Of what is the nest composed? How many eggs 

 are laid? How manv Tamilies are raised in a season? On wliat are the voung red? 



