240 AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



Mr. Wren took up his position on the front porch of the little house, 

 and by a series of savage attacks and much loud scolding, succeeded 

 in keeping the pair of sparrows off, while Mrs. Wren, working with 

 desperate determination, proceeded to tear the nest apart and carrying 

 the materials out the little back door, scattered them in all directions. 

 My! what a shower of hay, straw, feathers, sticks, etc. This was con- 

 tinued until the house was entirely cleared. Then, without delay, be- 

 gan the process of reconstruction. During this time the sparrows did 

 not sit idly by and see their work destroyed, but there was a continu" 

 ous battle between them, and when the action became too pressing, 

 both Wrens would make a grand charge which invariably resulted in 

 driving the enemy back. 



By and by the new nest was finished and although bad feelings existed 

 for several days afterward, with frequent passages at arms, the spar- 

 rows finally gave up the fight as hopeless, and Mr. Wren mounted the 

 chimney, standing guard, and at the same time giving vent to his feel- 

 ings in loud and spirited song. Of course our sympathies were with 

 the victors. 



Catbird and Cherry Stone: During one of my many rambles through 

 the woods, I discovered the nest of a Catbird in a clump of briars and 

 upon drawing near, found it contained four little ones. Retreating for 

 a short distance, I stopped and watched the mother bird who was great- 

 ly excited at first, but seeing that I meant no harm to her little family, 

 she proceeded with household matters. After giving the young ones 

 two or three worms and other choice morsels, she brought a good- 

 size red cherry and oifered it to one of the nestlings. The little bird 

 could not swallow it, so what did the mother do but take the cherry out 

 of its mouth, remove the stone with her beak and feet, and then give 

 it back to the nestling in a crushed state. This time it disappeared in 

 a trice- The incident impressed me as being not only amusing but an 

 excellent illustration of "bird sense." 



Chippies Dividing Crumbs: While sitting under a shade tree in the 

 yard, I observed a pair of Chippies eating two crumbs of bread. One 

 crumb was much larger than the other, and of course the bird having 

 the smaller one finished first. Then what? Simply this, the other 

 Chippy at once broke his crumb in half and proceeded to place a por- 

 tion of it within reach of his mate. In this way each had nearly an 

 equal amount. Beautiful incident; well might man take this lesson 

 home to himself; what an exhibition of love and generosity! what a 

 different world this would be if people acted more on the principle of 

 these innocent little birds! 



