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Bird - Lore 



nests were thus attacked by the angry 

 little Wrens, who busied themselves for 

 several days carrying away bits of straw, 

 string, and twigs. This last summer (our 

 third year in Michigan) we were curious 

 to know if the Robins would nest again 

 in these nests which had been partially 

 destroyed by the Wrens, and when we 

 arrived on June 27 we found only one of 

 the three nests occupied by Mr. and Mrs. 

 Robin, and, curiously enough, it was the 

 one which had not been attacked by the 

 Wrens. We also discovered that a second 

 nest, constructed mostly of mud, had been 

 built as a sort of second story on top of the 

 nest at the side entrance. If that had 

 been rebuilt and occupied by a Robin 

 family or some other kind of a bird family 

 in the early months, the birds had all 

 flown before our arrival in spring, and 

 it was not occupied again this summer. 

 Unlike her ancestors of the two former 

 summers, Mrs. Robin, who was nesting 

 when we arrived, seemed especially timid 

 and wild, and would never remain on her 

 nest when we were occupying our veranda, 

 nor could she stand the opening and shut- 

 ting of our front door. As we could not 

 abandon its use, the poor lady Robin 

 abandoned her nest, leaving behind her 

 two unhatched eggs (which we discovered 

 at the end of the season), and started 

 nesting on the opposite end of our veranda 

 in the other unoccupied nest, a bit farther 

 away from our entrance door. Here she 

 raised her little family of four. It is a 

 curious thing that, during the three years 

 that we have been studying Robins, 

 watching their rapidly growing offspring 

 day by day, and seeing them stand with 

 uncertain legs on the very edge of their 

 nest and flutter their tiny wings for exercise, 

 we have never yet seen them make their 

 first flight into the world. We have decided 

 they must take that plunge in the 'wee 

 sma' hours' of the morning, before the 

 inmates of the cottage are awake to 

 frighten them. It was a great disappoint- 

 ment to us that we did not reach our 

 summer home early enough for Wren 

 renters this season, and our lonesome 

 little bird-house, swingin , in the tree- 



bough, remained unoccupied all this 

 summer. Next year we hope for Martins 

 and Bluebirds, as we have purchased 

 additional bird-houses for our grounds 

 and have arranged to have them placed 

 earlier in the season. We hope to hear 

 many bird-notes next summer at Min- 

 no-to-win Lodge.^ — Grace L. S. Dyche, 

 Evanston, III. 



A Robin's Lament 



One dreary, rainy afternoon last week, 

 a beautiful Robin dropped dead on my 

 porch roof. This was about 2 o'clock, 

 and immediately his mate came and 

 stood beside him. She looked and chirped 

 and walked around him for several minutes, 

 then seemed to realize there was something 

 wrong. 



She stood guard, as it were, first look- 

 ing at her mate, then looking away, 

 never leaving nor getting more than 15 

 inches from him, until 7 o'clock at night. 

 There was a fine drizzling rain falling 

 continually, but she never ceased her vigil 

 nor took a mouthful of food during those 

 five hours. 



It seemed such a sad sight and we were 

 so desirous of learning the outcome, that 

 some of the family kept watch continually. 

 At 7 o'clock she flew down to the ground 

 and began getting some supper for herself; 

 and as the rain had ceased, another 

 Robin appeared, and they became very 

 friendly, and after a few minutes flew 

 away together. My small son remarked, 

 "Why, mother, she's forgotten all about 

 her other husband and has gone away with 

 a new one!" — Mabel L. C. Bowes, 

 Utica, N. Y. 



Bluebird Feeding Its Mate 



At no time of the year are the human- 

 like instincts of birds so strikingly de- 

 veloped as in the nesting season. One of 

 the many pretty things not uncommonly 

 done by nesting birds is for the male to 

 bring food to his mate while she sits on her 

 nest. Still this is clearly a case of mere 

 instinct growing out of the necessity of 



