

General Notes 93 



Miss Mabel Hoyt ,of Sioux City, made the observation, and has 

 been kind enough to give me the facts. 



In 1913 the wrens reared a brood in wren houses without any 

 unusual incident. In 1914 a pair of wrens came to the same 

 place and reared the first brood. At about this time the people 

 put up a new, swinging wren house, and a bluebird house in the 

 back yard. The female selected the swinging house and began 

 to carry nest material into it, which the male as promptly re- 

 moved. The male also, in the meantime, had chosen the blue- 

 bird house, which he speedily filled to the door. 



Finally the female gave up her efforts with the swinging box 

 and departed, declining to accept the nest built by the male in 

 the bluebird box. Late in August the owner cleaned out the blue- 

 bird house and found a strange assortment of hardware among 

 the usual twigs of the nest. Such a curious assemblage of ma- 

 terial in a nest was considered worthy of being photographed. Fol- 

 lowing is a list of material as sorted out: 

 1 hat pin, six and a half inches long. 



1 buckle. 



10 bits of chicken wire fence'. 



2 stays. 



3 fasteners. 



1 unidentified. 

 3 paper clips. 

 1 staple. 



1 brass ring. 



2 toilet wires. 

 6 collar stays. 



2 oyster bucket handles. 

 1 part of mouse trap. 



67 hair pins. 

 38 bits of wire. 

 5 safety pins. 



3 steel pins. 

 22 nails. 



3 brads. 



Thus making a total of 172 pieces of metal used in the construc- 

 tion of this nest. 



Another series of observations on the Western House Wren 

 ae. narkmcmi) was made by Miss Maude Merritt, of Ottumwa, 

 Iowa, and may .contain some points of interest. The account which 

 follows is largely in her own words. 



Two broods of wrens were raised in a bird house we had placed 



