The Audubon Societies 6i 



p. 253. During the same and the following seasons (1910-11) in which the nest described 

 above was discovered, two other nests of the Towhee were found in the immediate vicin- 

 ity; the first, a typical ground nest in a pasture abounding in poison ivy; the other, also 

 a ground-nest, an unusually compact, cup-like structure, set firmly into the edge of a 

 rough lawn, without other protection than the shade of some large spruces. Will our 

 young observers take pains to find out whether variation in the nesting-site is more 

 common than variation in nesting-material, or in the size and shape of the nest itself? 

 Try the Robin as a good bird to study in working out this problem. — A. H. W.) 



The Bravery of the Nonpareil 



Having just come from Minnesota, a state fairly alive with birds, I v^as 

 very much surprised at the comparative absence of them in Texas. 



For four days I saw no other bird than an English Sparrow, on the fifth I 

 saw a Turkey Vulture, and, from then on to the tenth saw none other than 

 these. But on the tenth I certainly had a surprise. ' ". 



I was in the back yard, doing an odd job, when from a small hackberry 

 tree in the front, the only tree, came a most delightful, cheery little ditty. I 

 excitedly ran toward it, and after looking for some time (the song had ceased), 

 discovered a Nonpareil on the topmost spray of the other side. He continued 

 his pipings, after a brief interval, and, after the family had had a thorough 

 survey of him, flew away to continue his song in a distant sycamore. 



I then took careful notes on the Nonpareils, finding that, even though so 

 brightly colored, they are extremely hard to discern among the green foliage. 



Three days afterward, I was in a neighbor's mulberry tree, watching a 

 female devour the ripe fruit, but no male was seen, when all at once a great 

 flock of English Sparrows commenced picking at the little female frightfully, 

 till I began to wonder what would happen to her. While in this mood of 

 inquiry, there was a brilliant flash of red fire (no wonder they are called Red- 

 birds), and the whole company of English Sparrows was scattered all to naught. 



The male and female then leisurely ate the mulberries from the lower 

 branches, finely displaying their brilliant colors. — George M. Sutton (aged 

 13.) Fort Worth, Texas. 



(For a colored illustration of the species described in this interesting letter, see the 

 Sept.-Oct. issue of Bird-lore. 191 i, under Painted Bunting. One of the most surpris- 

 ing things about birds of highly colored plumage is their inconspicuousness when seen 

 from certain angles and at certain heights. Will this young observer tells us how many 

 different species of birds he has found feeding upon the mulberry-tree? — A. H. W.) 



