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Bird -Lore 



scolding for the family. It was a more musical chatter than that of the other 

 Vireos, however, with its sharp edges worn smooth. 



How seldom changing nature foreshadows itself! When we returned, the 

 next day, something had happened. There were but three eggs in the nest, 

 instead of four, and, though the bird did not mind our presence and allowed us 

 to touch him as usual, he would not endure the great glaring lens. The camera 

 was a terrible cy clops worse than the demon man, and no amount of patience 

 would bring either bird upon the nest as along as the camera was in place. Per- 

 haps they had had some horrible experience overnight with Owl or squirrel, 

 during which the egg was lost, and with which they associated this strange 

 three-legged creature with one great eye. Anyway, we were forced to remove 

 the camera and watch them return to the nest without taking a single picture. 

 We planned to return the next day with a blind. But the next day was too 

 late. We felt calamity in the air when we approached. The bird was not upon 

 the nest, the eggs were cold and there were but two left. The two cold eggs 

 told their story. The conspicuous nest, the abundant Owls. Crows, and 

 squirrels had been too much for the confiding nature of the Vireos. It had been 

 a rare experience, but, like all such, was too good to last. The birds probably 

 nested again, but I was not fortunate enough to find the second nest. The 

 opportunity was gone forever. 





A PAIR OF COWBIRDS 

 Photographed by Guy A. Bailey, Geneseo, N. Y. 



