122 The Wilson Bulletin. 



This exploded the idea that the sparrows were afraid of 

 the swinging motion. Knowing the Bluebirds would be 

 worried into leaving in time, I placed a trigger over the hole 

 and carried a string to the house and waited for a sparrow 

 to go in. This happened very soon and a sharp pull made 

 him a prisoner. In taking the box down to dispose of the 

 pest, I accidently hit the trigger and the sparrow was out 

 in a second. The sparrow is a wise bird, and one lesson 

 was enough for him. I had no chance to catch another. 



I cleaned out the box, but fear it was a mistake, for the 

 nest foundation was most of it the work of the Bluebirds. 

 The male Bluebird saw me catch the sparrow, but was 

 in the box two minutes after I hung it up again. 



At this time my neighbor put up a nice little fixed box 

 and the fickle Bluebirds left my homely box and took pos- 

 session of his. But the sparrows who had just been deprived 

 of a fine bird box near by, came in force and my neighbor 

 laid for them with an air gun and succeeded in killing one 

 after which the Bluebirds became firmly installed. 



May 15th the parent birds began feeding the young and 

 May 31st took out their brood of five. 



A very few moments after the birds left the sparrows 

 were fighting for the box and my neighbor made a trap of 

 it and caught and killed seven cock sparrows all belonging 

 to a band of freebooters who seemed to have no family ties. 

 June 3rd the Bluebirds were back for a time with four of the 

 young, and about this time a pair of House Wrens, that had 

 been nesting near by, came along and wanted the box. 

 She or he or both in turn began "firing" the old nest material 

 out in a very vigorous manner, but left when the Bluebirds 

 appeared. The Bluebirds did not go in, but evidently want- 

 ed the box. My neighbor then cleaned the box out and the 

 Bluebirds were in possession very soon, while the wrens took 

 another box which my neighbor put up in a white oak on 

 his place. 



The Bluebirds — the female being the only one in evidence 

 most of the time — finished the nest, laid a second set of 



