2 40 IN BIRD LAND. 



and there in response from various members of the 

 sparrow household, and erelong the entire com- 

 pany was awake. When my friend told me this 

 story, I was considerably surprised, not to say a 

 little skeptical. But, remaining in their home over 

 night, I had an opportunity to confirm the story, 

 for I was myself awakened in the morning by the 

 loud, impatient calls of a sparrow rousing his fam- 

 ily ; and the process took place just as my inform- 

 ants had described it, leaving no longer any room 

 for doubt. 



The same kind friends described another cun- 

 ning freak of bird behavior. A lady's bedroom 

 window opened near some bushy trees, in which a 

 pair of birds — -perhaps robins — had built a nest. 

 At night the lady would often hear the male singing. 

 But sometimes he would grow drowsy, and would 

 become silent, — he had evidently got to napping, 

 — when there would be a coaxing, complaining 

 Pe-e-e-p! pe-e-e-p .' from the little wife on the nest, 

 evidently asking him to " sing some more." Then 

 he would tune his pipe again until his throat got 

 tired and his eyelids heavy. In this way the ex- 

 acting wife kept her spouse serenading her for a 

 large part of the night. Perhaps, like children, 

 she could not sleep unless some one was singing to 

 her. At all events, it was very bright of her to de- 

 mand a lullaby or love-song from her husband to 

 put her to sleep. 



The conduct of many kinds of birds in the 

 autumn while preparing for their Hegira to the 



