OUR COUNTRY LIFE 



out for all such unwelcome guests. The poor 

 little yellow warblers are so helpless under this 

 burden! Sometimes they do lay a new floor over 

 the cowbird's egg and build another nest on top of 

 it, but as a rule they have their own eggs to consider, 

 and unless relieved by outside help, patiently proceed 

 with their brooding until the horrid interloper hatches 

 and smothers the other little ones. The wood thrush 

 is far too sweet-tempered to rebel against the cowbird's 

 actions; in two days I have taken five cowbird's eggs 

 out of the same thrushes' nest! Even the catbird is at 

 times a victim. Once to my horror I saw a cowbird 

 actually eating a catbird's egg! After that I gave or- 

 ders that the cowbirds must be shot. 



June 1 8. At times I have in charge between twenty 

 and thirty nests, and one can easily imagine that it takes 

 many hours of my summer days. In this manner we get 

 really acquainted with our feathered neighbors, and 

 they learn to have great confidence in us. I remember 

 a terrible commotion one morning down in the oval. 

 Upon investigation I found that the yellow warbler's 



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