ANIMAL BEHAVIOR, WITH EXAMPLES 249 



the top branches of an oak tree, restlessly moving from one 

 place to another. Then he suddenly took a longer flight to a 

 tree at the base of the sloping dune, flitted about nervously, 

 and passed from one twig to another in a downward course, 

 gradually approaching the ground. These actions, perhaps, 

 would not be worthy of record had they not in the end led up 

 to an unexpected sequence. 



The wren, after reaching the ground, occasionally repeated 

 his beautiful song. Then I noticed him pick up a small piece 

 of twig in his bill, but seemingly in a doubtful mood, for he 

 soon dropped it. The next instant he a^in picked up another 

 twig, treating it in the same manner as the preceding. During 

 the next few moments he spent his time among the branches 

 in a certain dead tree having a hole in the trunk, which I will 

 have occasion to refer to again. Finally he flew away through 

 the woods, disappearing entirely from view. 



I had now turned my attention to the flora covering the 

 sand all about. Here were the new shoots of the oak, with their 

 pretty magenta-colored leaves; the false Solomon's seal, the 

 thickly clustered blossoms of the blueberries, the little white 

 four-petalled blossoms of Arahis lyrata, the aesthetic and 

 biological features of which are treated in a further chapter 

 on " An Illusive Butterfly and its Flower Protector." An 

 hour, perhaps, had been spent in this immediate neighbor- 

 hood, when suddenly a wren appeared which seemed to be 

 unmistakably the same one I have mentioned. It alighted 

 on the same dead oak tree. Moreover, he again flew to the 

 ground and feigned picking up sticks, at the same time pouring 

 forth his interludes of song. On going closer I saw him flitting 

 back and forth before the hole leading into the hollow tree and 

 situated four feet from the ground. As I approached nearer, 

 he again would sing, drop to the ground, pretending to pick 

 up small twigs, then finally flit away frorii the scene. 



The construction one should place on these manoeuvres was 

 very puzzling. Naturally, the first thought was that the bird 

 had a nest in the hollow tree, but why did he always drop the 

 twigs, and never attempt to carry them to the opening. Inves- 

 tigation was the only hope of satisfying my mind. On looking 

 into the dark hole of the tree, I could not discover anything. 



