A SEARCH FOR A WHIPPOORWILL’S NEST. 199 
as though it were a returning truant boy. Peter was 
beside himself with joy at the meeting, and tried his 
best to express his affection for his friend. It seemed 
too bad that he was not fully able to tell his adventures 
and the cause of his absence, but these, through other 
sources, were learned afterwards. During that Decem- 
ber snow storm, Peter was blown to the ground at Clar- 
ence, several miles from his home. A boy caught him, 
and not knowing to whom he belonged, clipped short 
his wings to prevent his flying off. The poor, homesick 
bird could not walk through the deep snow, neither 
could he fly, so he waited patiently through the winter 
till the ground was bare, and then started afoot on his 
journey. How he found his unknown way so many miles 
through fields and woods and across roads will remain 
amystery. Although again able to fly, he will not ven- 
ture off-the premises, but attaches himself more closely 
than ever to his old friend. 
While waiting at the station, on the return to the city, 
my attention was called to some curious work of a pair 
of robins, showing that man is not the only animal that 
makes mistakes. The railroad water tank is a large one 
and elevated. It rests on a platform supported by a 
dozen joists, which rest on larger beams, leaving eleven 
spaces. A pair of robins commenced a nest in one of 
these, but had not proceeded far with the work when 
they doubtless became confused with the resemblance of 
the spaces and started another nest in the next place ; 
then another, and another, until each space was occu- 
pied with a nest or a part of one. The birds worked 
