276 DAYS OUT OF DOORS. 



goldfinch than in any other species ; and I think that I 

 can safely say that I should readily be able to recognize 

 any particular bird of that species which had been kept 

 by me as a pet for a period of six months, in case of its 

 subsequent absence from me, in other hands, for a period 

 of two years, unseen by me in the mean while." 



And while I will not be as positive about the migratory 

 wild birds that nest near my house summer after summer, 

 I will say that I have recognized the same pairs of some, 

 from year to year, my guide being their individuality. To 

 do so needs no other art than to become acquainted with 

 the birds, by patiently watching them day after day, and 

 finally getting their confidence. House-wrens, for instance, 

 are never mute. The moment they alight, even after a 

 long migratory flight, they commence singing. On one 

 point concerning their arrival in spring I am very positive 

 — they do not straggle into the river valley, and wander 

 aimlessly about for some time before they take possession 

 of the boxes. Yesterday there was no wren along the 

 hill-side — at dawn to-day they are in full song, and perched 

 upon or very near the box that was last year their home. 

 There was no hunting for a nesting site, no feverish 

 courtship, no coaxing of a coy female to inspect the box, 

 no discussion of the availability of the site, no quarreling 

 among a half-dozen, more or less, for possession. Yester- 

 day the spot was as deserted as at Christmas; to-day, 

 not the male wren alone, but he and his mate are at 

 home. 



If the wrens that each summer occupied this one box 

 were not mated when they started from their winter 

 quarters, then their courtship occurred while on their 

 northward journey, for I can not believe that, arriving in 

 the night, this pair of wrens agreed not to disagree for a 

 season, some time betwixt midnight and dawn. The sum 

 and substance of the matter is, the actions of the birds 



