MICHIGAN ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB 15 
acquisition of another trophy. The period of anticipation was brief. I stood 
gazing intently at the little fellow, who returned my stare apparently with 
equal satisfaction. He was sitting motionless about fifteen feet away, but 
not until I had watched him for some minutes did I recognize the pale 
mottled plumage of a close sitting "Woodcock, directly in my line of vision. 
The nest contained four buffy eggs, heavily blotched with red and lilac. 
OBSERVATIONS ON THE NESTING HABITS OF A PAIR OF 
HOUSE WRENS. 
BY MAX MINOR PEET. 
On the first of May, 1904, the first pair of House Wrens made their 
appearance. After looking the neighborhood over carefully in quest of a 
good nesting site, they finally chose a box which I had placed on the trunk of 
a large, spreading apple tree. During the days previous to the selection 
of their home, they were usually together and were constantly on the move, 
peering into every nook and corner about the house and yard. Most of their 
time was spent within a few feet of the ground, but many times during the 
day the male would mount some high limb and there pour out his rippling, 
liquid notes. In fact, the first notice I had of their presence was one morning 
when I stepped to the door and was confronted with this wee little fellow 
sitting on the topmost limb of the apple tree, singing with all the energy his 
small body could muster. Their food consisted principally of small insects, 
larvae from the rose bushes, and numerous flies. 
On the 17th of May, they began their nest, both the male and 
female working; the female did nearly all the building, the male simply 
bringing material. One of the birds was near the nest constantly and ready 
to scold any one intruding upon its sacred domain. The female worked dili- 
gently carrying twigs, feathers, and horsehair, but the male took frequent 
vacations in the upper branches of the apple tree, where he gave vent to his 
pent up feelings in bursts of beautiful song. 
The nest was finished on May 22. The foundation consisted of large 
sticks varying from three to six inches in length and from one-sixteenth to 
three-sixteenth inch in diameter. Upon this solid foundation was built a firm 
mass of smaller twigs forming a rough cup at the farther end of the box. 
The bark from the grape vines was now brought into use and narrow strips 
of this were woven with a net work of slender roots into a compact cup 
about two inches deep. A few horsehairs were woven into the lining, the nest 
being completed by the addition of many small feathers. 
Not until the 26th was an egg laid, but during this time and until the 
young left the nest one or the other of the birds was always near. An egg 
was laid each day, usually early in the morning, for six consecutive days. 
This set was of unusual beauty, the eggs being of uniform size and of vary- 
ing color from the first egg laid, which was a dark chocolate, to the last one, 
which was very light brown speckled with small dark spots. 
The female commenced setting on the day following the laying of the 
last egg (June 1). She only left the nest a few moments at a time to feed 
and then about nine in the morning and four in the afternoon. The male 
spent much of his time singing from his favorite perch on the apple tree, but 
also made frequent visits to the nest to see that all was well. He seldom 
fed her while she was sitting. 
