16 BULLETIN OF THE 
On June 12th four of the eggs hatched; on the next day one more opened, 
and on the following day the last baby was born. They were homely. crea- 
tures, of a deep flesh color and naked, save for a very little down, which 
became evident on June 15th. By June 16th their bodies had turned black 
and the down was somewhat thicker. This was the first day on which they 
had shown strength enough to lift their heads for food. Both parents 
worked faithfully, bringing innumerable larve and small flies. One of the 
favorite morsels was a small green worm from the rose bushes. 
One day a young Robin, not yet feathered out, fell from its nest, and 
I. placed it in a berry box on the wren house. Both Wrens were greatly 
excited and tried to feed the unfortunate Robin. The female, holding a worm 
in her bill, would poise herself upon the edge of the basket and try to place 
it in the Robin’s mouth. The result was ludicrous. The Robin being not yet 
strong enough to hold its head steady, and being very hungry, made frantic 
efforts to obtain the morsel, holding its head as high as possible, at the same 
time keeping its mouth wide open. Its head, supported by so weak a neck, 
swayed violently back and forth. The Wren leaning over the basket seemed 
afraid of falling into the yawning cavern presented by the young one. Each 
time the Robin threw its head in the direction of the Wren that little body 
would jerk backward as if from an electric shock. The Wrens kept at their 
self imposed duty for more than half an hour, but were unable to place a 
single morsel in the open mouth. The Robin was now taken away amid the 
earnest protests of the foster parents. 
The young Wrens were fed, on an average, once every five minutes 
during the entire day. When partly feathered out one died, but was not 
removed from the nest although it was still small enough to have been easily 
lifted out by the parents. They were nearly feathered by the 23d, and spent 
most of their time eating and sleeping. They were now fed even oftener 
than before and were able to eat entire insects, the green worms from the 
rose, and spiders, forming their favorite food. 
On June 28th, amidst a great deal of excitement, the brood left the nest. 
At first they were guided about the lower limbs of a nearby plum tree, and 
after gaining more courage they made a complete tour of the trees in the 
yard. At the approach of any one, great anger and distress was shown by 
the parents, who scolded and fretted trying to drive one away. They were 
full of courage and felt perfectly competent to protect their little ones. The 
male had little time for singing now, he being usually followed by a string 
of two or three little fellows constantly crying for food. The brood did not 
returned to the nest the first night nor any night thereafter, though they 
remained in the vicinity till fall. 
The year before this the pair had nested in an old pump near the house, 
and had learned to trust us to the extent that we could view the eggs without 
protest, but when the young were hatched we were always confronted by an 
angry parent. No other birds alighted near the nest without creating a dis- 
turbance. This year, however, ‘they were not so domineering. A Robin 
nested in the same tree within ten feet of the Wren house, while a Thursh 
and a pair of Ovenbirds fed near the nest without causing any disturbanc. 
Ypsilanti, Mich. 
