A Roosting Place of Fledgling House Wrens.— A pair of House 

 Wrens which had bred in a box in Mr. George Nelson's garden in Lexington, 

 Mass., brought out their second brood of young in the morning of Aug. 19. 

 1917. The family remained in the vicinity of the box during the day. 

 At twilight Mr. Nelson watched one of the parents assemble the young 

 birds in a pitch pine tree near the box, and escort them to a little nest or 

 platform well concealed among the pine needles where they settled for the 

 night, huddled together in a compact mass. The Wrens' roosting place 

 is five feet from the ground and twelve feet from the box they were reared 

 in. It is a frail, circular, shallow cup, made of fkie roots and was origkially 

 no doubt, the foundation of a Chipping Sparrow's nest. On the following 

 night the yoxmg birds, after making a tour over the space of half an acre, 

 during which they visited another nest twenty yards away, returned to 

 the same place to roost. On the next evening (Aug. 21) I joined Mr. 

 Nelson and we watched the fiedgimgs tor nail an nour ai xne ciuse ui wibh 

 third day. They were in a pitch pine tree across the driveway from the 

 roost. One or both parents brought food to them every five or ten minutes. 

 These visits occasioned a lively chattering which resembled the clucking 

 of Red-winged Blackbirds on a small scale. After the parent's departure 

 the young birds quieted, although they often continued to give single, 

 double, or triple clucks for a minute or two. Finally, as it was grow- 

 ing dark, about 6.45, all the young birds (five of them) fluttered across 

 the drive and joined their parent. As the little, tailless birds flew 

 overhead in quick succession, they appeared against the sky like tiny 

 Woodcocks rising for a song flight. Nothing could be plainer than that 

 the flight was in obedience to a command from the old bird, — the fledglings 

 started at almost the same instant and hurried off all together. Tonight, 

 under the guidance of the parent, they took a direction away from their 

 former roost. We followed and found three of them in the abandoned 

 nest which they visited last evening. On our arrival they came out and 

 with much chattering withdrew. Twice a bird returned, hopped about 

 the nest for a moment and then flew away. The family settled near, 

 just where we could not see. On the following evening we saw or heard 

 nothing of the brood at twilight. 



It would be of interest to learn whether this use of abandoned nests of 

 other birds is a common practice with the House Wren, especially when we 

 recall that the male of some species of wrens builds seemingly useless 

 nests while the female is sitting. — Winsor M. Tyler, M. D., Lexington, 

 Mass. 



