158 
Birds and Flowers , 
where that they think is warmest. That naughty 
Master Tommy, of whom you have heard so much., 
used for some time regularly to disappear at bed- 
time, and no one could imagine where the small 
blue bird went. At last, we discovered his chosen 
warm retreat — -fairly rolled up in a window curtain 
was a small downy ball ! 
Wrens, and many of these sort of birds who live 
much in holes,, are always very fond of snug corners,, 
with wool to sleep in. And it is half the plea- 
sure of keeping birds at all to see the very odd 
substitutes that betray their natural habits — I am 
always amused at the notion of two Parrots who 
built in a deep barrel, half filled with sawdust, and 
with a hole at the side, which evidently reminded 
them of their own hollow trees at home. When a 
good many birds live together, they help, of course, 
to keep one another warm. In other cases, cer- 
tainly, the cages should be covered up carefully at 
night — and you should be immensely careful to 
hang them up very high that mice may not get to 
them ; they terrify birds so much that they some- 
times die from the fright, as a great pet of mine 
did. It is to be remembered, too, that birdseed 
strewed about attracts mice very much. 
There does not seem to me . much good in keep- 
