his frontal feathers depressed so as to 
give him a vicious look, and often with 
his wings trembling with excitement as 
he held them slightly loosened at his 
sides. When he judged himself near 
enough he would make a little run and 
try to snap up his victim. This method 
of stalking, though much used, was the 
least successful of his hunting expedi- 
ents, a large majority of the flies es- 
caping. 
When in a favorable locality he would 
sometimes keep quiet for a time — that 
is, relatively quiet — as quiet as a small 
bird can be expected to remain, ready 
to seize any impudent flies that came 
within the reach of his bill, which would 
snap on them with' a loud sound. He 
was most skillful at this, making the 
quickest motions conceivable. Although 
these snap shots were very successful, 
the flies rarely came past in sufficient 
numbers to satisfy him long, and he 
would soon set out to hunt up his game. 
Then there was the full chase. It 
was not now a matter of a little dash on 
foot, but a full flight after a big blue- 
bottle fly which can dart through the 
air like a bullet. Back and forth they 
go with a great rush and much dodg- 
ing. When caught, these big flies 
made a large mouthful for the vic- 
tor. He would light on the floor 
and proceed to swallow his prey. This 
usually required several efforts. Watch- 
ing him called to mind one's own ex- 
periences with big gelatine capsules. 
With the final and successful effort 
Wrensie's eyes would close with a dis- 
tressed look as the fly went down his 
throat. 
Flies were often to be found floating 
on the surface of the water in a large 
water pail. This fact did not long es- 
cape Wrensie's eye, and he made his 
round to this trap with much regularity. 
When the pail was well filled with water 
he could reach the flies with compara- 
tive ease; but when the water became 
low this became a most difficult matter. 
He did not fly down to get them, but 
would reach down while hanging 
to the edge of the pail. Often re- 
peated trials were necessary. It was 
surprising to see to what a distance he 
could stretch himself in these efforts. 
Holding on to the edgealways, he would 
swing himself down, stretch his neck to 
the utmost, and then, just as he was on 
the point of falling into the water, with 
a quick flutter of his wings he would 
raise himself to the top again, never re- 
linquishing his hold on the rim. In 
this way he would pick up flies at the 
center of the pail when it was not half 
filled with water, which, in view of the 
small size of the bird, was an acrobatic 
feat. 
Then there was the battue. When he 
approached a window thickly covered 
with flies a scene of trje wildest excite- 
ment followed. Wrensie would dash 
into the melee, afoot or a-wing as it 
happened, his bill snapping faster than 
a repeating rifle. The slaughter would 
be continued until the remaining flies 
were dispersed, which soon came to 
pass. 
Even the still hunt was not without 
interest. No setter ever worked the 
ground more faithfully. Every nook 
and corner of the house was examined 
for moths. Moreover, every article was 
scrutinized, and, when possible, he 
looked beneath and within. A pair of 
working gloves lay upon the floor. 
Wrensie unhesitatingly went in, disap- 
pearing entirely and remaining long 
enough to put his head into every 
finger — which he may, or may not have 
done. It interested me much to note 
that in such explorations his assurance 
was complete. In this kind of delving 
I was prepared to see some hesitation 
in my presence. It seemed to me that 
when I was standing by him it would 
be only reasonable caution on his part 
to remain where he could keep his 
eyes on me. But he never seemed to 
watch me; and gave me numerous op- 
portunities to capture him, as he would 
disappear in a dish or in some hole, 
and remain for some time. He never 
hesitated in this, nor did he seem to 
scrutinize his surroundings before going 
out of sight. 
Wrensie was not only persistent and 
thorough in his search for moths in dark 
corners, but determined as well. He 
would crowd himself into openings so 
narrow that he would have to back out 
j after concluding the search. One day 
| he undertook to pass between two cans 
on a shelf. He made a strong effort, 
102 
