A QUARREL BETWEEN JENNY WREN AND THE FLY- 
CATCHERS. 
C. L. GRUBER, 
State Normal School, Kutztown, Pa. 
FOR a number of years a crested 
flycatcher has built his nest in 
a hole in an apple tree in my 
yard, about twenty feet from a 
house constructed for the habitation 
of the wrens. Jenny usually showed 
no animosity toward her neighbor; but 
one spring, while nest-building was in 
progress, she suddenly seemed to have 
decided that the flycatcher's abode was 
in too close proximity to her own 
domicile and deliberately invaded the 
flycatcher's domains and dumped the 
materials of his nest on the walk be- 
neath the tree. When the flycatcher 
returned the air was filled with his pro- 
tests, while the wren saucily and de- 
fiantly answered him from the roof of 
her own dwelling. The flycatcher im- 
mediately proceeded to build anew, 
but before he had fairly commenced, 
the pugnacious wren made another 
raid and despoiled his nest again. 
This happened a third time; thenthe fly- 
catcher and his mate took turns in watch- 
ing and building. While one went out in 
search of building material the other 
remained on guard just inside the door. 
The situation now became exceedingly 
interesting, and at times ludicrous. 
Jenny Wren is a born fighter, and can 
whip most birds twice her size, but she 
seemed to consider the flycatcher more 
than a match for her. The first few 
times after the flycatcher made it his 
business to stay on guard, the wren 
would fly boldly to the opening, but 
would flee just as precipitately on the 
appearance of the enemy from the in- 
side. After each retreat there was a 
great deal of threatening, scolding, 
and parleying, and Jenny several times 
seemed fairly beside herself with rage, 
while the flycatcher coolly whistled 
his challenge on the other side of the 
line of neutrality. The wren now 
adopted different strategy. She flew 
to the tree from a point where the fly- 
catcher could not see her, then hurried 
along the limb in which the flycatcher 
lay concealed and circled around the 
hole, all the time endeavoring to take a 
peep on the inside without herself being 
observed, in the vain hope that her 
enemy might not be at home. Sud- 
denly there would be a flutter of wings 
and a brown streak through the air, 
followed by another as the flycatcher, 
shot like a bullet from the opening in 
the tree; but the active marauder was 
safely hidden amid the grapevines, and 
the baffled flycatcher returned to his 
picket line, hurling back epithets and 
telling Jenny that he would surely 
catch her next time. In this manner 
the strife continued for several days. 
Then a truce seemed to have been ar- 
ranged. Certainly the flycatcher was 
still on guard, but the wrens went 
about their work and did not molest 
the flycatchers except at long inter- 
vals. I thought the flycatchers had 
conquered; but one morning when I 
came out, there on the walk were three 
broken, brown-penciled eggs, nest, 
snakeskin, and all. The flycatcher had 
put too much trust in the wren's un- 
concernedness, and came back to find 
himself once more without a nest. But 
Jenny seemed to have desired only one 
more stroke of revenge, and the fly- 
catchers finally succeeded in raising 
their family in front of the home of 
Jenny Wren. 
