Page:Bird-lore Vol 06.djvu/94

 Notes from Field and Study 67

drive out the Sparrows. who hy thh rlnto generally have young in the nest. Nu one can blame them for defending tlteir eggs or yottng against birds they hate never seen belorea to build in. and nothing too large; what- evertltty huild in, they will till up all waste space with stick Tie up a paper hag, put a hole in the side and a \Vren will use it for a nest,

Nothng is too small for Wrens

This shows ltow hartl up they are for nesting sites, so why can we not help them ounwevery one do a little?

In the vicinity ol New York Hluchirde begin to [mild the ﬁrst week in April and House Wrens the first week of May.

The boxes should he put up in March. but I have had a box used which I put up as late as June lt—JUSIAH CLARK.

An Unusual Nest ol the Cliil Swallow

Many years ago a colony of Cliﬁ Swal- lows annually domiciled under the caves of a neighboring harn. Upon the introduc- tion ol the European House Sparrows. I noticed that they occupied the old nests he- lore the migrants arrived in spring, and annoyed the Swallows so that they left in despair. ln lqm and “)0! n colony at Cliﬂ Swallows built under the eaves of Mr. Paul Fuller's harn. in Wyltott, N. 1., and in tgoz they httilt in a barn at Saddle River. In the latter place there was nothing in the shape of a projection under the caves. to sew: as a foundation for a nest, So the birds had some failures in building. One pair, with apparently more intelligence tltan the rest, took advantage ol a ledge which did duty as weather strip over the top edge or a wicket door, as here shown in a photograph by Mr. Winlretl Smith. After the nest was deserted it was taken duwn and presented to the American Museum of Natural History, The distance from the top of the ledge to ttnder eaves is about eighteen cht-s. This distance was reached by building acylittticr tube at clay worked up with short straw, and tilled with straw up to a height where it would just have room enough to build the nest on top; all of which was perfectly done. and the hirds had the happy satisfaction of rearing

their young on thia- ingenious t‘ltltxtrus'tion.

Now it is evident that the pair ul ltirt surteyed the situation and lutilt this re- tnarkalile

at a ntzst llntil they reached the dcsirahlc tlitr

elttlt'lltrc without all) ntlutttpt taut-e ttt ctnmruct their new. no they could reas'h the ceiling til the can: to link” the nest to. It scum: to me to he II t~:l~e ttf adaptahility for which all \Illrfﬂeulilng illv stinct dues not sati~tat~tttrilv

Hr. RV HALES. Rhiy-wuml. t\'. .I,

ztt-t-ttttttt, —

\N l'.\|'5l'r\lr \F sir 'l'HF Chlrt’ 5\\'»\l.Ln\\‘

A Winter Mockingbird

’l‘hhtnornirnr lFtlt. ttt. 190+! the tlu't» lnometcr registers two tltgrees lreltiw vent. and a Mockinghird has cztlcn settrul times at his hux against the home where I can reach it from a window and keep the loud in order. since December 5. many days procuring from it all the food he has hatlvthe ~nou Many nights the

He has hccn In this hux ever) dity

covering everything else. temperature has been several degrees below IL‘I’O and he has weathered it. to our amaze-