172 Bird - Lore ate crumbs I scattered on the ground. The birds were not the only ones to enjoy the suet; several gray and red squirrels came daily and carried away so much suet that I had to devise a new method for feeding the birds. I put out bread crumbs upon my window-sill, and the Chickadees and Nut- hatches soon learned to come there for them. At first they were afraid of the open win- dow, but they soon learned to eat without fear, while I stood near with the window open. One cold morning I put some crumbs in my hand, and held it out of the window. A CHICKADEE PET A little Chickadee came along, flew nearer and nearer; then came to a wire close to my hand; looked at the crumbs, then at me. After picking my fingers to make sure they were harmless, he hopped into my hand, ate some crumbs, and flew away to tell his mate what a daring little Chickadee he was. After this he came daily to my hand, and before long other Chickadees and a Red- breasted Nuthatch followed his example. One day I succeeded in photographing my feathered friend, while eating crumbs from my hand. The Nuthatches had a good deal of difficulty in getting to the window-sills. They could not grasp the smooth boards with their claws, neither could they keep their balance on the wire just beyond the sill. I took pity on them and made what I call a moving restaurant for them. I nailed boards together, which I suspended in mid- air by means of a wire. With a string and pulley I can move this from my window to the tree. Here I placed crumbs and water. The Nuthatches soon learned to come here very gracefully, and before long they could stand up on their legs as well as any other bird. My Nuthatch is now as much a perching bird as a creeping bird. The next year the Brown Creepers, Jun- cos, an English Sparrow and a Downy Woodpecker followed the example of the Nuthatches and Chickadees and came to the restaurant for food. I took several photo- graphs of them. The Woodpeckers eat nothing but suet, while the Juncos eat nothing but crumbs and seeds. The birds have a decided pref- erence for doughnut crumbs, although they are very fond of bread crumbs. The Brown Creeper likes crumbs and suet, while the Chickadees and Nuthatches, although they will eat everything I give them, like nuts and squash seeds best. I crack the nuts for them and give them shells and all, while I simply break the squash seeds in two. I shall continue my study of feeding and taming the birds this winter, and hope to discover many other new facts about them. I advise the readers of Bird-Lore to set a table for the birds this coming winter, and to watch their habits closely. It is sur- prising how the birds will appear in a neighborhood where there were no birdsi when they find food and protection there. I begin to feed the birds the last of Octo- ber, and keep it up regularly until the mid- dle of April. The birds will not come to any artificial lunch - counter when they can get their natural food. — Samuel D. Robbins, Belmont, Massachusetts. Western House Wren's Nest One of the most peculiarly constructed and appearing birds' nests ever coming under my notice was built by a pair of Western House Wrens, — in an outhouse in Cheyenne Canon, Colorado. A shallow box afforded the foundation of the nest, which was con- structed of the smaller twigs of the scrub oak and built into the form of a pyramid. Many of the twigs were forked and skilfully
