Perching in the mouth of the cavity the chickadee’s body would almost disappear within and then he would withdraw himself and fly away with a tiny chip of rotten wood in his beak. After the cavity was satisfactorily completed they began lining the interior, which formed the nest proper. These fastidious little feathered architects consider nothing less than soft clean fur suitable material for a bed for their delicate speckled eggs. In this instance rabbit’s fur was used, which was identified by the fringe of loose hair that clung to the entrance, for the hollow was too deep to look down into the nest. Some time after the discovery of the chickadees’ habitation, when the peaches and plums were in blossom and the air soft and balmy the wrens arrived from their winter home. These inquisitive little creatures peer out very knowingly from their retreat amidst the verdure, at anyone who comes near, and they win the heart of all by their pert manners and love of human companionship. These modestly attired little warblers are extremely lively and nimbly search among the foliage for food, destroying many harmful insects. In scanning every possible and impossible place about the premises for a suitable nesting site, one of these dapper little fellows spied the snuggery in the stump which captivated his fancy, and he forthwith proceeded to try to take possession. But such outrageous trespassing was not to be allowed for a moment by the chickadees and whenever the little brown rogue crept up to the entrance to peep in, out would pop the proprietor, in his jaunty black cap, and put him to flight. The intruder would then perch on a branch near by, stretch himself to his full height, with tail erect, as though to appear of as much consequence as possible, and alternately scold and pour forth defiant song at his opponent. This antagonism was kept up for several days, till finally the wrens gave up the contest and began furnishing a neat little bird house in a maple tree close by. When they had nearly completed their labor the young chickadees left the nest to follow their sprightly parents about the orchard, whereupon the whimsical but industrious wrens immediately abandoned their pretty summer cottage to occupy the now vacant cavity in the stump. These two little birds (chickadee and wren), much alike in some respects, show a very decided difference in the choice of nesting material. The hollow was soon filled to overflowing with sticks, the main substance of every wren’s nest. In due season a brood issued forth, followed by another later, to swell the young bird population, then at its height. Only think of the amount of extravagant activity and drollery that was reared in that cavity nursery!