Determination in Birddom

In the world of the house wren, both male and female join in gathering material; however, much of the time the male brings it to the female, and she builds the nest. A problem sometimes occurs. “Occasionally the male brings his mate a twig that she rejects and throws out. He may have considered it a particularly fine twig, even though a bit too long and having a fork in it, or he may have become attached to this twig, only to have it spurned by the female. So the fun begins. The male takes the twig, twists it, turns it, tries it this way and that in his efforts to place it in the nest, even dropping it half a dozen times. But give up? Never. He continues working at it until at last the twig is inside and placed in the nest. The female returns and promptly throws the twig outside. The male returns it, his mate rejects it, and so it goes until one or the other finally gives in, and the pair get on with the job of nest building.”—Pictorial Guide to the Birds of North America, by L. L. Rue III, p. 273.