The missing needle in the wren’s nest

Wild Life at Home: How to Study and Photograph It

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A moment away

One day, a woman threaded a sewing needle with black cotton. When she heard one of her children cry downstairs, she laid the needle on her dressing table and went to see what was wrong.

The empty table

When she returned to her mending, both the needle and its thread had vanished. The table held no answer. The explanation would turn up outside the room.

A few days later

A few days later, her husband and Richard Kearton’s brother found black thread woven into a wren’s nest in a creeper at the back of the house. Below the nest, the sewing needle dangled.

The dangling clue

Kearton attributed the disappearance to a wren entering the open bedroom window and taking the thread as nesting material. His account reports the discovery, not anyone witnessing the theft. The needle had travelled with the thread.

The missing needle in the wren’s nest
By Adapted from Richard Kearton
One day, a woman threaded a sewing needle with black cotton. When she heard one of her children cry downstairs, she laid the needle on her dressing table and went to see what was wrong.
When she returned to her mending, both the needle and its thread had vanished. The table held no answer. The explanation would turn up outside the room.
A few days later, her husband and Richard Kearton’s brother found black thread woven into a wren’s nest in a creeper at the back of the house. Below the nest, the sewing needle dangled.
Kearton attributed the disappearance to a wren entering the open bedroom window and taking the thread as nesting material. His account reports the discovery, not anyone witnessing the theft. The needle had travelled with the thread.

The missing needle in the wren’s nest

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