The Finsters got two new nest boxes today: one was the old-fashioned brown "kraft" paper box, and the other was another of the plastic boxes. This time, I modified the plastic box even more by replacing the supplied perch with a more familiar dowel; a quick visit to the drill press and an extra dab of hot glue was all it took. We put the plastic one in the top right corner of the Finsterium, since that is the most popular spot, and generally has the most Finsters piled on top of each other at bed time. The plastic is just a bit wider than the paper box, so I figured they'd like it.

Unfortunately, even after a day of sitting on the dowel porch, and trying to rearrange all the vines on top, it turns out that THE BOX IS EVIL.

Not that this really surprises me. But it sure makes bedtime difficult. There have been flutterpations and Finstipations on and off all night. Finally, the top four nest boxes, from left to right, have Oolong and two Spice finches, a Spice finch, Frank, and — this is the EVIL one, remember — no one. No One. The box that usually has five or more birds on it is empty. Earl Grey and Goober are inside their usual box, the same one Frank is on top of. Ovaltine is sleeping on top of one of the nest boxes on the lower row — all alone, but off the floor.

Since I can't tell without using the Evil Flashlight Of Evil Looking, I can only surmise that the other Spice Finsters packed up in disgust at the new nest box, and are on their way back to Malaysia.