Wild Birds. 



It is the young, the young, always THE YOUNG in whom the interest of the old birds 

 is centered, and about whom their lives revolve. They are the strong lure, the talisman, 



the magnet to which the 

 parent is irresistibly 

 drawn. The tree, the 

 branch, the nest itself, 

 what are these in compari- 

 son with the young for 

 whom alone they exist ? 



With some species it 

 is possible to make the 

 necessary change without 

 evil consequences when 

 there are eggs in the nest ; 

 with others we must wait 

 until the young are from 



When to f ur to nine da y s 

 Change old. It is all a 

 the Nest- question of the 

 ing Site " strength of the 

 parental instinct, and this 

 varies between wide limits 

 in different species, and 

 very considerably between 

 different individuals. From 

 the nature of the case 

 there can be no infallible 

 rule. If we know little of 

 the habits of the birds in 

 question it is safest to wait 

 until the seventh to the 

 ninth day after the young 

 are hatched, or when in 

 many passerine birds, as 



Robins, Orioles, and Waxwings, the feather-shafts of the wing-quills begin to appear in 

 the young, or better when they project from one quarter to one half inch beyond the feather 

 tubes. At this period the parental instinct is reaching its maximum, and, what is equally 

 important, the sense of fear has not appeared in the young. 



When we try to formulate a rule, however, we at once encounter numerous excep- 

 tions. Thus in Cuckoos the feathers do not shed their envelopes gradually as in most 

 birds, but remain sheathed up to the last day in the nest. Of greater importance is the 

 understanding of the principles involved, and with these in mind and judiciously applied 

 very few mistakes should be made. 



At the beginning of observations a nest with eggs should be watched, but not dis- 

 turbed. When the period of incubation has been determined, and the time of hatching 



Fig. 4. Truncated elm with nest-holes of \Voodpecker, the lowermost re- 

 cently occupied by Bluebirds. To bring down the nest, the trunk may be cut 

 from below or in line with arrow. 



