The Cedar Bird. 



59 



young birds, while one was addled. Born 

 blind, naked, and helpless, the Cedar-bird 

 begins to see when three days old, through 

 narrow slits which gradually open, and 

 expose the eyes to full light. When this 

 nest was touched the young would raise 

 their tremulous heads aloft, and with red 

 mouths opened wide, express in silence 

 the simple sign language of newly hatched 

 birds. One of the brood mysteriously dis- 

 appeared, so that eventually only two 

 were raised, and this recalls the loss of a 

 young bird from the first nest which was 

 built by the same pair. When evil befalls 

 a nestling, the parents either remove its 

 body or abandon the whole family. The 

 latter course is seldom, if ever, followed 

 after the eggs have all been hatched. 



Bough and nest in this case were re- 

 moved on August 23d, when the young 

 were between eight and nine days old. 



- 44- Standing at inspection : a characteristic pose. 



Fig. 43. Cedar-bird listening intently while inspecting nest. 



They were set up on a hillside, in an 

 exposed position, with a house on 

 one hand and a public drive and 

 monument on the other, but the birds 

 stood it well, as the photographic 

 record shows. (Figs. 37, 38.) 



Owing to unfavorable weather 

 the tent was not used until the after- 

 noon of August 25th. In a few min- 

 utes, the female was on the nesting 

 bough, coming and going, but finally 

 kept her perch and examined the 

 situation critically. Something un- 

 usual had happened full of signifi- 

 cance to herself and family, but it 

 was an enigma hard to solve. Silence 

 at last brought assurance, as it usually 

 does in such cases. She approached 

 nearer, pausing at every step, until 

 she could no longer resist the mag- 

 netic influence of the calling young- 

 sters, who fairly palpitated in their 

 eager desire for food. At this nest 



