68 ^tnantu of ttie tRvttu 



in her nest, that she put a false bottom in 

 her nest and walled the cowbird egg in- 

 side, so that it should not hatch with 

 hers. 



The night-hawk is not mindful of her 

 young, and she often lays her eggs on a 

 rock, with very little soft material under 

 them. 



It would surprise you to watch a family 

 of young birds and see how fast they 

 grow. In two or three weeks first 

 feathers appear, and in as many months 

 they are shoved from the nest, never to 

 return. 



One will often find in an old orchard 

 what the bird-student calls a robin-roost. 

 This is a favourite limb, where twenty or 

 thirty young robins all roost together at 

 night. There they will sit winking and 

 blinking, like a row of sleepy chickens. 



Do the parent birds teach the young 



