FEATHERED PHILOSOPHERS I05 



the only sound it made was a sort of 

 wheezing. At its side, a little beneath, 

 was the nest of a chipping sparrow, the 

 alien egg in its nest being one of the 

 commonest tales of birdland sociology. 

 The little sparrow, however, seemed 

 proud of the rank, ungainly offspring, 

 and lavished special care upon it, 

 stretching on tiptoe to give the food 

 that its size demanded, while her own 

 nestlings, hungry and meagre, clam- 

 oured feebly. The cowbird typifies 

 matter and craft, a dangerous con- 

 junction, and the sparrow a case where 

 scant sense is entirely subservient to 

 the maternal instinct; tragedies that 

 are not alone of the nest arise from 

 such combinations. 



***** 



The swallows distrusted the new barn ; 

 perhaps the paint startled them, or the 

 slope of the eaves was inconvenient, 



