BIRDS WITH A HANDICAP 



interested in the tiny creatures, and, fearing that they 

 were abandoned to starve, sent to me to learn how to 

 feed them. Fortunately, however, there was no need 

 for clumsy human effort, which would have been 

 unavailing. The mother bird soon found them, as 

 she may have done already, and was busy feeding 

 them long before I arrived, which was not until the 

 next day. 



It was a sight which well repaid me for the drive up 

 the steep mountain road. The nest itself was beautiful, 

 but even more so were the tiny mites of bird life which 

 occupied it. The old saying that there is always room 

 for one more may be true in human affairs, but it cer- 

 tainly would not apply to this hummer's nest. Both 

 birds were side by side, facing the same way, tails and 

 bills projecting over the rim of the nest. The green 

 and gray of their plumage harmonized beautifully with 

 the greenish lichens which adorned the nest. There 

 was a pretty, confiding air about the little beauties. 

 They did not seem afraid and I could approach them 

 as closely as I wished without alarming them. 



As it was already mid-afternoon, I set about photo- 

 graphing them at once. Presently, as I was arranging 

 the camera, I heard a buzzing sound, and the young 

 began to chirp and struggle excitedly. The mother had 

 come to feed them, but she went off when she saw me. 

 As soon as I had photographed the young in the nest, 

 I tied a thread to the shutter and sat down a few rods 

 away, hoping for a shot the next time that the mother 



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