SIDE I.IGHTS ON BIRDS 



bringing food to the motherless nest alternately 

 with their own. A hungry young cuckoo appears 

 to demand sustenance from the universe, aod its 

 impatient cries are often responded to by passing 

 birds other than its foster parents. 



A skylark captured with her young will continue 

 to feed them in a cage, and if other nestlings are 

 introduced before her own have become inde- 

 pendent she will add the little aliens cheerfully 

 to her family, and proceed to rear relay and 

 relay, through the whole season. 



Bird-catchers avail themselves of this altruistic 

 trait in her character in order to save themselves 

 the trouble of hand-feeding, reducing her labours 

 to a minimum by a constant and plentiful supply 

 of food close at hand. 



In this connection it is interesting to observe 

 that the nestlings themselves, at a very early age, 

 begin to show a disposition to help the mother in 

 the care of the babies. A noteworthy instance 

 of this was recently sent to us by Mrs. S. W. 

 Richardson from Acton, Middlesex. 



" Wishing to have a hand-reared blackbird/* 

 she wrote, "I took a young one out of the nest 

 in my garden and fed it by hand on worms, in- 

 sects, etc. When it was between three and four 

 weeks old I took two young starlings also to 

 rear by hand. The latter birds as every one 

 knows require unceasing attention as they are 

 always hungry and cry vociferously until a worm 

 or other delicacy is put into their mouths. At 

 this time the blackbird was beginning to fly about 

 but still gaped for food. At first he was fright- 

 ened at the loud-voiced and energetic starlings 

 though he would sit by the nest and watch me 

 feeding them, turning his head first on one side 

 and then on the other as though in wonderment 

 and occasionally gaping for part of the good fare 



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