WESTERN BIRDS Gnatcatchor 



when the female came with food, but once he remained 

 and she fed the babies. It was interesting to note that 

 when the female was on the nest the male gave his food 

 for the young to her, while when the male brooded the 

 female fed directly to the young. 



Once I saw these midgets drive a California Shrike 

 from their neighborhood. He was minding his own busi- 

 ness some distance away, but it was quite evident that 

 they mistrusted him, and he had to go. 



The night before we left this canyon another Gnat- 

 catchers' nest was found built on the south side of a 

 tall, straight sycamore tree about twenty feet from the 

 ground, its only supports being the tiny twigs which 

 grew out from the side of the tree. There were three 

 young birds and they were fully feathered and looked 

 just like their parents, save for their shorter tails. They 

 were very uneasy and it was evident that they would not 

 stay long in the nest. In two hours of watching we saw 

 them fed one hundred and five times. When we con- 

 sider that probably several insects were taken at each 

 feeding, that their day was about sixteen hours long, 

 that about four weeks of this feeding would be required 

 for the young, and that during all this time the old birds 

 must also have eaten, we have a little idea of the thou- 

 sands of insects that this one family was consuming in a 

 few weeks' time, and can better appreciate the enormous 

 good they were doing in that little canyon. 



At 7:35 A.M. on this last morning of our stay, we 

 believed that our fondest hopes were to be realized, and 

 that we were to see these nestling make their debut into 

 the world; for suddenly one fluffy ball came fluttering 

 forth from its gray home, and landed on one of the 

 twig supports. But, alas, all too quickly our hopes 

 were crushed, for no sooner had the nestling stopped 

 himself than he turned about and scrambled, post-haste, 

 back into the nest, where he cuddled down as if he were 



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