UNUSUAL EXPERIENCES AFIELD 103 



would not cling to and tear up the bottom of the 

 nest, put it in his pocket, and bring it down with 

 him. When he placed it in my hands I found that 

 the top of its head, both of its eyes and its nose 

 were thickly plastered with a deep coat of excre- 

 ment, to which the down of the other nestlings 

 and the fine feathering of the mother bird had 

 adhered until it was blinded. Having no conveni- 

 ences with me with which to operate on such a 

 case I carried the young bird home, warmed 

 some milk, dipped a cloth into it, and bound it 

 over the top of its head until I had soaked loose 

 all foreign substance. Its eyes and the entire 

 region surrounding them were the palest of coral 

 pink. It seemed at first as if the bird would be 

 permanently blind. I put it in the dark, fed it 

 for a day or two, gradually introducing light, and 

 by the end of the second day its eyes had returned 

 to almost normal colour, while a number of ex- 

 periments convinced me that it could see as well 

 as any young bird. It was then returned to the 

 nest, from which the rest of its family had not yet 

 taken wing. 



I have had trouble with a window on the front 

 porch of each Cabin on which the surrounding 

 trees throw green reflections, while the glass takes 

 on the lights of water. Several times birds have 

 been deceived by this and in striking the glass in 

 flight have either killed or severely injured them- 

 selves. One of the first instances of this kind was 



