UNUSUAL EXPERIENCES AFIELD 87 



once afield, occurred in a piece of swampy, low 

 ground, filled with sturdy scrub oak, button bush, 

 and low shrubs, where the presence of many birds 

 proved it especially good nesting territory. Here 

 one morning, on a dead limb in plain sight so that 

 I could not possibly mistake my identification, sat 

 a young blackbird squalling lustily for food. 

 There were many blackbirds flying over him and 

 feeding young of their kind in the bushes all around 

 him, but not one of them gave this half-famished 

 youngster a morsel. He evidently had left the 

 nest only that morning, and I thought prematurely 

 at that, for he had much difficulty in maintaining 

 his balance on the limb. This may have been 

 caused by his reaching toward every blackbird 

 that passed him a widely yawning mouth, while 

 he flopped his wings to attract their attention. 

 This went on for so long that I decided his mother 

 must have met her fate at the hands of a farmer, 

 the crack of whose gun could be heard occasionally 

 while he was planting corn in an adjoining field. 

 Finally the young blackbird held his position with 

 difficulty and seemed to be completely discouraged. 

 A hen robin that had been carrying food to her 

 young in a cottonwood in a line of flight directly 

 over the blackbird evidently became as much 

 exercised about the plight of the youngster as I 

 was, for the next time she came with food she flew 

 to the limb beside the blackbird and gave him a 

 very generous feeding, which he seemed greatly 



