EASTERN OVENBIRD 463 



By the fourth day the number of feedings required of the adults has 

 greatly increased over those of the first day. As the young grow 

 older it is not unusual for the adults to exceed a hundred visits to the 

 nest with food in a single day. 



The eyes are completely opened by the fifth day, and from then on 

 the young are not easily deceived by false noises or those not con- 

 cerned with the arrival of food. 



After 6 days of nest life the young may be seen going through exer- 

 cises, stretching their wings to gain strength and, perhaps, partly to 

 relieve an uncomfortable feeling produced by the rapidly growing 

 parts and feathers. They preen themselves a great deal and peck at 

 the bases of the feathers to assist in the unsheathing process. By this 

 time their temperature control has develoj)ed sufficiently so that there 

 is less need of brooding by the parents. 



By the eighth day the primaries are unsheathed for about three- 

 fourths of their length and the feathers of the other tracts have pro- 

 ceeded to such an extent that the juvenal plumage is well established, 

 giving a more pleasing contour to the young. There is now great 

 competition among members of the brood when the parents arrive 

 with food, and they utter a kind of buzzing call in concert as they 

 stretch their necks and extend their gaping mouths out of the opening 

 of the nest. Sometimes the young may leave the nest at this age, but 

 in some nests I have had under observation they remained a day or 

 two longer. 



In leaving the nest the young hop out one at a time, and considerable 

 time generally elapses before all have departed. "VVlien a nestling 

 leaves it follows one of the adult birds, and those left behind are 

 cared for by the mate. The parent bird leads the youngster, coaxing 

 it along now and then with food and offering encouragement by re- 

 sponding to its peeps and chirps. Finally each parent goes its own 

 way with its part of the brood, and thus nest life comes to a successful 

 ending. Under favorable conditions young birds, especially those 

 attended by the males, may remain in practically the same territory 

 for several days after leaving the nest. 



As soon as the feathers of the wings have completed their growth 

 the young are able to fly when flushed. They usually alight on the 

 ground but sometimes they are able to negotiate a landing and main- 

 tain a hold on a shrub or lower limb of a tree. After the young are 

 3 weeks old they are able to secure their own food although it is still 

 supplemented by the parent birds. When the young are about 5 weeks 

 old they are abandoned by the adults and from then on are on their 

 own. By the time they have undergone the partial postnuptial molt 

 and have acquired their so-called first winter plumage they are physi- 



