SOUTHERN AMERICAN REDSTART 665 



The male, if it is an old bird, usually exhibits greater wariness in 

 approaching the nest than does the female. Miss Cordelia Stan wood 

 has found the reverse to be true of one first-year male, which seemed 

 to show no fear at all of her presence at the nest, whereas the female 

 hesitated to feed the young at such times. Perhaps the older bird's 

 wariness is due to more experience in life. 



The part played by the two sexes in feeding the young varies with 

 different individuals; usually both take an equal part, but at times 

 either the male or the female may take the major responsibility. 

 Miss Stanwood studied a nest of the redstart in which the female had 

 disappeared, apparently killed. In this case the male took over all 

 of the arduous duties of feeding the family and of caring for them 

 after they left the nest. Since the young are fed 8 to 10 times every 

 hour it takes the resourcefulness of both parents, let alone one, when 

 a mate is lost. 



At the time of hatching, the young have their eyes closed and are 

 naked except for limited tufts of down found on the dorsal tracts 

 including the crown. By the third day the eyes show slightly through 

 very narrow slits and the papillae of the wing feathers make their 

 appearance. By the sixth day the tips of the feathers are unsheathed ; 

 from this time on the young preen their feathers a great deal and 

 they may be seen picking at the growing feathers, an action that 

 apparently accelerates the unsheathing process. By the eighth day 

 the Juvenal plumage is well established, and the young may leave 

 the nest but if not disturbed or excited usually remain a day longer. 



Bernard W. Baker (1944) found the weight of a young on the day 

 of hatching was 1.1 gm. and at 7 days the same young had increased 

 its weight to 7.5 gm. The tarsus of the same bird was 6 mm. in length 

 on the first day and 17 mm, on the seventh day. 



As with other warblers, the nest is kept scrupulously clean not only 

 of vermin but of the feces, which are anticipated and disposed of as 

 soon as they appear. During the first two days the fecal sacs are 

 swallowed by the adults, but as the young grow older, more and more 

 of them are carried away and dropped at some distance from the 

 nest. This task, like that of feeding the young, is performed by both 

 parents. 



J. Claire Wood (1904) presents an interesting account of a nest 

 of seven eggs which was shared by two pairs of birds, as follows: 

 "When found one female was upon the nest and the other perched 

 close beside it. They were equally demonstrative of anxiety as I as- 

 cended the tree. The eggs were in two layers and slightly incubated. 

 Being of two distinct types there was no difficulty in separating them 

 into sets of three and four. This was not a case of polygamy, as both 

 males were present. All four were living in perfect harmony and 



