IDENTIFICATION, NEST-BUILDING, ETC. 25 



ing periods, at which times they are easily approached 

 and killed by ' ' plumers. ' ' 



The parental love and affection in most birds is not 

 surpassed by that of any other warm-blooded animal. 

 I know of no mother more affectionate or solicitous of 

 her young than a bird mother. Observe the patient resig- 

 nation of the incubating Robin as it sits day after day 

 in the scorching sun; or of the Kingfisher in its dark 

 and ill-ventilated recesses. Notice the reckless disregard 

 for its personal safety of the Shrike in its valiant attack 

 on the disturber of its home and young; or the sad and 

 pathetic appeal of the Mockingbird as you survey its 

 nest and babies. Hardened indeed must be the heart of 

 the individual who would hear these appeals and not be 

 touched by a bond of sympathy. 



If you have never stood near a nest of young birds 

 and timed the parents in their feeding trips, you can 

 form no conception of the devotion of the old birds nor 

 of the amount of food a brood of young requires for 

 healthy existence and rapid growth. For the first few 

 days a well-fed, healthy, young Kingbird or Sparrow 

 will increase from fifty to sixty per cent in weight, while 

 the feathers, as in the case of the Cuckoo and Kingfisher, 

 seem actually to burst into existence. 



As with all accurate observations on any subject, it 

 is an exacting and interesting work to keep tab on the 

 doings in a bird dining-room and nursery. The semi- 

 downy stage of these animated little bodies is to me the 

 most beautiful period in the life of many birds ; there is 

 a delicacy in the neutral tints of grays and browns never 

 found in the plumage of mature birds. The peculiarly 

 delicate silvery sheen on the back, the modest gray of the 

 breast, the innocence and confiding appearance of the 

 little fellows, as they sit as still as miniature statues, 

 must elicit the admiration and sympathy of all bird- 

 lovers. 



The poor attempts at flight of the young birds seem 

 to put disgust and consternation into their parents as 

 they follow the little ones from limb to limb, either scold- 

 ing or praising the feeble efforts. 



Should you return to a nest and find that the young 

 birds have left it, wait patiently near by and you will 



