1196 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 23 7 tart 2 



feed the young, which were cold and did not eat. So he brooded 

 them from 8:55 until 9 :10 a.m., holding the food in his bill all the time, 

 and then left without feeding them. The number of feedings per 

 hour increased as the nesthngs became older. The earUest feeding, 

 on July 23, 1944, was at 4:50 a.m. (sunrise was at 5:25 a.m.). The 

 young remained in the nest 7 to 9 days. A. H. Shortt (MS.) 

 says that the males first came to the nest on the 4th day, and began 

 to share in feeding activities on the 5th day. 



Nestlings first receive food about Yz hour after the last egg hatches. 

 The male sometimes brings food to the female, who may meet him as 

 far as 30 feet from the nest and either swaUow the food or carry it to 

 the young in the nest. 



W. R. Salt (1966) writes: "The young grow rapidly. A newly- 

 hatched Clay-colored Sparrow weighed 1.13 g. Eight days later three 

 young Clay-colored Sparrows had an average weight of 10.3 g, just 

 0.3 g less than the average weight of two adult males taken about the 

 same time." 



Both parents continue to feed the young for at least 8 days after 

 they have left the nest. Sometimes the male gives food to the 

 female, who carries it to the young. Adults are very sohcitous for 

 their young, and show great anxiety and reluctance to feed them while 

 being watched. Fledglings are very active in snowberry, which 

 affords good hiding cover. Even during feeding activities the male 

 pauses long enough to give territory and warning calls. 



Two incidents give evidence of parental concern. F. E. Warburton 

 (1952) writes: "A Marsh Hawk, Circus cyaneus, flew over the nest 

 that evening as one of the sparrow^s was about to feed the nestlings. 

 Immediately the sparrow crouched and froze, uttering three thin calls 

 resembling the syllable 'eek'. When the hawk had passed, feeding 

 was resumed." L. H. Walkinshaw (1939d) describes injiu-y-feigning 

 behavior: "When I captured a young bkd yet imable to fly one of 

 the parents, presumably the female, flew do^vn to the ground, dragging 

 her wings and advancing slowly, chipping constantly. She continued 

 this as long as the young bird uttered a distress note * * * which 

 lasted several minutes." 



Concerning nest sanitation, L. H. Walkinshaw (1944a) says that 

 parents carried away the excreta, flying about 3 to 5 feet above the 

 ground. As a rule, parents swallowed the smaller fecal sacs, but 

 always carried away the larger ones, usually about 150 feet, although 

 a male dropped one only 69 feet from the nest. F. E. Warburton 

 (1952) limits eating of excreta to 3 days after hatching. One adult, 

 probably the male, picked a piece of eggshell from the nest, "chewing" 

 the shell for a few seconds. "He then flew six feet with it, apparently 

 ate it, wiped his beak, and disappeared." 



