J 68 BULLETIN 19 7, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



pink with no special markings. Faint thin notes, tsp^ tsp^ are given 

 by the young as the head is held unsteadily upward. 



The actions of the adults during the first day are not especially 

 different from their actions during the incubation period, and there 

 is no increase in their efforts to defend the nest. The female broods 

 nearly as constantly as during incubation. Tlie male procures almost 

 all the food for the family and delivers it to the female, which either 

 passes it on to the young or eats it herself. On several occasions a 

 male was seen to approach the nest and sit beside it while the female 

 was absent. He refrained from sitting on the nest and did not feed 

 the young. The food that is brought to the nest is of such small size 

 as to be, to the observer, invisible within the bill of the adult. Dark- 

 colored parts of insects may bo discerned through the skin of the 

 under surfaces of the young. What appeared to be the elytra of 

 small beetles, one-half centimeter in length, were visible in one 

 instance. 



On the third day a captive nestling disgorged a pellet 11 millimeters 

 in length containing parts of dermestids and the hard muscular por- 

 tions of the digestive tracts of snails I had fed to it during the morn- 

 ing of the same day. Also included in the pellet was a nearly com- 

 plete femur, 9 millimeters long, of a small grasshopper that had been 

 fed by the parents at least 24 hours previously. When passing fecal 

 masses the hind quarters are elevated and the head thrust down. 

 The fecal mass is inclosed in a firm mucous envelope, in a position from 

 which it readily may be removed by a parent. 



In the wild the parents had difficulty in inducing young to raise 

 their heads, for, several times, the female upon approaching with 

 food waited on the nest edge and, failing in her attempt to feed the 

 young, swallowed the food herself. On another occasion, when the 

 young failed to respond, she gave a faint, low-pitched, burred note, 

 which resulted in an immediate begging for food. Seemingly an 

 auditory stimulus had been necessary to arouse the brood. I then 

 approached the nest, found the birds nonresponsive to touch or to 

 jarring of the nest, and attempted a rough imitation of the nest call 

 that the female had just given. The response was immediate, several 

 heads being raised. Apparently at this age the young are able to 

 receive sufficient food early in the morning to satisfy their hunger 

 for a period of several hours lasting through the middle of the day. 



On the fourth day the male was observed to feed the young for the 

 first time and at the same time was heard to give the nest call similar 

 to that given by the female. The male fed only when the female was 

 absent from the nest. If she was present, food was delivered to her. 

 A large part of the food brought by the parents is now visible in the 

 bill. It was estimated that the female by this time is responsible 



