150 



Bird-Lore 



and never fails to respond. Other (joldlinciies flew by in song, calling 

 and singing, but only one appealed to her. 



"August 2=; was a red-letter day in Goldfinch annals; then, and cnly 

 then, 1 saw the male on the nest fed by his mate. The male then 

 shares incubation? He certainly gave it a trial, but, so far as my ob- 

 servation goes, found it too confining to be repeated. 



"August 2g. 'C^ut today,' as the newsboy cries — the female's eleva- 

 tion on the nest determined that. Her eagerness now overcame caution, 

 and she flew straight to the nest instead of in round-about course. Hoth 

 parents fed the young. 



"August .^o. In a single trip the male Goldfinch brought forty mor- 

 sels to the family, his mate eager to get her 'thirds,' but as soon as 

 he had gone she slipped off the nest and fed the young. This method 

 was pursued for three days. 



"Sept. I. The female very active at the nest making toilets of young, 

 reassuring them with tender syllables when a red squirrel ran up the 

 tree with alarming sounds. I saw three open mouths. The brooding 

 bird went for food and returned stealthily to the nest. The male came 

 once, but brought nothing, and henceforth was an idle partner. 



"Sept. 6. Young birds, having found their voices, announced meal- 

 time with joyous twitter. They were fed, on an average, once in forty- 

 five minutes, and were now forming cleanly habits, like young Swallows, 

 voiding excrement over the riin of the nest. 



"Sept. 8. The old birtl no longer perching at the nest to feed her 

 young, but on the branch, to lure them from their cradle. They shook 

 their wings \igorously and preened their tiny feathers. 



"Sept. lO. Young Finches ventured to the edge of the nest and 

 peered curiously into the unknown. . 



"Sept. II. An empty nest." 



