14 Bird -Lore 



first. From the beginning the birds were much more timid, but this at first 

 could be accounted for by the fact that the room was not used much of the 

 time, and they could not so readily accustom themselves to occasional sounds 

 and movements. As the days went on the male grew very nervous, starting 

 at the slightest stir of people in the room, when six or even twelve feet dis- 

 tant. Appetites flagged and meal-worms were often left untasted. More 

 alarming still, the young were fed with much less frequency. The male sel- 

 dom left the shelf for any length of time. Had any one supposed that guard- 

 ing of the nest was an easy job, that illusion would have been quickly 

 dispelled by the sight of this patient father at his post, with bill agape, the 

 picture of discomfort. Dog-days had set in early, and the sun beat upon the 

 window through the middle of the day and in the afternoon until the hill 

 threw over it a friendly shadow. The need of some protection was painfully 

 apparent, and finally, in desperation, an old umbrella was raised outside the 

 window and fastened to a hook inside. The relief as it went up each day 

 was immediate and apparent. 



One curious habit of the male after the second brood was hatched was 

 that of sitting on the nest-porch, facing the window, with his body pressed 

 close against the hole. Sometimes he would leave this position for the edge 

 of the shelf after the umbrella had been raised, but on other occasions he 

 would take his station there even in the protecting shadow. Was this merely 

 because the porch was an easier resting place than the shelf -rim, or was it an 

 instinctive attempt to keep out heat? In any event, the action, though it 

 may have been useful in the morning when the sun was pouring in, was of 

 doubtful value at other times, when it resulted in shutting out the air. 



Something was wrong in the Bluebird household, as indicated by the 

 increasing nervousness and evident anxiety of the male. Many times he 

 would stand on the porch, peering steadily into the nest, in a fashion dif- 

 ferent from that of ordinary nest-inspection. His mute devotion was sweet 

 to see, but it was also painful to watch him growing more worn and har- 

 assed. The female all this time came and went, brooded even through the 

 hottest nights, and was apparently steadied by her constant service. 



The cause of the anxiety became apparent when, on the ninth day, a 

 little dead body, after much effort, was thrown up to the nest-hole and 

 pushed out on the porch. The umbrella, though put up two days after the 

 eggs were hatched, had been raised too late. 



The next day, flies about the nest and a bad odor told the tale of another 

 tragedy. The male was very nervous again and, as he sat against the entrance, 

 snapped at the flies that buzzed about his head. Late in the afternoon the 

 female went inside and tried to get the dead bird out. Over and over again 

 the little body could be seen tossed up to the opening, but each attempt to 

 get it out was unsuccessful. Three times this was repeated in the course of 

 an hour and a half, and at last she got it in such a position that it could be 



