183 . The Wilson Bulletin — No. 89 



so I carried the little birds home. The journey to my home 

 did not disturb them in the least. They ate bountifully of 

 bread and milk from a little gold-lined, silver spoon, took a 

 few drops of water- and slept the greater part of the day with 

 their heads straight in front of them. 



After the first day, I varied their diet with earthworms, 

 ants' eggs, steak, wild pears, strawberries, a spider, or a 

 fly occasionally, and a grasshopper when I was able to find it. 



Until the morning of the fourth day the Hermits remained 

 as distinctly inside the small nest as if an invisible wall sep- 

 arated them from all else. They grew rapidly, ate well, 

 preened vigorously, scratched their ears with their toes, and 

 although the nest was quite deep, voided all excrement with- 

 oiit it, sometimes standing on the edge of the nest to do so. 



In the middle of the morning of the fourth day, they slow- 

 ly and cautiously stole forth from the nest, one at a time, 

 just as they do in the wild woods. From that moment they 

 insisted on flying and perching and refused to snuggle down 

 anywhere. 



During the eleven days that followed, I carried the birds 

 to the woods for part of each day, or the entire day and let 

 them run wild. At night I took them in and they perched at 

 dark in the balsam boughs that I placed for them over a' door. 

 At' first I remained near them all the time that they were in 

 the woods, and fed them as they came for food. Later I 

 put them out early in the morning, and went and fed them 

 as often as once in two hours. 



The first afternoon in the woods, I saw one Hermit take a 

 sunbath with his feathers all flufifed out, one pick up a small 

 brown caterpillar, and another several mouthfuls of earth. 



The moment that I put the Thrushes down near a shallow 

 pool below the spring, and rippled the water with my hand, 

 the birds entered the pool, drank, and splashed the water all 

 over themselves. These irresistible, immature birds, going 

 to the water so slowly, cautiously, and surely, and bathing 

 after the exact patterns handed down to them made an awe- 

 some as well as a pretty picture. 



