SHE ALIGHTED ON THEIR BACKS. 137 



resting on the edges. By tlie sixteenth day 

 tails had attained respectable dimensions, and 

 they were clad in the conij)lete dress of feathers, 

 though, having not as yet learned to manage 

 their garments, individual feathers stood out all 

 over and were blown by every breeze into tiny 

 green ripples. In their new position across the 

 top they of course entirely covered the edge, so 

 that the mother was puzzled to find a place for 

 her feet when she came to feed, until she took to 

 alighting on the backs of her monopolizing off- 

 spring. 



All through these delightful days I had kept 

 a sharp lookout for the father of this charm- 

 ing family, for, as is well known, there is a 

 charge against the ruby-throat, that he takes 

 no part in the home life, that he never visits the 

 nest. Whether it be that he is too gay a rover 

 to attend to his duties, whether — as is said of 

 the turkey and some other birds — he is pos- 

 sessed of a rage for destroying his own young, 

 whether he keeps out of sight as a measure of 

 prudence for the safety of the nest, or whether 

 that fearless and industrious little mate of his 

 feels capable of managing her own affairs and so 

 drives him away, no one has as yet been rash 

 enough to say. That remains for future observ- 

 ers to find out. The points most interesting to 

 discover at present are, if it is a fact that he 



