28 OUR FEATHERED FRIENDS. 
his mouth a little wider than his brothers and sisters 
so that it can get the first mouthful. We have often 
wondered how the mother knows which bird to feed 
when she comes to the nest. We spent two or three 
days once to be quite sure that she fed all alike. She 
fed them in turn, even though she returned many times, | 
not once giving the last one another bite until she had 
been all around. We do not know whether she counts 
them or calls them by name, but she makes no mistake 
in feeding them. 
We saw a humming-bird mother one day stand on 
the head of one little baby birdling while she fed the 
other. Notall of her weight was on the bird, of course, 
but quite enough to make him keep out of her way 
while she fed his brother. 
A baby bird gains nothing by teasing and coaxing; 
it must wait for its turn to come, no matter how hungry 
it happens to be. It is probably more greedy than 
hungry when it wants to get more than its share. 
CHAPTER. Vil: 
CHILD BIRDS. 
DuriIneG childhood, that is, during the first season, 
most birds look quite different from their parents. 
Many of them do not get the color or texture of 
erown-up birds for a year or more. 
