6 A WISE MOTHER. 



gayly dressed proprietor. The father took upon 

 himself this duty, and many times during the 

 day the above-mentioned scene was reenacted, 

 loud blackbird calls, husky baby notes, the 

 musical war-cry of the oriole, and a chase. 



A second infant had wisely confined his wan- 

 dering to his own tree, one of a group of tall 

 pines that towered above the roofs of the vil- 

 lage. This one could be easily watched as he 

 stood on one branch for an hour at a time, 

 sometimes in the nest attitude, head sunk in 

 shoulders and beak pointed toward the sky, 

 again looking eagerly around on his new world, 

 turning his head from side to side, changing 

 position to see the other way, and showing him- 

 self wide awake although the yellowish baby- 

 down was still on his head, and his tail was not 

 an inch long. Now and then the mother was 

 heard calling in the distance, and as she ap- 

 proached he became all excitement, fluttering 

 his wings, and answering in the husky tones 

 of the family. A moment later, after a quick 

 glance around, but without alighting and recon- 

 noitring the whole neighborhood, as the robin 

 does, she came down beside the eager youngling, 

 administered to the wide open mouth what 

 looked like two or three savage pecks, but 

 doubtless were nothing worse than mouthfuls 

 of food, and instantly flew again, while the re- 



