96 THE SECOND BOOK OF BIRDS 
And all the young ones and the mothers stay in 
another flock. 
The red-wing is a very nervous and uneasy 
fellow. While his mate is sitting he is always 
on guard to see that no harm comes to her. 
In the picture you can see he looks much con- 
cerned, as if he had discovered something. 
Then he makes a great row if any one comes 
near. He will give such cries of distress that 
one would think he was hurt, or that his nestlings 
were being stolenaway. If the enemy is a crow, 
come to feed quietly on the meadow, he will fly 
at him, try to peck his head, and annoy him till 
he goes away. If it is a person who alarms him, 
he will circle about over his head with loud cries, 
and now and then swoop down as if he meant to 
attack him. In fact, he shows so much distress 
that it is not very pleasant to stay near him. 
The young red-wing is just as uneasy and 
fussy as his papa. As soon as he is able to get 
out of the nest, he scrambles about in the bushes. 
He never stays two minutes in one place, and 
every time his mother comes with food she has 
to hunt him up before she can give it to him. 
The red-wing is fond of green corn, and is 
often shot by farmers, but he is also a famous 
insect eater, and earns all the corn he gets. He 
eats numbers of cut-worms, and other insects, 
