THE BABY BIRD 15 
ground, as well as hawks and owls, are dressed 
in pretty suits of down. They have their eyes 
open, and the ground birds are ready to run 
about at once. 
A man who studied birds, once saw a young 
duck get its first suit of down. He picked up 
the egg just as the little bird inside was trying 
to get out. In a few minutes the shell fell 
apart, and out stepped the duckling on his hand. 
It seemed to be covered with coarse black hairs, 
which in a moment began to burst open, one by 
one, and out of each came a soft fluff of down. 
So in a few minutes, while the man stood there 
and held him, the little duck was all covered 
with his pretty dress. 
But most birds hatched in nests in trees and 
bushes, like robins and bluebirds, are very dif- 
ferent. When they come out of their shells 
they are naked, have their eyes shut, and look 
as if they were nearly all mouth. A young 
hummingbird looks about as big as a honey 
bee, and a robin baby not much bigger than the 
egoshell he came out of. " 
They lie flat down in the nest, seeming to be 
asleep most of the time. All they want is to be 
warm and to be fed. 
To keep them warm, the mother sits on them 
a great part of the time, and for the first few 
