18 ‘THE FIRST BOOK OF BIRDS 
ground, all seeking soft worms and grubs and 
insects for the nestlings; and they are so busy 
they do not get much time for singing. 
At this time the orioles go all over the or- 
chard trees looking for tiny worms, and little 
warblers seek them under every leaf. 
Woodpeckers find the insects hidden behind 
the bark of trees, by cutting holes through it. 
Chickadees and nuthatches pick the tiniest insect 
ego's out of the crevices, and flickers hunt every- 
where for ants. 
As soon as one of the old birds has his mouth 
full, he flies to the nest to feed it out. 
But not all birds feed in the same way. A 
robin just drops the big earthworm, or a part of 
one, into the gaping baby mouth. Many other 
birds do so also. Sometimes, when an insect is 
too big or too hard, they beat it till it is soft, 
or break it up before giving it to a little one. 
But hummingbird mothers and flicker mo- 
thers have a different way. When they collect 
the food they swallow it, as if they wanted it for 
themselves. Then they go to the nest, and jerk 
it up again in mouthfuls, and feed the nestlings. 
This is called “feeding by regurgitation,” or 
“ throwing up.” 
The way they give the food is very curious. 
They push their long beaks into the nestling’s 
