20 THE FIRST BOOK OF BIRDS 
Some persons who have studied birds think 
that each nestling is fed in its turn; but they 
look so much alike, and are so close together, 
that it is hard to tell, and I am not sure that 
It 1s So. 
I will tell you a story I have heard about 
feeding little birds. A child picked up a young 
goldfinech who had fallen out of the nest. He 
took him home and put him into the canary’s 
cage, which was hanging on the front porch. 
Soon the family heard a great noise among 
the birds, and went out to see what was the 
matter. The baby goldfinch had hopped on to 
a perch in the cage, and seemed to be afraid to 
come down, though the old birds had brought 
food for him, and were calling him to take it. 
The canary looked on a while, and then all at 
once he flew to the wires and took the food from 
the birds outside; then he went back to the 
perch beside the little one and gave it to him. 
This he did many times. 
The next day another young goldfinch was 
picked up and put in the cage, and the canary 
took food from the parents and fed both. 
After a few days the old birds came with a 
third little one, and as all were now old enough 
to fly, the cage door was opened, and they all 
flew away. 
