NESTLINGS OF FOREST AND MARSH 
sunbonnet to my hands. The necks had not 
shortened perceptibly, but the wings now 
had joints and the legs were more shapely. 
Also the very round bodies had lengthened 
and flattened so that they did not roll about so 
alarmingly. In spite of our soothing they 
kept their mouths open and hissed at inter- 
vals. The lower mandible was still longer 
than the upper, and the white tip was only 
slightly less conspicuous. The tongues 
were very long, very slender, whitish in 
color, and detached for a long distance back 
in the mouth and rather stiff. 
After keeping them out long enough to 
examine carefully and photograph, we placed 
them in the sunbonnet once more and re- 
turned to the nest. Not once had the 
father and mother uttered a note of protest, 
or shown themselves in that vicinity, so I 
went back an hour later to see whether they 
had deserted. A smart rap brought Madam 
to the doorway, and like a flash she was gone 
from sight. All waiting for her to return 
was in vain. 
164 
