A BROWN THRASHER 
The nests of brown thrasher babies are 
made of rougher material than those of 
more tender nestlings, possibly to give the 
baby feet a chance to grasp and stretch and 
the tender limbs to obtain strength. It was 
a funny sight to see those young thrashers 
raise themselves to their fullest height, and 
then stretch limb by limb and wing by wing. 
They were hearty, hungry youngsters, beg- 
ging for food early and often. Both parents 
were kept busy bringing worms, beetles, 
grasshoppers, moths, and spiders. Every- 
thing went with them. I could not see that 
they evinced partiality for any especial 
menu. So long as it was brought every 
twenty minutes, and plenty of it, they were 
satisfied. I frequently saw the father ham- 
mer away at some kind of food on the limb 
of a tree. He would rise up to his fullest 
height, and strike down with his beak, 
pickaxe fashion, on the offending morsel, 
but I never discovered whether this was 
a hardshell beetle, or a nut, or what it 
was. 
a2 
