NESTLINGS OF FOREST AND MARSH 
tried to catch her, but after having led me 
twenty feet from the nest, she flew up into 
the tree as well as ever. This is the only 
time’ I have seen @ warbler try, the» tick 
practised by some of the larger birds, and I 
could scarcely believe my eyes. Even then 
I was at a loss to know why, because she 
had made so little protest on my other visits 
to her nursery. But when I reached the 
nest, with a flutter and rush out flew one of 
the nestlings who had sat in the valley of 
decision too long, and search revealed the 
other two sitting on separate twigs, solemn 
as young owls, with no attempt to escape. 
They let me pick them up, and posed beau- 
tifully for their portraits. After that one of 
them sat in unwinking silence on the branch 
where we placed him for six long hours, 
while his fond papa from time to time 
brought him flies, small green worms, and 
spiders. The other two were more restless, 
and disappeared with their mother among 
the dense foliage. That night at least three 
of the family, including the father, slept in a 
256 
