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 a warbler try the trick 

 practised by some of the larger birds, and I 

 could scarcely believe my eyes. Evert 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 

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