156 BIRDS OF THE WATER 



know that their offspring can do without 

 them for longer periods, and that closer 

 attendance and constant feeding are no 

 longer necessary. With species such as the 

 Warbler, the Waxeye, and the Fantail, the 

 camera will be least regarded between the 

 third and tenth days. No generalisation 

 is possible, of course, but after the young 

 are a few days' old, no parent birds, save 

 indeed Harriers, will leave their brood 

 unless driven off by very gross blundering 

 and mismanagement. 



The earliest Tui's nest got this year was 

 on November 12th. I believe it was not 

 finished, but did not care to climb up for 

 fear of doing harm. On the 23rd the Tui 

 was on the nest. She was sitting hard, 

 and probably the eggs were just hatching. 

 At any rate, I boiled my billy and lunched 

 not far from the tree, and satisfied myself 

 that neither of the parents was bringing 

 in supplies. 



On the 11th December the nestlings were 

 gone, and inspection of the broken shell 

 chips, fragments without doubt from incu- 

 bated eggs, the soiled condition of the nest 



