VALUE OF BIRDS TO iMAN. 



43 



Fig. 19. 



Young Ceciar Birds, less than three 

 weeks old. 



blind, and helpless ; yet in a few days, or at most a few 



weeks, they have grown to nearly the size of their parents, 



and produced a perfect 



suit of feathers, including 



the strong quills of wings 



and tail. In a few weeks 



more they are able to 



begin a journey" of hun- 

 dreds or thousands of 



miles over land and sea, 



in their first migration. 

 The young of preecocial 



birds , such as Grouse, 



Snipe and Plover, are 



able to run about soon 



after they are hatched. 



Young Grouse learn to fly 



when quite small, but they 



develop more slowly than do the young of the smaller 



altricial birds. It is difficult, therefore, to determine the 



amount of food they 

 require, as they leave 

 the nest at once and 

 wander from })lace to 

 place, picking up 

 their own food. 



The 3"oung of the 

 altricial perching 

 birds, however, re- 

 main quite heli)less in 

 the nest until nearly 

 fledged, affording an 



Fig-. 20. -Young Grouse, just from the egg, but able excellent Opportunity 



*° ''''''''• for the investigator 



to determine the amount and character of their food, and 

 to watch the progress of their development. We can learn 

 how much food such young birds require by feeding them 

 in confinement. 



