176 IN BIRD LAND. 
tiptoe, craning up their necks, wabbling from side 
to side, opening their mouths to the widest extent 
of their “ gapes,’”’ knocking heads and beaks to- 
gether, and chirping at the top of their voices, — I 
confess it makes a picture more grotesque than 
attractive. By and by, as the pin-feathers begin to 
grow, the infant brood seem to feel an itching sen- 
sation, which causes them to pick the various parts 
of their bodies to remove the scaly substance that 
gathers on the skin and at the bases of the sprout- 
ing feathers. But how awkwardly they go about 
this exercise! ‘Their heads seem to be too heavy 
for their long, slender necks, and go waggling and 
rolling from side to side, often missing the mark 
aimed at. However, the muscles of the nurslings 
are developing all the while. Soon they lift them- 
selves to their full height, stretch themselves, jerk 
their tails higher than their heads in a most amusing 
way (you smile, but they don’t), and then squat 
down upon the floor of the nest again. A day or so 
later the most advanced youngster feels the flying 
impulse stirring in his veins, and so, after stretching 
himself as previously described, he extends his wings 
to their utmost reach, and flaps them in a joyous 
way over his cuddling companions, sometimes rap- 
ping them smartly on the head. Soon there comes 
a day when he hops to the edge of the nest, looks 
out upon the wide, beckoning world like a young 
satrap, and flaps his wings with a semi-conscious 
feeling of strength. Ere long, encouraged by his 
parents, he spreads his wings, and takes a header 
