Vol. XVII 
1900 
Herrick, Care of Nest and Young. IOI 
the Robin is usually engaged in errands of this kind. In consid- 
- ering such actions I refer particularly to the three species men- 
tioned, which I have watched repeatedly at a distance of two feet 
or less for hours at a time. 
Young Robins are fed and cared for by both parents. I have 
seen the mother Robin remove the excrement from the nest, 
devour it, and a moment after take it directly from the young and 
carry it away. Again, on the following day the same bird, after 
swallowing all the available excrement, fell to brooding her young 
and remained in this position full twenty minutes by the watch 
without showing the least desire to reject anything which had 
been eaten. I have seen the female Cedarbird come to her nest 
of five half-fledged young, regurgitate black cherries, and after 
distributing them, inspect her household with the closest attention, 
picking up and swallowing every particle of excrement. This 
mother then spread her wings over her brood, and shielded them 
from a hot August sun for over an hour. Meantime the male 
came repeatedly, and passed cherries around. The female who 
stood erect, straddling the nest, would occasionally inspect her 
brood and devour the excrement. She would also snap at every 
passing insect, and I saw her catch a large red ant, which was 
quickly transferred to the mouth of a young bird. She would 
erect and lower her crest, stand with mouth agape for long 
intervals, but there was never a sign of ejecting what had been 
eaten. 
After watching such behavior, which I have seen repeated with 
slight variations many times, I am convinced that the excrement 
is actually and definitively swallowed, and not merely taken into 
the gullet to be regurgitated later. The Cedar Waxwing, how- 
ever, uses its distensible gullet as a temporary receptacle for 
food, and it is possible that in this species the excrement goes 
no farther than the cesophagus, from which it is later ejected. 
The actions of the bird just described, however, do not favor 
this idea. 
Not only is the nest carefully cleaned, but Robins and Vireos 
energetically pick their young all over, a very important function, 
since the minute swarming particles which infest birds’ nests, 
known as bird lice, often cause great discomfort, and especially 
to the young when weakly. 
