v "Vh.: X X ] Bbeotold, A Study of the House Finch. 59 



to many other nestlings, thai i i to Bay, the young birds void back 

 w ard over I be ne t edge, after each feeding, leaving t he ne ' centre 

 mi oiled. The young are fed by the parent bird during the whole 

 of ncsi life by regurgitation. II the season !)<• that of dandelion 

 seeding, which in Denver i; ;i continuous performance from April 

 to November, t he crops of i he nestlings an: seen to be lull of dande- 

 lion seeds. When (he nestlings an- very young (one to three d 

 old) (Ik- regurgitation act of the parent is very prolonged; indeed 



it is very inueli longer at (hi ; time than when lli'- young are more 



fully developed. Both old birds share the work of feeding the 

 young, and (In- intervals between the feeding are comparatively 

 long, much longer than with nestlings fed on animal food, aa a 

 Robin, Tor example. 



An interval of fifteen or twenty-five minute; between feeding 

 \i ii by the old birds to the nest is not at all unu lual. This may 

 be dm- to the obvious fact thai if takes longer to gather a crop full 



of seeds than it, does to get a hill full of worms. The old hied in- 

 variably goes to the drinking dish for water, immediately after 

 feeding the young. Different pairs vary very inueh iii theiratten- 

 tions to the young and it, is noticeable that the old birds an- less as- 

 siduous in feeding the young toward the time when they ought to 

 leave the nest, a neglect which may tend to make the nestling ven- 

 turesome and leave the nest. The newly hatched birds make no 

 noise, and not until about the third day can one detect any sound 

 Coming from them; and then it is but ;i faint peeping, whieh, how- 

 ever, rapidly increases in vigor and strength, so thai <>n the seventh 

 day in the nest, the young birds make considerable noise when 



the old birds visit them. If a bird only twenty-four hour; old 



be placed outside the nest, it will crawl about using its wings 

 as a pair of anterior legs and a nestling three days old will, if 

 placed on the nest edge, crawl back into the nest, and arrange itself 

 according to a fixed way, rump in, and bill extending toward or on 

 the edge of the ne t The young preen themselves quite <-arly 

 during nest life, :i they have been seen arranging and cleaning 

 their feathers when seven daj "Id During the fir- i three da; 

 after being hatched, the young seem to have closed eyelid , bul a 

 clo e and careful scrutiny reveals a narrow slit through whieh the 

 bird probably notice their surroundings. 



