54 BIRD BIOGRAPHIES 



hole in which they had been reared ! 

 Their wings were weak at first, and 

 they were just able to flutter to a 

 branch near, and on that they clung ; 

 one tumbled into the water, but it was 

 able to get out, and it joined its brothers 

 above. What excitement there was ! 

 The parents called loudly, flew round 

 and about them, and tried to attract 

 them to the thicker bushes lower down. 

 But the baby birds sat there uncon- 

 cerned, looking around them at the 

 wonderful place they had come into. 

 Every time the parents came near them, 

 six big beaks were opened wide, and a 

 whole chorus of cries accompanied this 

 performance. For three or four days 

 the parents fed them, then they attracted 

 them out to the small stream that ran 

 out of the lake, for here the small fish 

 were found. Their first attempts at 

 capturing fish were not very successful, 

 but after they had watched their parents 



