38 BIRD STORIES FROM BURROUGHS 



idly and hesitatingly, as if she feared they might 

 swallow her, then thrusts her titbit quickly into 

 the distended mouth and jerks back." 



Whether the chippy had lost her own brood, 

 whether she was an unmated bird, or whether 

 the case was simply the overflowing of the ma- 

 ternal instinct, it would be interesting to know. 



