96 BIRD STORIES FROM BURROUGHS 



After the young had appeared, all the wit of 

 the bird came into play. I was on hand the next 

 day, I think. The mother bird sprang up when 

 I was within a pace of her, and in doing so 

 fanned the leaves with her wings till they sprang 

 up, too ; as the leaves started the young started, 

 and as they were of the same color, to tell which 

 was the leaf and which the bird was a trying task 

 to any eye. I came the next day, when the same 

 tactics were repeated. Once a leaf fell upon one 

 of the young birds and nearly hid it. The young 

 are covered with a reddish down, like a young 

 partridge, and soon follow their mother about. 

 When disturbed, they gave but one leap, then 

 settled down, perfectly motionless and stupid, 

 with eyes closed. The parent bird, on these occa- 

 sions, made frantic efforts to decoy me away 

 from her young. She would fly a few paces and 

 fall upon her breast, and a spasm, like that of 

 death, would run through her tremulous out- 

 stretched wings and prostrate body. She kept a 

 sharp eye out the mean while to see if the ruse 

 took, and, if it did not, she was quickly cured, 

 and, moving about to some other point, tried to 

 draw my attention as before. When followed 

 she always alighted upon the ground, dropping 

 down in a sudden, peculiar way. The second or 

 third day both old and young had disappeared. 



