142 THE MALE RUBY-THROAT. 



that they could be watched without fear of 

 disturbing them. He remembers perfectly 

 that the male fed the female during the en- 

 tire period of incubation, "pumping the 

 food down her throat." All this time, so 

 far as could be discovered, the mother did 

 not once leave the nest (in wonderful con- 

 trast with my bird of a year ago), and of 

 course the father was never seen to take her 

 place. Mr. Darwin cannot say that the 

 male ever fed the young ones, but is positive 

 that he was frequently about the nest after 

 they were hatched. While they were still 

 too young to fly, a gardener, in pruning the 

 tree, sawed off the limb on which the nest 

 was built. Mr. Darwin's mother rescued 

 the little ones and fed them with sweetened 

 water, and on her son's return at night the 

 branch was fixed in place again, as best it 

 could be, by means of wires. Meanwhile 

 the old birds had disappeared, having given 

 up their children for lost; and it was not 

 until the third day that they came back, 

 by chance, perhaps, or out of affection for 

 the spot. At once they resumed the care 

 of their offspring, who by this time, it is 

 safe to say, had become more or less surfeited 



