A HERMIT'S WILD FRIENDS 



the utmost. Every moment of daylight was 

 Cow-bird occupied in catering to his wants. One day 



I missed the female yellowbird, and, after a 

 long search, found her engaged in building a 

 new nest. She had forsaken her former 

 charge. 



Heretofore I have neglected to state that 

 I often saw the mother cowbird. I think she 

 visited the nest several times a day after the 

 egg was laid. Her frequent visits had accus- 

 tomed the young bird to her presence, thus 

 making possible what followed. 



After discovering the new nest, I looked up 

 the young cowbird, and found the male yellow- 

 bird feeding him as usual, but not alone. The 

 old cowbird was acting as assistant, as if just 

 aroused to the responsibility of maternal 

 duties. For several days both birds fed the 

 young cowbird, after which the yellowbird 

 spent much of his time with his mate, grad- 

 ually deserting his charge, to return no more 

 when the second brood was out. 



Thus my observations had answered two 

 questions; my first and second. My first 



