i8o 



Wild Birds 



The Cedar-bird gapes persistently when uncomfortably 

 warm, but only the crest feathers are ever erected, and then not 

 to the extent usually shown in drawings of this species. Both 

 Robins and Catbirds bristle up when their nests and well- 

 fledged young are assailed, and general erection of the feathers 

 may be occasionally seen in the brooding bird, but their emotion 

 is usually expressed by raising the feathers of the crown. 



While the practice of gaping is as common with many birds 

 as with the dog, comparatively few, of which I can now mention 



Fig. in. The eggs of the Cedar Waxwing, and its young in various instinctive at- 

 titudes when about a day old. " Rising upon its pliant stomach as upon a pillar, with 

 neck up-stretched and trembling like a tuning-fork, it opens wide its mouth. Press the 

 button, and up goes its head again and again, until fatigue comes to its aid." Nearly 

 one half life-size. 



with certainty only the Pelican and the Gull (Fig. no), are 

 capable of indulging in a genuine yawn. In this act the Gull 

 derives the same sort of relief as dog or man, and is no more 

 graceful in its performance. At the close of expiration in the 

 gull the throat expands, and the tongue, which is up-raised, 

 draws with it the larynx, and thus gives free passage to the air. 



The duty of brooding rests mainly with the female in our 

 common land birds, but the male in some species either regu- 

 larly or intermittently takes his turn at the nest. 



Passerine birds feed their young at brief intervals from early 

 morning until nightfall, but apparently seldom if ever after 

 dark. The Night Hawk, as has been seen, broods by day, and 



