238 Wild Birds 



of which is to distract your attention from the nest to the moving 

 bird. One day I stood by and watched the little mother to see 

 how long her antics would last. She would come within a yard 

 of my feet when I remained perfectly quiet, and trail her wings 

 along the ground, making repeated sallies back and forth, flying 

 only when close pressed, and then always away from her nest. 

 On one occasion this was kept up from ten to fifteen minutes, 

 and did not cease until I withdrew. 



My experiments at the first nest were begun on June i2th, 

 by clearing away the bushes in front. The tent was set up two 

 feet away on the morning of the isth, while the little hen was 

 still sitting over the eggs. She would dart out of the nest 

 return and take a peep inside, sit for a few minutes and be off. 

 When all was quiet, she could be seen jumping in and out re- 

 peatedly, as if equally uncomfortable whether away from her 

 treasures or hugging them close. In the course of half an hour 

 it was easy to photograph the sitting bird, who now paid little 

 heed to the shutter, and remained undisturbed on the nest 

 during my preparation for leaving. 



On the following day the old bird was still persistently sitting, 

 and even allowed me to erect the tent close beside her without 

 budging. When finally driven off by the hand, she uttered a 

 few tseeps and returned in a moment. Once the male came, 

 and as I supposed placed an insect in the nest, when his mate, 

 who stood close by, hopped to the brim, put down her head, and 

 as I thought ate the food, but no, she was feeding the little ones, 

 for she was now a mother. Four young birds, scarcely bigger 

 than bumblebees, had just emerged from their shells. They 

 must have been hatched since noon of the previous day. 



On the third day these Warblers paid no attention to either 

 the tent or the operator, and before going away I was able to 

 touch the bird on the nest, though not without sending her off. 

 The fourth day found their confidence undiminished, for the 

 sitting bird eagerly seized a grasshopper which I offered from 

 the hand stretched through the tent window. Four days later 

 still I spent nearly seven hours with these Warblers, and in the 

 afternoon began to test more systematically the strength of the 



