PART III. INCUBATION. 



CHAPTER I. 



THOUGH we have yet to wait for the appearance 

 of life in the shell, the action of incubation on the 

 part of the parent bird is one which is of the 

 greatest interest, and forms an important chapter 

 in the life of a bird. The character of the bird 

 at that time generally undergoes a very marked 

 change. As if desirous of concentrating all its 

 attention upon the task to which it is called, 

 and as if feeling that new responsibilities are 

 about to be entered upon, it quits its sportings 

 over the meadows, and becomes a voluntary 

 prisoner to the quiet and shady recesses in which 

 its nest is placed. Few things in natural history 



