BIRDS AT SCHOOL 115 



is then that their real troubles begin. When 

 they are in the nest, their parents at least 

 know they are all together, and, if no enemy 

 finds the nest, or if they can defend it from 

 any foe that does find it, they can generally 

 manage to rear all or most of the brood till 

 they can fly. But then the young ones still 

 have to be fed for some time, and they are 

 still nearly as ignorant of the ways of fierce 

 animals as the active little ones are when 

 they first come out of the shell. You can see 

 this very well with young sparrows, which 

 will sit about in places where anything can 

 see them, and let you walk up quite close 

 to them ; in fact, I once touched a young 

 sparrow's tail before it flew away I really 

 could have " put salt on its tail " as people 

 say ! But you will generally find, if you get 

 near a young sparrow like this, that some old 

 one will come along and make a harsh chatter- 

 ing noise to warn it ; if you are not too near, 

 it may even rush at the young bird and 

 absolutely drive it away. It seems to be most 

 often the cock sparrow who does this, and, 

 generally speaking, the fathers of young birds 

 of the passive sort of young birds are attentive 



