144 FIRST APPEARANCES OF BIRDS, INSECTS, ETC. 



in as before), whilst I was outside the cock came back and I 

 surprised him feeding the young. He froze still, and as he 

 did not offer to move lor about two minutes I crept into the 

 back of my tent and got a very satisfactory picture of him. 



At 4.15, 4.20, and 4.35 the male came and ted the young, 

 and thereafter I stopped obeerving. With regard to the 

 behaviou r of the hen I came to the conclusion on reflection 

 that I had alarmed her by accidentally letting off the focal 

 plane shutter on my camera whilst arranging myself in the 

 morning. 



23rd May. I had another try at this nest. I started at 11.10. 



11.10 male and female both came round the tent "pink 

 pinking," neither of them had the courage to come to the 

 nest, but fluttered round every once now and again. 



11.45 hen fed two juveniles and quitted in a hurry. 



11.46 cock fed juveniles and cleaned nest. Both birds by 

 this time seemed reassured in a measure. 11.48 hen arrived 

 with whole mouthful of green larvae, fed two juveniles and 

 bolted very scared and "pink pinking." 11.49 cock came 

 to the front of the nest with his mouth crammed with 9 or 

 10 larvaa, all green one? ; he fed the yc ung and then stood 

 fidgetting on the edge of the nest. 



The young birdo were hardly still a minute ; they were then 

 so big that five of them in a small nest was a bit of a crush, 

 and they kept elbowing one another about, but notwith- 

 standing they seemed to keep their positions in the nest. Now 

 and then one would heave itself up and flap its little wings 

 after the manner of a duck, and the way the other little birds 

 put their heads down out of the way was amusing to watch. 

 T concluded they would soon be out of the nest, and, positively, 

 when I left them in the evening their feathers seemed to have 

 grown since morning. The young spent a great deal of time 

 preening themselves. I doubt not that their growing feathers 

 tickled them. When the sun was hot they kept their mouths 

 open and showed bright crimson throats, but I never heard 

 them make any sound except the little chirruping squeaking 

 noise which seems in some form or other common language 



