114 THE ''BIRD OF THE MUSICAL WING." 



every particle of dust was removed and every 

 disarrangement was set right. Her long white 

 tongue, looking like a bristle, was often thrust 

 out far beyond the beak, and the beak itself re- 

 ceived an extra amount of care, being scraped 

 and polished its whole length by a tiny claw, 

 which was used also for combing the head feath- 

 ers. 



At the vine, too, was war ; for the youngster 

 already mentioned persisted in denying the ma- 

 tron's right to the whole, and many a sharp 

 tussle they had, when for an hour at a time 

 there would not be a shadow of peace for any- 

 body. Occasionally madam would relax her 

 opposition to the intruder and let him remain 

 on the vine ; but with the proverbial ingratitude 

 of beneficiaries, he then assumed to own it him- 

 self, and flew at her when she returned from a 

 visit to her nest, as if she had no right there. 

 His advantage lay in having nothing else to do, 

 and thus being able to spend all his time on the 

 ground. 



The energy of the little mother was wonder- 

 ful. In spite of the unrest of her life, of con- 

 tinual struggles, and work over the nest, she 

 frequently indulged in marvelous aerial evolu- 

 tions, dashing into the air and marking it off 

 into zigzag lines and angles, as if either she did 

 not know her own mind for two seconds at a 



