336 TROPICAL WILD LIFE IN BRITISH GUIANA 



before disappearing from sight, he had essayed the first 

 wavering soar. 



Instead of making for the nearest perch, he flew around 

 and around for more than ten minutes, always gaining in 

 skill and steadiness, so that it was a hard matter to tell their 

 flight apart when he returned accompanied by his mother. 

 He alighted on the roof of the box, for the perch, at first, 

 looked too difficult, and made that the base for other prac- 

 tice flights. Finally time arrived to seek the nest, but then 

 came the perplexing question, Which of the four holes was 

 it ? Two laborious attempts at wrong ones at length pointed 

 out the right one. 



The second bird left the nest on the following day, but 

 several more days elapsed before the third made its escape, 

 having remained in the nest for more than a month. 



The general delay undoubtedly was due to the environ- 

 mental change in locality of the nest. They are ordinarily 

 placed in such a position that the young may at least sit on 

 the edge of the nest and exercise their wings preparatory to 

 the first flight. In this case, in their cramped quarters, there 

 was no such advantage, and, at flight time, the young birds 

 were entirely unprepared for the new problem that con- 

 fronted them. They awaited, therefore, their full strength 

 and feather growth before making the attempt, and, when 

 flight time did come, it was not a weak flutter to a nearby 

 roof or friendly bush, but a strong sally which almost rivaled 

 that of their parents. 



For ten days or more the birds used the box as their 

 home and doubtless would be using it yet if, while they pre- 

 pared to rear a second brood, the elders had not driven them 

 away. During their short occupancy I became interested 

 in their evident inability to remember, or disregard of which 

 of the four openings in the box really was their true home. 

 Even after a week of exploration and investigation the ques- 

 tion seemed to be somewhat in doubt, for they seldom, until 

 near the end, made their way directly to the proper spot, 



