Locomotion in Young Birds. 73 



till the third morning after our experiments with the two 

 that their companion took wing — or, to be accurate, that 

 all three young birds left the nest, for we had not marked 

 in any way the one that was left. They returned that 

 night, were absent the two following nights, but returned 

 again to the nest on each of the two succeeding ones. 

 After this Mr. Howard left the house. 



In the following year my friend, Mr. Howard's uncle, 

 having reason to believe that one of a brood of young 

 swallows in his porch had died, procured a ladder and 

 ascended it to ascertain where the body was lying, but 

 found that it had disappeared, having evidently been carried 

 away by the parent birds. The three remaining young 

 swallows lay crouched against the wall, eying him for a 

 few moments, when one of them suddenly dashed past and 

 flew out of the porch, and was followed a second afterwards 

 by the remaining two birds. They flew into the garden, 

 and alighted in some shrubs, where they were found a few 

 minutes afterwards by the old birds, who immediately 

 proceeded to entice and induce them to fly into an adjoin- 

 ing ash tree (that in which the young birds were found 

 perching the preceding year), by flying backwards and 

 forwards to and from it. In the course of half an hour all 

 three young birds were safely perched on a high branch, 

 where they remained all day, and were fed by the parents, 

 but in the evening two of the young birds were again in 

 the porch. 



These swallows had been carefully watched at intervals 

 every day, and, beyond occasionally stretching a wing and 

 preening it, had never made an attempt to use their wings 

 in flight before their sudden dash for freedom into the 

 open. 



My friend, on a former occasion, was taken to see a 

 nest of young linnets in a low hedge. He stood watchin^ 



