120 ANIMALS AND INSECTS 



scolding the too ambitious ones, for they know well 

 that if one of the baby birds tries to fly before his 

 wings are strong enough he will fall to the ground. 

 The parent birds could not pick him up and put 

 him safely back into the nest. The httle bird might 

 die of cold before his wings became strong enough 

 to carry him to a safe place, and then, too, the cat 

 might catch him. 



When the time to fly does come there is great ex- 

 citement. Father and mother coax and call and 

 fly back and forth between a nearby branch and the 

 nest to show their timid birdlings how it is done and to 

 encourage them to try. The great eagles who build 

 nests high up in the crags often fly just under their 

 young to bear them up in case they should fall. 



When at last the baby bird ventures off the edge 

 of the nest and half flies down to the ground, the 

 parent birds coax and chatter until he flutters up 

 to a safe place on a shrub, where he may take a long 

 rest. Then the other nestlings follow, one at a 

 time, in the same way. The parents feed the little 

 ones for days after they come from the nest, trying 

 all the while with chirpings and twitterings and 

 sharp calls to teach the httle birds how to feed 

 themselves and how to avoid danger. 



Did you know before that birds had to bring up 

 their children? And did you think that much of 

 the noise you hear in the trees and shrubs is the 

 warning that a too-venturesome little bird is having 

 from his parents? Our own fathers and mothers 

 could not have more to say to their children than 

 these little bird fathers and mothers say to theirs. 



