104 WILD LIFE AND THE CAMERA 



would be even fewer than they are now so my hopes 

 were placed on the topmost rung of the ladder. 



Chicadee and his mate were both present when I 

 unfastened the birch bark sleeve that I might see if 

 the youngsters were, as I fully believed, ready to 

 leave their warm nest. Not for long was I left in 

 doubt. As I placed my finger gently beneath one 

 of the small living balls of fluff there was a quick 

 movement, a fluttering of small untried wings, and 

 seven tiny Chicadees were instantly scattered 

 among the surrounding bushes. Such an excite- 

 ment as there was ! " Chicadee ! Chicadee ! Chica- 

 dee-dee-dee ! " called the parent birds as they flew 

 backward and forward, up and down, from bush to 

 bush, from twig to twig, up in the trees, then down 

 on the ground, urging the young birds to greater 

 efforts, helping the weaker with emphatic bird- 

 words of advice. All was confusion. All the birds 

 in the neighbourhood arrived, each one willing but 

 powerless to offer any assistance. The yellow- 

 breasted chat, whose nest was in the huckleberry 

 bush near by, let her young go hungry for a time, 

 while she came carrying their meal in her beak, 

 adding her cries to the many that filled the air. 

 From all sides could be heard the distressed calls of 

 the birds ; vireos, cat-birds, tanagers, warblers of 

 many kinds, blue-jays, wood-thrushes and many 

 others, each one excited and trying to outdo his 

 neighbour in vocal remonstrance. Suddenly, and 

 with no apparent reason, the Chicadees quieted 

 down, when immediately all the other birds became 

 silent, and one by one returned to their homes and 

 their duties. 



