220 WITH NATURE AND A CAMERA. 



consistent to. allow the parent bird to remove the 

 whole without the slightest fear of contamination. 



Whilst the female Chiffchaff was hard at work, 

 the male kept on wearisomely reiterating his note 

 first from one branch and then from another over- 

 head. I caught several small, light green caterpillars 

 and troublesome flies, and placing them on the edge 

 of the nest, knelt down, and waited within five feet 

 of it. By remaining perfectly still until she had 

 flown backwards and forwards past me several 

 times, I established myself in her confidence, and 

 she went to her nest and fed her young ones. As 

 soon as she had disposed of the supply of food 

 which she had brought herself, she picked up mine 

 and distributed it as far as it would go amongst 

 her more than half-grown sons and daughters. I 

 repeated the assistance again and again, and it 

 appeared on each occasion to be appreciated. Once 

 only during the afternoon did the industrious little 

 creature take a rest for about half an hour. My 

 brother made a study of her in front of her nest, 

 but owing to the peculiar conformation of the ground 

 and the extreme quickness of the bird's movements, 

 the result does not show everything as plainly as 

 we could have desired. 



Close by we discovered a Marsh Tit's nest, 

 containing a- huddling crowd of almost fully- 

 feathered fledgelings, situated in a hole in the trunk 

 of a tree, and not more than four feet from the 

 ground. The male and female were both hard at 

 work feeding their young ones. They always went 

 away for food together and returned in each other's 

 company with a harvest of small, light green cater- 

 pillars. If they became separated for a moment, 

 they called to one another in notes which could 

 be heard at a surprising distance. When near the 



