108 BIRDS'-NESTS. 



would alight upon the edge of the hole with a grub or 

 worm in their beaks ; then each in turn would make a 

 bow or two, cast an eye quickly around, and by a sin- 

 gle movement place itself in the neck of the passage. 

 Here it would pause a moment, as if to determine in 

 which expectant mouth to place the morsel, and then 

 disappear within. In about half a minute, during 

 which time the chattering of the young gradually sub- 

 sided, the bird would again emerge, but this time bear- 

 ing in its beak the ordure of one of the helpless family. 

 Flying away very slowly with head lowered and ex- 

 tended, as if anxious to hold the offensive object as 

 far from its plumage as possible, the bird dropped the 

 unsavory morsel in the course of a few yards, and alight- 

 ing on a tree, wiped its bill on the bark and moss. This 

 seems to be the order all day, — carrying in and carry- 

 ing out. I watched the birds for an hour, while my 

 companions were taking their turn in exploring the lay 

 of the land around us, and noted no variation in the 

 programme. It would be curious to know if the young 

 are fed and waited upon in regular order, and how, 

 amid the darkness and the crowded state of the apart- 

 ment, the matter is so neatly managed. But ornitholo- 

 gists are all silent upon the subject. 



This practice of the birds is not so uncommon as it 

 might at first seem. It is indeed almost an invariable 

 rule among all the land birds. With woodpeckers and 

 kindred species, and with birds that burrow in the 

 ground, as bank swallows, kingfishers, etc., it is a ne- 



