WILD LIFE OF ORCHARD AND FIELD 



up, and was beautifully whipped in half a minute. 

 Vireos, pewits, warblers were attracted to the scene, 

 but kept at a safe distance. There was no ap- 

 peasing the anxiety of the parents until I left, and 

 probably they spent the whole afternoon in recover- 

 ing their equanimity. 



The study of the expressions and dialects of ani- 

 mals and birds under such circumstances is ex- 

 tremely entertaining and instructive. Though you 

 should happen upon a Baltimore's nest when the 

 female is sitting, and the male is out of sight, 

 the female will sit quietly until the very last mo- 

 ment; and Mr. Ridgway mentions an instance 

 where the female even entered her nest while he 

 was severing it from the branch, and remained 

 there until carried into the house. The young 

 birds, before they can fly, Dr. Brewer says, climb 

 to the edge of the nest, and are liable in sudden 

 tempests to be thrown out. If uninjured, they are 

 good climbers, and by means of wings, bill, and 

 claws are often able to reach places of safety. In 

 one instance a fledgling which had broken both 

 legs, and had been placed in a basket to be fed by 

 its parents, managed by wings and bill to raise 

 itself to the rim, and in a few days took its depart- 

 ure. To this dexterity in the use of the bill as a 



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