VALUE OF BIRDS TO MAN. 



43 



19 ._ young Cedar Birds, less than three 



weeks old. 



blind, and helpless ; yet in a few days, or at most a few 



weeks, they have grown to nearly the size of their parents, 



and produced a perfect 



suit of feathers, including 



the strong quills of wings 



and tail. In a few weeks 



more they are able to 



begin a journey of hun- 



dreds or thousands of 



miles over land and sea, 



in their first migration. 



The young of prsecocial 

 birds, such as Grouse, 

 Snipe and Plover, are 

 able to run about soon 

 after they are hatched. 



Young GrOUSe learn tO fly 



when quite small, but they 

 develop more sloAvly than do the young of the smaller 

 altricial birds. It is difficult, therefore, to determine the 



amount of food they 

 require, as they leave 

 the nest at once and 

 wander from place to 

 place, picking up 

 their own food. 



The young of the 

 altricial perching 

 birds, however, re- 

 main quite helpless in 

 the nest until nearly 

 fledged, affording an 



Fig. 2O. Young Grouse, just from the egg, but able excellent Opportunity 



towalk - for the investigator 



to determine the amount and character of their food, and 

 to Avatch the progress of their development. We can learn 

 how much food such young birds require by feeding them 

 in confinement. 



