CATBIRD 9 



male takes care of the first brood, warning, feed- 

 ing, and guiding them till, by the time the second 

 brood claim the father's attention, the first know 

 how to care for themselves. " That the parents 

 love their young exceedingly," as Mr. Nehrling 

 says, " is evident on approaching the nest. With 

 anxious cries, with ruffled plumage, and drooping 

 wings they flutter about the intruder." If re- 

 assured by kindness, though, they become very 

 trustful, and discriminate only against those they 

 do not know. One pair which the ornithologist 

 watched " would allow even the children to look 

 at their eggs and young without becoming in the 

 least uneasy and frightened. They certainly knew 

 that they were protected and that the children 

 too loved them. But as soon as a stranger ap- 

 proached the structure they screamed so loudly 

 and evinced such noisy distress that the chick- 

 ens in the barnyard cackled, and old hens hurried 

 to get their broods in safety." In protecting 

 their young against cats and snakes in the woods 

 and thickets, the birds make such a commotion 

 they warn other birds and even quadrupeds of 

 impending danger. The nest which the Catbird 

 defends with so much courage is a bulky mass of 

 twigs, grasses, and dead leaves, and is lined with 

 rootlets ; a very different type from the compact, 

 delicate little cup of the Hummingbird. But if 

 there is any lack of beauty in the nest itself, it is 

 made up by the eggs, which are a rich greenish 



