186 THE VAGARIES OF A WARBLER. 



upon her alone devolved the duty of feeding that 

 nestling. So she rushed frantically hither and 

 thither in mad redstart fashion, brought her 

 morsel and administered it, and then darted an- 

 grily after the enemy, who appeared as often as 

 she did, every time with a tidbit for that pam- 

 pered youngster. 



This double duty seemed almost too much for 

 the redstart. Her feathers were ruffled, her tail 

 opened and shut nervously, and at every inter- 

 val that she could spare from her breathless 

 exertions she uttered in low tones the redstart 

 song, as though calling on that missing lord of 

 hers. 



And where was that much needed personage ? 

 Had he been killed in these carefully protected 

 and fenced woods, where no guns or collectors 

 were allowed, and trespass notices were as plen- 

 tiful as blackberries ? Not by shooting we were 

 sure; we should have heard a gun at the house. 

 Had, then, an owl paid a twilight visit, and 

 could a redstart be surprised? Or could, per- 

 chance, a squirrel have stolen upon him unaware ? 

 We shall never know. There 's no morning 

 paper to chronicle the tragedies in the bird 

 world; and it would be too pitiful reading if 

 there were. 



The most curious thing about the whole per- 

 formance was the behavior of the chestnut-sided. 



