SHARP EYES 37 



feathers as long as darning-needles, without a bit of 

 plumage on them. They part on the back and hang 

 down on each side by their own weight. With its 

 curious feathers and misshapen body, the young hire' 

 is anything but handsome. They never open their- 

 mouths when approached, as many young birds do, 

 but sit perfectly still, hardly moving when touched. '' 

 He also notes the unnatural indifference of the mo- 

 ther bird when her nest and young are approached. 

 She makes no sound, but sits quietly on a near 

 branch in apparent perfect unconcern. 



These observations, together with the fact that the 

 egg of the cuckoo is occasionally found in the nests 

 of other birds, raise the inquiry whether our bird is 

 slowly relapsing into the habit of the European spe- 

 cies, which always foists its egg upon other birds; 

 or whether, on the other hand, it be not mending its 

 manners in this respect. It has but little to unlearn 

 or forget in the one case, but great progress to make 

 in the other. How far is its rudimentary nest — a 

 mere platform of coarse twigs and dry stalks of 

 weeds — from the deep, compact, finely woven and 

 finely modeled nest of the goldfinch or the kingbird, 

 and what a gulf between its indifference toward its 

 young and their solicitude ! Its irregular manner of 

 laying also seems better suited to a parasite like our 

 cowbird, or the European cuckoo, than to a regular 

 nest-builder. 



This observer, like most sharp-eyed persons, sees 

 plenty of interesting things as he goes about his 

 work. He one day saw a white swallow, which is 



