68 Bird -Lore 



nest-porch, so that its body filled the hole. Just at this point the father-bird 

 ■came with a worm, which was evidently intended for the young inside, but when 

 he alighted on the porch, behold, the familiar opening had disappeared. Here 

 was a new and puzzling situation or the Bluebird mind. A rational being 

 would have sought to e.xplain the no-hole predicament by reflection upon the 

 relationships existing between the elements of the old and the new occasions. 

 It would have perceived the connection between the hole, the young bird, and 

 the disappearance of the hole in the two situations, and it would then have 

 applied this knowledge to the solution of the difficulty.* That no such reasoning 

 took place was evident, for the bird poked here and there at the bark and finally 

 tried to push the worm into a crevice at the side. Failing, he gave it up and flew 

 awa\". 



It was a long time before number three felt irresistibly the call to spread its 

 wings in flight, and it was only when urged by number four behind that it finally 

 came out on the porch and tumbled down to the shelf below. Number four 

 came tumbling after, and a minute later number five stuck its head out of the 

 nest-hole. Three minutes more and they were gone, and the curtain rolled 

 down upon this strenuous and exciting scene. 



At this point, in the preceding year, there had been an interval of two weeks, 

 during which time neither old birds nor young had come to the shelf. Not so 

 this year. The next morning found the old birds at the window, feeding as usual 

 and then loading up for their scattered brood. So dependent did they become 

 on these supplies that if the sash were down they begged at the window to be 

 let in. 



After the first week, the young drew closer to the house, and then their in- 

 cessant churring notes, as they clamored to be fed, furnished a constant clue 

 to their whereabouts. Nine days after the exodus from the nest, one of the young 

 birds flew up to the shelf and sat there while its parents fed it. It showed no 

 fear, not stirring when the window-sash was raised. After this the rest learned 

 the way. One day I offered one a worm, touching its head and bill, but it made 

 no response except to back away. It was different, however, when the worm 

 was laid in front of it. Even now, as may be seen from this, the stimuli were few 

 which could provoke the feeding reaction. 



On the tenth day, one of the young birds flew to the shelf and helped itself 

 to a large piece of yolk of egg. Two days later, wi hout waiting to be fed, one of 

 them suddenly plumped down on my hand, l)eside its mother, and after pick- 

 ing up a worm that had slij)ped off to the dish, opened its mouth for more. The 

 mother gathered up a bunch of worms, stuffed them down the expectant throat, 

 and so kept on till all were gone. After that the young birds frequently came 

 to my hand, in a confiding way that outdid the trustfulness of their parents. 



On June 8, the family still gathered together at night, and the parents con- 

 tinued to feed the young. Though still more familiar than the old birds, these 



*(■/• Miiruan, C. Lloyd, Animal Behaviour, pp. sq, 138, 140 



