A Second Season of Bluebird Tenants 



69 



FEMALE BLUEBIRD AT THE LEFT, MALE AT THE RIGHT; YOUNG ON THE SHELF- 

 RIM CLAMORING TO BE FED. JUNE 11 



began now to imitate their parents in flying off more easily at a stir, in sometimes 

 hesitating before coming to my hand. That this was an instinctive imitation, 

 and not intelHgent, was clear from the fact that there was nothing in their experi- 

 ence to make them timid. Altogether, the instinct of fear in these young Bluebirds 

 was never strong, as it is in shyer species, and when first developed, at the time 

 of flight, showed itself only under the stimulus of sudden sounds or quickly 

 moving objects. The fear normal to the species grew slowly, beginning with 

 the development of independence, and increasing through instinctive imitation 

 of the parents.* 



There were no signs of a second nest upon the shelf, but to eyes unblinded 

 by hope there would have been indications that something was going on some- 

 where else. In the photographs, taken after June 8, it appears that though the 

 mother-bird still came to the shelf for food, it was the father who was most active 

 in feeding the young. On June i6, the old birds were observed pairing, and the 

 male began to sing his wooing song again. On the next day the father-bird 

 refused to feed his begging offspring, and drove them savagely from the shelf. 

 This sudden change of front rather staggered the little ones, and it took them 

 five days to learn that they were no longer wanted at the old home. Meanwhile 

 the male was feeding his mate once more. 



Though the male retained his title to the shelf, both birds, as the days went 

 on, were less constantly at the window, and the female's visits grew more rare 

 and brief. Doubt grew into certainty that her heart was somewhere else, and 

 a little watching of her flight revealed the probable location of her treasure, 

 in an apple-tree not far away. There the nest was found, on July 2, and in 



* C/. Morgan, C. Lloyd, Habit and Instinct, p. 182 



