70 



Bird- Lore 



it two eggs and two young birds. Reckoning back from that date, it will be 

 seen that the intervals for the second brood were as for the first, — that the 

 nest must have been begun about June 8, and the eggs laid between the 14th 

 and the 17th. At this time pairing was observed, and the reversal occurred 

 of the instincts of the male toward the young of the first brood. 



It was apparently the mother-bird who decided to make the move. It was 

 all very well to feed her young in a public place, — that was a necessity, — but 

 it was going a little too far to expect her to violate all her instincts for retire- 

 ment when it came to the selection of a spot in which to lay and brood her eggs. 



From July 2 until the 19th I was away. On the 23rd there were Bluebird 

 notes outside the window, and as soon as meal-worms were put out both male 

 and female came, the male a moment later feeding from my hand. Three days 

 afterward the young birds were heard churring in the yard below, and by the 

 30th they had learned the way to the shelf. They now came each day until the 

 middle of August. Then meal-worms grew scarce, and hard-boiled egg proved 

 less attractive than fresh insects, which they could then get for themselves. 



From August 19 until September 27, the shelf was bare again. On the 27th 

 some peanuts were put out as a lure for Chickadees. A male Bluebird came to 

 the shelf, clung to the edge a moment as he looked at me inside the room, gave 

 a single note, then Hew aw a}'. Again on October 12, early in the morning, a male 

 Bluebird appeared, looked in to the dish of nuls, called chep and went away. 

 It is not difficult to believe that, if meal-worms had been served continuously, 

 the whole family might have been fed at the window until November. 



When the next spring came, two tenements were for rent, the old one on the 

 east window, a brand-new one in the old place. But no tenants came. 



FEMALK BI.UKHIKD ON THE HAND, MALE <JN THE SHELF-RIM; YOUNG RLUEBIRD 

 (JN THE SHELF-RIM CLAMORING TO BE FED. JUNE ii 



