Notes from Field and Study 



301 



they seemed, every bird quieted at once, 

 shut their mouths, and lowered themselves 

 in the nest, till only four quiet little heads 

 seemed to be in it. I tried and tried, but 

 could not get one of them to take another 

 bite. I could not even pry their mouths 

 open. 



I do not understand the language of 

 birds, but it seems there must be something 

 of the kind. I really think the mother 

 bird said: "Don't take another thing from 

 that girl," and they did not. Call it what 

 you will, I never saw such prompt obedi- 

 ence. 



After a few days they were gone. I did 

 not see them leave the nest, but saw the 

 parent walk ahead, about 2 or 3 feet, and 

 coax one bird at a time after her till she 

 had taught them to walk from the porch, 

 back behind the garden, where they had 

 their flying lessons in the apple orchard. — 

 Rose M. Egbert, Chatham, N. J . 



Our Summer Visitors. — A True Story of 

 Some Nova Scotian Birds 



They arrived unexpectedly, having 

 given us no notice of any kind. The first 

 intimation we had of their presence was 

 the sound of a great chattering outside 

 of the front door. "Whoever you are," we 

 thought, "your tones are not cultivated, 

 and you are inclined to be quarrelsome." 

 We opened the door, and there they were, 

 perched on a fir tree branch nearby, and 

 looking very belligerent, a pair of King- 

 birds, dressed in black and silver-grey, 

 with topknots on their heads and white 

 rings around their tails. They had actually 

 built a nest, almost on a level with our 

 eyes, and we had never noticed them. We 

 knew they belonged to the Flycatcher 

 family, as we had seem them or some like 

 them, the year before, and watched them 

 darting and circling after insects. Now we 

 were to have a great opportunity of getting 

 acquainted; and not a day passed on which 

 we did not observe them more or less. 



Sometimes there would be a fearful com- 

 motion, and we would look out to see them 

 chasing a Robin from the tree, or fighting 

 each other "with their sharp beaks. Woe 



to any small bird who approached too 

 near; he would be routed without ceremony. 

 Robins appeared to be their chief enemies, 

 and one day, hearing the usual riot, we 

 saw two Robins and the pair of King- 

 birds in pursuit of each other around the 

 tree. The perpendicular red line in their 

 foreheads showed very plainly, as it always 

 does when they are angry. The Robins, 

 however, had the best of it this time. 

 As soon as they were driven oif on one side 

 of the tree, they would dart back to the 

 other side. This game was kept up until 

 another Kingbird came to the rescue, and 

 the three succeeded in driving their 

 enemies from the lawn. 



About this time the nest contained eggs, 

 as we judged from the birds' behavior, the 

 male always watching the nest when the 

 female went in pursuit of food, which she 

 did at short intervals. He sat nearly 

 always on the same branch, so that he 

 could look into the nest, and waited pa- 

 tiently till she was on her way home, when 

 off he went, and she would settle on the 

 nest in a business-like manner. Sometimes 

 he lingered, and she chattered away to 

 him, while he listened in a dignified way, 

 and said nothing. 



What conversations they had when the 

 young birds were hatched ! Sitting on the 

 edge of the nest together, and turning their 

 heads first on one side and then on the 

 other, with such an air of pride ! 



Frequently the little ones must be fed 

 with insects. From an upstairs window we 

 could look right into the nest, and many a 

 poor dragonfly we saw dissected alive, a 

 leg to one and a wing to another. Some- 

 times one had the whole insect and the rest 

 opened their wide mouths in vain. One 

 poor baby bird was neglected, perhaps 

 purposely, for they seldom gave it a 

 mouthful. At last its poor little dead body 

 was found on the lawn; whether murdered 

 by unnatural parents, or by some marauder 

 in their absence, we never knew. There 

 were very few mosquitos in the garden 

 that year, and we believed the Kingbirds 

 were our deliverers. Making a circling 

 flight, they would snap up a June bug, a 

 butterfly, or a bee, hardly ever missing, 



