52 



Bird- Lore 



The nest, eighteen feet or thereabouts from the ground, was visible from 

 our bed; and one morning on first awakening we saw with a thrill the father 

 and mother gravely bending over five wide mouths, plainlj' to be seen at that 

 distance. The birds had all hatched out within twenty-four hours. Then 

 began the process of filling up those mouths, always opening and stretching 

 to their widest extent, as if afraid of missing something. This was impos- 

 sible, however, as their parents forcibly and effectually stuffed each morsel 

 down their throats, seemingly into their very stomachs. 



The father, it might be, would arrive with a long worm, which he and the 

 mother then swallowed by bits, commencing at either end and working toward 



A BLUE JAY FAMILY 



the middle, where it would break, leaving each parent with half the worm. 

 Then, after a pause during which the five mouths quivered with suspense, 

 the softened food was given up to the babies by a sort of regurgitation, and 

 away went the father after more. While the birds were incubating the 

 eggs only the head and tail were visible above the rim of the nest, but after 

 hatching they sat or stood so much higher and puffed out their feathers to 

 such an extent that they appeared twice their former size. The Jays were 

 not at all shy, but on the contrary were very valiant and determined in 

 standing by their home. Soon after the eggs were laid, the house-painters 

 began work opposite the nest, and many sharp pecks they received on their 

 ears and backs. People inside the house could be endured, but people outside 

 were a little too much, and the birds challenged each man to fight it out. 



