The Audubon Societies 



301 



tainly a Crow will caw and a Duck will quack whether or not it ever hears 



any others of its kind, and I am inclined to the belief that a Robin would sing 



like a Robin if it never heard any other bird sing. But when young birds are 



raised by other species, never hear their own kind and continually hear the 



songs of their foster parents, they do seem to acquire songs resembling more 



those of their foster parents than their own. We should remember, however, 



that the power of imitation 



is quite general among birds 



and not confined to the 



Mockingbirds alone, though 



with them it reaches its 



greatest perfection. The only 



fair test would be to raise a 



young bird to the singing 



stage without its hearing 



any other song and, to the 



best of my knowledge, this 



has never been done. 



All young birds by the 

 time they leave the nest 

 have well - developed dis- 

 tress-calls and food-calls. 

 Some young, like the Balti- 

 more Orioles and the Florida 

 Gallinules, never stop call- 

 ing except when notified by 

 their parents that danger is 

 near. Other young call 

 when they are hungry or 

 think they are lost, and 

 thus, though the brood may 

 be quite scattered, the par- 

 ents are able to keep track 

 of them. Many persons, 

 finding a young bird with- 

 out its parents, think it has 

 been deserted and feel that 

 they must take it home and feed it. This is a mistaken kindness for, 

 usually, it merely signifies that the brood is somewhat scattered, and that 

 the parents are busy feeding the other young; particularly, if the young 

 bird is quiet, for that indicates that he has just been fed and that the 

 old birds may not be back for some time. If the young bird is put up out 

 of reach of cats, the parents will sooner or later find it and care for it, 



AFTER FEEDING THE YOUNG, THE FEMALE ORDI- 

 NARILY CLEANS THE NEST, AS SHOWN BY THIS 

 FEMALE REDWING 



