46 



Bird - Lore 



could not lack for food. We saw little more of them that day, but next 

 morning at sunrise I was awakened b\'^ the flute notes of hungry young 

 Bluebirds. There they all were, clamoring for mealworms, and they all 

 came to the hand to feed. For about three weeks they remained in 

 the neighborhood, and a whistle or two would bring them down to our 

 hands. A young Chipping Sparrow, while it never came to feed, was 

 always seen with the Bluebirds,. I had hopes that by feeding abun- 

 dantly I might be able to hold them through the winter and soon have a 

 colony of tame Bluebirds; but about September 20 they suddenly disap- 

 peared. I thought they had started on their long journey, but two weeks 

 later the three Bluebirds, with Chippy still in tow, came back, as it would 

 seem, to bid final adieu. They all came to the hand as before, but meal- 

 worms seemed to have lost their attraction somewhat; for they, for the 

 first time, left some uneaten. Except for here and there a tell-tale feather, 

 they now looked like adult birds. Since that day we have neither seen nor 

 heard them, but we still cherish the hope that spring may bring them to us 

 again. 



FEEDING THE ORPHANS 



