NESTING 267 
assistance, our domestic chickens illustrating this practice. 
Again, in sorne species the male does about an equal share of 
this work, while in still others he does it all. This last practice 
—when the male alone does the sitting — is unusual. The 
best known instances of it are found among the Phalaropes, 
and curiously enough, in that family the female is the larger 
bird. 
Care of the Young. — Birds are devoted parents, and they 
feed their young and watch over them, even after they have 
‘left the nest, as long as 
they can keep their brood 
together, and as well as 
possible, even after they are 
dispersed. The young of 
different species vary a great 
deal in the degree of matur- 
ity when hatched. If the 
egg is large for the size of 
the bird and takes a rela- 
tively long period to hatch, 
then the young at birth will 
becomparatively well devel- 
oped, being covered with downy feathers and able to leave 
the nest and run about or swim without further delay. This 
is what we see in our domestic chickens, ducks, and geese, as 
well as in the corresponding wild birds, and in the Gull and 
Snipe families and many others. On the other hand, all the 
perching birds and some others are practically naked when 
they come out of the shell and must remain in the nest for 
a considerable time to be fed by the parents till they are 
fully fledged and strong enough to fly. This is a good time 
to observe the remarkable intelligence of birds. They seem 
BRowN THRASHER FEEDING HER YOUNG, 
Birds are devoted parents. 
