i8 



Wild Birds. 



wild red cherries, blueberries and insects, mainly grasshoppers, and nearly always by regur- 

 gitation. The nest and young were regularly cleaned, and the new conditions seemed to 



have been completely adopt- 

 ed. The young, whose wing- 

 quills now showed half an 

 inch of the feather- shaft, 

 were entirely fearless. 



On July i6th, the second 

 day of observation and the 

 third after the removal of the 

 nesting bough, the old birds 

 began the work of feeding in 

 exactly twelve minutes after 

 the tent was in place. I will 

 add here that I have always 

 removed the tent at the end 

 of the day's work, although 

 in some species it would be 

 of undoubted advantage to 

 leave it overnight. In a little 

 more than three hours the 

 old birds came to the nest 

 eighteen times, bringing 

 abundant stores of fruit and 

 insects. 



On July 17th, the third 

 day at this nest, feeding be- 

 gan in three minutes after 

 closure of the tent. It was 

 the hottest day of the sum- 

 mer, but life at the nest went 

 on without accident or inter- 

 ruption. The young now sat or stood with heads upturned in the characteristic attitude 

 shown in one of the illustrations. They flew on the morning of the nineteenth of 

 Jul}', when thirteen days old, seeking the cover of a thicket of birches close by, where 

 they -^vere cared for by their parents until ready to leave the neighborhood. They were 

 scattered over an area of several square rods, and kept calling in their monotonous 

 way, ;:-e-c-c-e-i ! z-c-e-e-c-t ! One of their number, shown in a photograph (Fig. 47), was 

 not touched or posed, but occupied a natural perch chosen by himself in his flight from 

 tree to tree. 



This Oriole's nest (No. 19 of table) was fortunately placed in an apple tree scarcely 

 twenty feet up, so that no gymnastic feat was needed to bring the branch to the ground. 

 The noisy young calling with incessant reiteration, 7vick-ick-ick-ick-ick ! 

 advertised their nest to every passer by, and it was surprising that it had 

 remained unmolested. 



Fig. 12. Cedar-bird's nest — No. lo of table— in original position marked by 

 arrows. See Figs, g and 13. 



The Baltimore 

 Oriole. 



