The Cedar Bird. 



59 



young birds, while one was addled. Born gS 

 blind, naked, and helpless, the Cedar-bird - 

 begins to see when three days old, through '' 

 narrow slits which gradually open, and 'jy 

 expose the eyes to full light. When this 'k- 

 nest was touched the young would raise 

 their tremulous heads aloft, and with red 

 mouths opened wide, express in silence 

 the simjile sign language of newly hatched 

 birds. One of the brood mysteriousl}' dis- 

 appeared, so that cventuall}? only two 

 were raised, and this recalls the loss of a 

 young bird from the first nest which «-as 

 built by the same pair. When evil befalls 

 a nestling, the parents either remove its 

 body or abandon the whole famih'. The 

 latter course is seldom, if ever, followed 

 after the eggs have all been hatched. 



Bough and nest in this case were re- 

 moved on August 23d, when the young 

 were between eight and nine days old. 



Fig. 43. Cedar-bird listening intently while inspecting nest. 



Fig. 44. Standing at inspection : a characteristic pose. 



They were set up on a hillside, in an 

 exposed position, with a house on 

 one hand and a public drive and 

 monument on the other, but the birds 

 stood it well, as the photographic 

 record shows. (Figs. 37, 38.) 



Owing to unfavorable weather 

 the tent was not used until the after- 

 noon of August 25th. In a few min- 

 utes, the female was on the nesting 

 bough, coming and going, but finally 

 kept her perch and examined the 

 situation critically. Something un- 

 usual had happened full of signifi- 

 cance to herself and famih-, but it 

 wasan enigma hard to solve. Silence 

 at last brought assurance, as it usually 

 does in such cases. She approached 

 nearer, pausing at eveiy step, until 

 she could no longer resist the mag- 

 netic influence of the calling youn;^- 

 sters, who fairly palpitated in their 

 eager desire for food. At this nest 



