FAR AND NEAR 



Last summer I witnessed a similar occurrence, and 

 made this record in my note-book: " A nest of young 

 robins in the maple in front of the house being fed 

 by a chipping sparrow. The Uttle sparrow is very 

 attentive ; seems decidedly fond of her adopted 

 babies. The old robins resent her services, and 

 hustle her out of the tree whenever they find her near 

 the nest. (It was this hurried departure of Chippy 

 from the tree that first attracted my attention.) She 

 watches her chances, and comes with food in their 

 absence. The young birds are about ready to fly, 

 and when the chippy feeds them her head fairly 

 disappears in their capacious mouths. She jerks 

 it back as if she were afraid of being swallowed. 

 Then she lingers near them on the edge of the nest, 

 and seems to admire them. When she sees the old 

 robin coming, she spreads her wings in an attitude 

 of defense, and then flies away. I wonder if she 

 has had the experience of rearing a cow-bunting ? " 

 (A day later.) " The robins are out of the nest, and 

 the Httle sparrow continues to feed them. She ap- 

 proaches them rather timidly and hesitatingly, as if 

 she feared they might swallow her, then thrusts her 

 titbit quickly into the distended mouth and jerks 

 back." 



Whether the chippy had lost her own brood, 

 whether she was an unmated bird, or whether the 

 case was simply the overflowing of the maternal in- 

 stinct, it would be interesting to know. 

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