BIRDS’—NESTS 105 
hour without gaining a point on them. Finally a 
bright and curious boy who accompanied me secreted 
himself under a low, projecting rock close to the 
tree in which we supposed the nest to be, while I 
moved off around the mountain-side. It was not 
long before the youth had their secret. The tree, 
which was low and wide-branching, and overrun 
with lichens, appeared at a cursory glance to con- 
tain not one dry or decayed limb. Yet there was 
one a few feet long, in which, when my eyes were 
piloted thither, I detected a small round orifice. 
As my weight began to shake the branches, the 
consternation of both old and young was great. 
The stump of a limb that held the nest was about 
three inches thick, and at the bottom of the tunnel 
was excavated quite to the bark. With my thumb 
I broke in the thin wall, and the young, which 
were full-fledged, looked out upon the world for the 
first time. Presently one of them, with a signifi- 
cant chirp, as much as to say, “It is time we were | 
out of this,” began to climb up toward the proper | 
entrance. Placing himself in the hole, he looked 
around without manifesting any surprise at the 
grand scene that lay spread out before him. He 
was taking his bearings, and determining how far he 
could trust the power of his untried wings to take 
him out of harm’s way. After a moment’s pause, 
with a loud chirrup, he launched out and made 
tolerable headway. The others rapidly followed. 
Each one, as it started upward, from a sudden im- 
pulse, contemptuously saluted the abandoned nest 
with its excrement. 
4 
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i 
