488 LAND BIRDS 



teen days, and during this time, although the male is fre- 

 quently left in charge of the nest, I have never seen him 

 attempt to brood the eggs, as the mother does. He will 

 perch on the side of the nest, look at the contents with 

 head cocked sidewise in a comical mixture of pride and 

 masculine helplessness in the care of infants. He knows 

 something is necessary to keep the wonderful treasure 

 warm, but just how to go about it is a puzzle. But 

 when those four dull eggs have become a' nest full of 

 queer-looking babies, he knows exactly what to do. 

 They are hungry, and who can feed them so deftly as he ? 

 So, from dawn to dusk, he is hustling in true Western 

 fashion for bugs of all sorts and varieties, for fruit and 

 berries. Later he will show these same nestlings how 

 to extract an acorn from the store of the California wood- 

 pecker, how to crack a pine nut, how to hold a piece of 

 meat in their strong claws and tear off bits of it, how 

 to dash into the ice-cold water and enjoy the morning 

 plunge, how to shake each little feather and dry and 

 comb it into place again, how to frolic among the tall 

 pine trees or over the sand dunes following the leader, 

 how to hide motionless in the shadows when the hawk 

 flies by, and, alas ! how to wait until helpless nest- 

 lings are left alone and then sneak up and steal one. 

 All this and more will they learn of the lore of the 

 woods, which every wild creature must know if he would 

 live. That most of these habits are acquired only by 

 imitation is thoroughly proven by the helplessness of 

 those birds which have been taken from the nest when 

 young and raised in captivity. Although liberated as 



