126 A GOLDEN-WING BABY. 



I became greatly attached to my beautiful 

 bird, which appeared, in the presence of his 

 wise and wary room-mates, cat-birds and 

 thrushes, like a big, clumsy, but affectionate 

 baby. It was solely on his account and prin- 

 cipally, I must confess, to try and surprise a 

 wild bird at the above described entertainment 

 so as to determine its character, that I wished 

 to make acquaintance with its free relations, 

 study their ways when at" liberty in their own 

 haunts, and have a glimpse if possible of the 

 Golden-wing babies. 



A year later I had the opportunity I so much 

 desired of making acquaintance with the young 

 of this family. I was sitting one morning on 

 the edge of a deep ravine filled with trees, 

 deeply engaged in the study of another bird, 

 when suddenly a stranger came with an awk- 

 ward flop against the trunk of a tree not ten 

 feet from me. I saw in an instant that it was 

 the infant I had looked for so long. He was 

 exactly like the parents, with a somewhat 

 shorter tail. I should hardly have suspected 

 his youthfulness but for his clumsy movements, 

 and the fact that he did not at once take flight, 

 which a Golden-wing more experienced in the 

 ways of human-kind would have done instantly. 

 He seemed somewhat exhausted by his flight, 

 and clung to the trunk, with soft dark eyes 

 fixed upon me, ready to move if I did. 



