OUR FAMILIAR BIRDS. 29 



left a younger -looking, helpless bird in the nest, to 

 which, I am quite positive, she never returned. But 

 the male fed and nourished this young one, and seemed 

 wholly devoted to it, and would now pay no attention 

 to me whatever : he was as much preoccupied as when 

 building. This continued for three days. Towards the 

 evening of the 16th this young one left the nest and 

 accompanied the parent to the bushes, where he soon 

 had it perched on the tallest shrub — a Judas-tree {Cercis 

 canadensis) ; and now he manifested great delight, act- 

 ing quite like his old self. All the next day he fed his 

 charge, pausing now and then to assure me of his con- 

 tinued regard. On the second day the female came to 

 the shrubbery, bringing the three young, reuniting the 

 family ; but as far as I observed, the male still persisted 

 in feeding only the smaller. bird. 



I found the birds liked soft, sweet pears, but they 

 would not break into a perfect one ; so I cut a slice 

 from each pear and laid them on the grass, when the 

 parents would bring the young to feed. The three old- 

 er ones could now help themselves, but the youngest 

 would only look on and wait to have the pieces put into 

 its mouth. 



It was now very warm weather, and the family re- 

 mained among the bushes a large part of each day for 

 about three weeks, at night perching on the Judas-tree 

 or in the branches of an adjoining Austrian pine. 



The cats by this time were quelled. They had either 

 become thoroughly frightened by missiles hurled at 



