BIRDS IN A VILLAGE 89 



sprang the old bird I had seen, but only to drop to 

 the ground just as the wagtail had done, to beat 

 the turf with its wings, then to lie gasping for breath, 

 then to flutter on a little further, until at last it rose 

 up and flew to a bush. 



After admiring the reed bunting's action, I turned 

 to the dwarf bush near my feet, and saw, perched on 

 a twig in its centre, a sohtary young bird, fully 

 fledged but not yet capable of sustained flight. He 

 did not recognize an enemy in me ; on the contrary, 

 when I approached my hand to him he opened his 

 yellow mouth wide in expectation of being fed, 

 although his throat was crammed with caterpillars, 

 and the white crescent-shaped larva I had seen in 

 the parent's bill was still lying in his mouth un- 

 swallowed. The wonder is that when a young bird 

 has been stuffed with food to such an extent just 

 before sleeping time, he can still find it in him to 

 open his mouth and call for more. 



****** 



How wonderful it is that this parental instinct, 

 so beautiful in its perfect simulation of the action 

 of a bird that has lost the power of flight, should be 

 found in so large a number of species ! But when 

 we find that it is not universal ; that in two closely 

 allied species one will possess it and the other not ; 

 and that it is common in such widely separated 

 orders as gallinaceous and passerine birds, in pigeons, 



