NATURE STUDY IN SCHOOLS. 71 



just how they looked, consequently many questions were 

 poured forth, some of which were quite amusing. 



Finally when the skin of a robin was shown to the 

 class, I could see a look of disappointment on the face of 

 almost every child, and I heard one exclaim, " That is not 

 a red breast." 



They had expected to see quite a bright red breast, 

 and the dull chestnut color of the female bird, which I 

 held before them, did not meet these expectations. All de- 

 clared, however, that they had seen " redder robins" than 

 the one which I had. 



To illustrate the talk, I had the skin of a mother bird 

 and that of a young one, a nest and eggs. 



First we compared the " dress of the baby," as the 

 children called it, with that of the mother bird. We 

 found that the baby bird had a white throat, while that 

 of the mother was streaked with black. The breast of 

 baby was spotted with black, while the mother's breast 

 was chestnut. The markings on the back of the young 

 bird were also noticed. The large feet, small wings, and 

 short tail were readily observed by all. 



Much interest was shown when I mentioned the change 

 of dress of the baby bird, which in the fall of the year 

 moults and acquires a dress like that of its parent. The 

 feeding of the young birds by the parents aroused the sym- 

 pathy of the children, and led them to think of their own 

 mother's care. 



The mouth of the baby bird was examined and the 

 tough skin at the base noticed. We found that this skin 

 serves as a protection against the bill of the mother bird 

 when she feeds her young. It is possible that the moth- 

 er bird might strike the mouth of the baby with her bill, 

 but no injury could come to the little one, since the skin 

 is so tough, and not at all sensitive to the touch. The 



