328 
AMERICAN HOMES (AND , GARDEWNS 
May, 1906 
The Rapid Growth of Birds 
By B. S. Bowdish 
household cares of a pair of birds, 
from their commencement to the 
time that the parents were able to 
turn out into the world a brood of 
2a independent, self-sufhcient young, 
realize how marvelously rapid is the development 
of the offspring, both in’and out of the egg. The 
power of flight, and in many cases protective color- 
ation, have done much to aid adult birds in the 
matter of self-preservation, but the dangers that 
beset them during the period of reproduction are 
so great that were this period not shortened to a 
minimum they could hardly hold their place in the 
battle of life. 
Such birds as some of the plovers and sand- 
pipers, starting from winter homes in South Amer- 
ica, journey to the far frozen North to rear their 
young, and then return again. In the high, cold 
latitudes, where these birds breed, the summer is 
short. ‘The birds arrive late and depart early. 
Some of these long distance travelers are among 
the latest spring and earliest fall migrants. Thus 
the period allowed them for the rearing of their 
young is brief, and development must be rapid. But 
there is plenty of reason why rapid development is 
necessary, even among birds whose breeding season 
is suficiently long to permit the rearing of two or 
three broods. The dangers that beset the bird’s home, from 
the laying of the first egg to the time when the youngsters 
leave it, are manifold. Hawks, snakes, cats, and many pre- 
dacious mammals, such as weasels and minks, skunks and 
foxes, are liable at any moment to seize the mother on the 
nest, or, failing that, to devour the contents, whether eggs 
or young. Ina general way it may be said that such dangers 
increase from the time of the hatching of the young till they 
o 
5S 
Female Brown Thrasher Incubating Eggs 
Nest and Eggs of Brown Thrasher 
leave the nest, and they are far from safe even then. 
Then the chances of the weather play a very important 
part. Prolonged dry or wet weather often produces great 
mortality among young birds, as instanced in the summers 
of 1903 and 1904. 
Only those who have had nests under observation realize 
how many tragedies enter into this important period of birds’ 
lives, how many fruitless attempts are made to rear young. 
Last summer one of the nests which I had under 
observation was that of a blue-winged warbler. I 
do not think I should ever have found it had I not 
happened to see the female carrying a large dead 
oak leaf, which was, perhaps, destined to be the 
corner-stone of the edifice she erected to hold her 
hopes and cares. This chance observation gave me 
the clue that I acted on a few days later when I 
searched the locality. In a wild little corner of 
slashing bordering a piece of woods were a few 
small scattered cedars. Near the base of one of 
these I found the beautiful little nest, almost en- 
tirely roofed over by a dead oak leaf. I do not 
think I ever saw a more admirably situated nest, 
or one more perfectly concealed. I congratulated 
myself that here would be an opportunity to ob- 
serve the housekeeping of a bird whose habits dur- 
ing nidification I was unfamiliar with. 
At the time of finding, the nest was newly com- 
pleted, and contained no eggs. Three days later 
there were two eggs, and for the next three days an 
egg was added each day. The last egg was de- 
posited on the 23d of May, and on June 3d I found 
the young hatched. On the 4th something had 
torn away the protecting cover leaf and the nest 
was empty, while the birds were crying about in 
distress. I thought it probable that a snake had 
taken the young, and concluded to preserve the 
