Nest and Young of Brown Thrasher About Three Days Old 
nest. On lifting it I found, directly beneath it, one 
poor little babe that still showed signs of life, and 
in the hope that the mother might brood it I hastily 
replaced nest and baby and hurried away, after 
assuring myself that no more of the babies were 
concealed about. A visit the following morning 
revealed the faithful little mother brooding her 
one remaining baby, and up to the gth, on which 
date I photographed it, the survivor was doing 
well. On the 14th the nest was empty, and al- 
though this was certainly rapid development, I 
hope that the young blue-wing had developed suf- 
ficiently to leave the nest of his own volition. If 
he did escape a tragic fate, on what a slender 
thread his life hung when I found him under the 
nest! An hour later and the whole brood would 
have perished, instead of four-fifths of it. 
At the same time that I was conducting my 
studies of the blue-winged warblers I had under 
observation nests of hooded and _ chestnut-sided 
warblers, chat, northern yellow-throat, and oven- 
bird. Something robbed the nests of chat, yellow- 
throat and ovenbird before the eggs had hatched, 
Young Field Sparrow and Egg the Third Day 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 32 
I“9 
and the young chestnut-sides disappeared soon after hatching. 
These are only a few instances of many noted in one season. 
Birds choose with careful judgment the site for a nest. 
Natural concealment, material in harmony with surroundings, 
and often great care in approaching the nest, are all means 
toward the safeguarding of the nest and its contents, but 
even with all precaution the bird’s efforts are often frus- 
trated, and that, too, when success has almost crowned them. 
Thus it is seen how essential it is that the period of special 
danger be reduced to the shortest possible duration. 
Where the period of incubation of any species is of more 
than fourteen days’ duration it is usually found that special 
safeguards exist to offset it. Thus, in the case of hawks 
and owls, the nest is usually nearly or quite inaccessible. On 
the other hand, in the case of grouse, bobwhites, sandpipers, 
plovers, snipe, and others, every item in the way of protective 
coloration is brought into play to assist an otherwise hope- 
lessly defenseless bird. Parent, nest, eggs, young, all blend 
perfectly with surroundings, and even the skilled, keen eye 
of the eagle is often deceived. And another of nature’s 
provisions to compensate the grouse and bobwhite for loss 
is the large laying, sometimes four or five times the number 
Young Brown Thrasher the Third Day 
of eggs deposited by birds less beset by danger. In 
the case of such birds as those just mentioned there 
is also a special provision for the protection of the 
young. 
They belong to the class of birds called pre- 
cocious, the young being covered with down, and, 
running almost from the moment they are hatched, 
they leave the nest from that time and hide them- 
selves with astonishing dexterity at the slightest in- 
dication of danger. 
Among young birds thus gifted with special pro- 
visions, and a natural instinct tending strongly to 
self-preservation, there is not the need for rapid 
development that there is among birds hatched 
naked, blind, and absolutely helpless, nor is such 
rapid development usually found. 
In the majority of small birds, eleven to fourteen 
days seems to be the usual period of incubation, 
and eight to fourteen days the period thereafter, 
during which the young remain in the nest. The 
dangers to which birds are subjected during the 
period of nidification are innumerable. 
