Vol. xviin 

 1900 J 



Herrick, Care of Nest and Young. 



lOI 



the Robin is usually engaged in errands of this kind. In consid- 

 ering such actions I refer particularly to the three species men- 

 tioned, which I have watched repeatedly at a distance of two feet 

 or less for hours at a time. 



Young Robins are fed and cared for by both parents. I have 

 seen the mother Robin remove the excrement from the nest, 

 devour it, and a moment after take it directly from the young and 

 carry it away. Again, on the following day the same bird, after 

 swallowing all the available excrement, fell to brooding her young 

 and remained in this position full twenty minutes by the watch 

 without showing the least desire to reject anything which had 

 been eaten. I have seen the female Cedarbird come to her nest 

 of five half-fledged young, regurgitate black cherries, and after 

 distributing them, inspect her household with the closest attention, 

 picking up and swallowing every particle of excrement. This 

 mother then spread her wings over her brood, and shielded them 

 from a hot August sun for over an hour. Meantime the male 

 came repeatedly, and passed cherries around. The female who 

 stood erect, straddling the nest, would occasionally inspect her 

 brood and devour the excrement. She would also snap at every 

 passing insect, and I saw her catch a large red ant, which was 

 quickly transferred to the mouth of a young bird. She would 

 erect and lower her crest, stand with mouth agape for long 

 intervals, but there was never a sign of ejecting what had been 

 eaten. 



After watching such behavior, which I have seen repeated with 

 slight variations many times, I am convinced that the excrement 

 is actually and definitively swallowed, and not merely taken into 

 the gullet to be regurgitated later. The Cedar Waxwing, how- 

 ever, uses its distensible gullet as a temporary receptacle for 

 food, and it is possible that in this species the excrement goes 

 no farther than the oesophagus, from which it is later ejected. 

 The actions of the bird just described, however, do not favor 

 this idea. 



Not only is the nest carefully cleaned, but Robins and Vireos 

 energetically pick their young ah over, a very important function, 

 since the minute swarming particles which infest birds' nests, 

 known as bird lice, often cause great discomfort, and especially 

 to the young when weakly. 



