British Birds. 
203 
asking for food — I gave Ler a mealworm. She ate it, I gave her 
several, after satisfying her own hunger, she began picking them to 
pieces, pulling off the head, pecking the back and taking out the long 
black thread that runs through mealworms, this part she nearly always 
discarded ; then Maria fed her babies. 
I then transferred them to a proper cage, putting the family 
into a box hung in the side of the cage just under a door, so that I 
could easily inspect tliem. There is a green net slide that goes in 
front of the bars, which prevents any wild birds injuring themselves 
against them, but I found Maria was far too busy attending to the 
wants of her family to think about getting out. 
They were fed on the following foods as I could obtain them, 
but agam let Halley's Comet bear the blame, there were very few ants 
eggs, and ?to green caterpillars when I first got Maria— I gave them 
chopped mealworms, soft food and egg mixed, this she refused at first, 
now they have some when no live food is at hand. 
Gentles that have been well cleansed in meal, green cater- 
pillars whenever I can get them, and now plenty of fresh ants' eggs. 
This went on till about three days ago, that is. ten days since I received 
the birds. Some of tlie little ones could now fly a little and come out of 
the nest, always going back when they got tired. Tiien I found 
another nest in the wall of my kitchen garden. I fear I jjroke the 
Sabbath Day, as first I got the babies out, six again and put them into 
a cage, just above tlie hole where their nest had been, as it was an 
impossible place to get at in the dark, when I could have caught the 
mother easily. I fastened a string to the cage door, which was held 
by someone inside the green-house, and then took my position in an apple 
tree. After almost half-an-hour father Tit came, and after cussing 
around, going into the hole and coming out very distressed, he finally 
entered the cage with a green caterpillar in his l)eak, and was caught. 
I took him out and put him into anotlier cage and the operation was gone 
through again. After a long time and many failures we caught the 
other parent. They were then put into the cage with net front and 
they fed their young fairly well, but whether it was being together or 
not I cannot say, but they were far shyer than Maria, hiiHng in the 
corner when I went near. 
Two days' after, while the cage was Ijeiug cleaned, they both 
slipped out tiirough a tiny hole in the bottom, and though 1 tried for 
a long lime, it was impossible to re-capture the little imps. As the 
babies were much younger than the first lot, and wanted feeding 
oftener, I thought I would try an experiment, so 1 took them upstairs 
and put them into the nest with the six older birds. It was a S([uash, 
their natural motiier, so I took her up and thought she would also 
feed, or help feed her own babies - not a bit of it— I am sure she is a 
but, tho' it is very surprising, the fact remains, that dear Maria fed 
the twelve birds right away, and has gone on doing so ever since, and 
they begin to come out of their nest now. 
The next day in a trap cage baited with mealworms, I caught 
