chick-a-dee’s story. 
171 
a tree or shrub did we see on them, nothing 
bnt sand and little clumps of tall, coarse grass. 
Now I come to the matter of the young birds 
and their food, that I started this account for. 
All over the island there were little hollows, 
scratched in the sand by the birds, in which 
were arranged loosely a few straws and sea- 
weed, and in which were laid three or four eggs. 
Mind you, this was at the middle of July, and I 
wondered at their eggs being laid so late. But 
I soon observed that the birds left the eggs all 
through the day, to be hatched by the heat of 
the sun.” 
“ The heat of the sun ? ” exclaimed one of 
the female members of the group. Oh, what 
shiftless wretches ! ” There was a look of dis- 
gust on her countenance which was reflected 
by the faces of the others, in a manner not to 
be mistaken. 
Not so shiftless as you think,” answered 
Chick, for it was a valuable help to them. 
You must remember that those birds feed en- 
tirely upon small fishes, which they dive down 
upon, while on the wing, and seize in their 
