NESTLINGS OF FOREST AND MARSH 
angry chucks on our approach, his protests 
vigorously seconded by the mother. 
But we were curious and therefore merci- 
less ; besides, was it not in the so-called inter- 
est of science ? We 
pushed cautiously up 
and looked in, — 
only two babies yet. 
They were pretty 
little things, though 
so naked, for body, 
beak, and legs were 
just the color of a 
ripe apricot. In a 
few days dark lines 
of embryonic pin- 
feathers showed 
down each side of the spine and the edge of 
the v/ing ; then a soft brown down covered 
the throat, breast, and top of the head. By 
and by brown feathers pushed out through 
the quills, and evidences of a tail became 
more patent. The eyes opened and the 
skin grew darker, changing to greenish gray 
48 
