6 4 
THE CONDOR 
| Von. VIII 
the trail that led away from the nest. As soon as I stopped, he began turning 
and twisting, stretching his neck to look under a leaf. He hung by his toes head 
down and swung back up like a trapeze performer. Then he swung head down 
again, dropped and lit right side upon the branch below. He made a high jump 
of over a foot, but grabbed nothing. And such unconcern! He never looked at 
me. “You’re entertaining, but not so public-spirited as you seem,’’ I said, as I 
followed him off down the wrong path away from the nest. 
I’ll never forget the day we trudged up with the camera to get a picture of 
the eggs. When we reached the chickadee villa, the mother was at home. I 
knocked at the base so she 
would leave. Then I shook 
the stub, but she didn’t take 
the hint. I took a little twig 
and poked in, trying to lift 
her up. She met my advance 
with a peculiar little explosion 
that sounded like a mad cat 
in a box. Finally, l cut a 
piece right out of the back 
part of her house where the 
wall was thin. There she sat, 
immovable, while I focused 
my camera. The little black 
eyes showed a brave determi- 
nation that I’ve seldom seen 
in a bird. I carefully slid the 
piece back again and locked 
it with a string. 
I knew she had performed a 
heroic act. I sat down under 
the tree to watch. The in- 
stant all was quiet she shot 
from the door like a w'inged 
bullet and struck right on the 
limb beside her mate, who 
had been“dee-dee-ing” to her 
all the while. 
Of course birds do not feel 
as we feel, but I don’t believe 
a sweetheart ever met her 
lover returning from a field 
of battle with a greater show 
of joy. They simply threw themselves into each other’s arms. It wasn’t a silent 
meeting either; there were real cracks of kisses and twitters of praise. Chickadees 
are not human by any means, but had she not defended her home all alone against 
the mighty invasion of a giant ? 
A day or so later I really did catch both the owners away from the nest, and I 
counted seven dotted eggs on a cottony couch. When the mother returned, she 
was so flustered and worried that I closed the door and started to leave in a hurry. 
But i hadn’t stepped away more than ten feet before she was clinging at the 
NEST AND EGGS OF CHICKADEE; STUMP OPENED FROM REAR: 
ALL SEVEN EGGS HATCHED 
