5 6 
Harvey. Diary of a Cardinal's Nest. 
r Auk 
L Jan. 
The female began to sit on the nest on the 4th of May. On 
the 1 6th three eggs were hatched, the nestlings of equal size and 
apparently just out, though as I had been absent the day before I 
cannot say positively. The fourth egg did not hatch and was 
removed by one of the birds soon after our finding the others 
hatched. The parents worked together to feed the young, the 
male at first passing food to the mother bird for them and after- 
wards feeding them himself. The food was grubs and insects, 
which the old birds swallowed and gave to the young by regur- 
gitation during the first week. Afterwards it was given directly 
and it was then interesting to see what large mouthfuls the 
little fellows could accommodate. When nine days old, one of 
them swallowed, without choking, a grub two inches long and 
as large as a lead pencil. The birds were remarkably cleanly, 
removing all excrement from the nest and carrying it outside of 
the greenhouse. 
On the 24th of May I noticed the young birds growing very 
restless and trying to get out of the nest, while the mother reso- 
lutely pushed them back again. On the morning of the 25th they 
left the nest, the mother pushing and helping them out. One of 
the little ones was drowned in a tank of water, another left the 
greenhouse seemingly urged by the parent birds. The next morn- 
ing the other left and both were led away to a thicket across the 
street. For almost a month after that we saw only the old birds 
who continued to come in for food. 
On the 19th of June the father and the young birds, now full- 
sized, came for seed, which the parent cracked and fed to the 
young. When the little ones left the nest they were dark brown, 
with very dark bills. When they returned wings and tail were 
red, excepting a little brown at the tips, and red blotches were 
appearing on breast and back, so we suppose both to be males. 
The bills were still dark. They gave no note but the shrill peep 
of a young bird. The three came back very often and twice 
spent the whole morning inside. Often the young birds would 
come alone and help themselves, though they always demanded to 
be fed when the father was along. The mother at this time was 
sitting on a second nest across the street, so we saw her less often 
than before. 
/C6 
