52 
NATURE STUDY. 
ever, the nest was discovered, it took the female only two 
minutes to light on the end of the twig—in half a minute 
more she hopped along and fed the young. The nest was 
now protected from cats by wire netting, and for the next 
ten days the young birds in the nest and the actions of the 
old birds when feeding them were under constant observa¬ 
tion. The young, probably three or four days old when 
moved, were homely objects, blind and absolutely naked. 
When the twig was touched, four yellow mouths, the jaws 
marked with iridescent red, blossomed out and waved fee¬ 
bly about on their tremulous necks. The old birds soon 
became so wonted to our presence that we could watch the 
operation of feeding from a distance of five or six feet, even 
without the shelter of a tent. The young birds were fed 
at intervals of from fifteen minutes to a half an hour, but 
their meals were hearty. The old birds came with their 
throats stuffed with berries, or, more commonly, with bird 
cherries (P. Pennsylvanica). As many as nine were 
brought at one time. With a motion as if coughing, the 
old bird produced one cherry after another, placing them 
well down in the throats of the eager young. We could 
distinctly see at times that the food was removed from one 
throat and put into another. This, as Professor Herrick 
points out, happens when the gullet of the young bird does 
not react at the touch of food. 
After the load of food had been delivered, there came 
always a careful inspection of the nest. As soon as the 
young birds had voided their excrement it was seized by 
the old birds and at once devoured. 
The male was by no means as bold as the female, and 
his timidity led one day to an interesting incident. The 
female had fed the young, but the male remained high in 
the branches in the tree above, hesitating to venture down. 
The female thereupon flew to the branch on which he 
