A BIRD LOVER’S NOTES AND QUERIES. 
55 
now emancipated from her care. Finally he thought it time to 
free himself from nursery cares, and he flew in anger at his 
charge, pecking the little bird fiercely when he stood by squeak¬ 
ing and peeping to be fed. This action said, “ Big baby, go- 
and feed yourself,” as plainly as though it had been put into 
Atlantic Monthly English for my better comprehension. Now 
that all the young birds were able to forage for themselves they 
came regularly to the cigar box, and the father and mother 
began shyly and coyly to notice each other again. August 
fourth I saw them standing one on each side of the cigar box 
(by this time well warped, and standing unsteadily on the 
curved bottom) and rocking and balancing themselves as ami¬ 
cably as though reunited after a divorce. August fifth the 
male took his only bath for the season (this abstemiousness at 
the beach, where all human beings set him quite a different 
example.) The female bathes regularly, and has very lively 
fights over the soup dish with the robins who come to dig angle 
worms from the wet spot on the lawn. The robin uses the 
bath, which the chewink thinks is her especial property, so she 
flies at the robin and tries to drive him out, and when she suc¬ 
ceeds, in she jumps herself only to be driven out by the re¬ 
turning enemy who always wins in the end, because he is the 
larger bird, I fancy. The sun-flowers planted in the long row 
are now (Aug. 8) in seed, and the goldfinches have come to 
them, although, until these seeds matured we never had heard 
or seen a goldfinch in our vicinity, though they were numerous 
enough in other parts of the island. Now there are six or 
eight of them feeding all the day there. That the chewink 
appreciates fresh vegetables after a winter of dried ones is 
shown by the fact that the cigar box with the seeds of last 
season is entirely deserted for the sun-flower bed where the 
goldfinches drop many of the new seeds on the ground, spread¬ 
ing a handy and bountiful table for the now reunited Mr. and 
Mrs. Chewink. Will someone tell “Nature Study” if it is the 
universal custom during the season when the little ones have 
left the nest, but are not able to forage for themselves, for the 
