74 
BIRD-LIFE. 
the house, a stack of sticks, on yonder crag. Be sure, 
however, they are not forsaken ! Nature, the ever-loving 
mother of all being, has taken them under her care. Before 
even the young Eaglets have lost any of their ugly awkward 
appearance, rendered only the more disagreeable by the 
prominent crop, their feathers begin to sprout, especially 
those on the upper side, owing to its being more exposed 
to the weather. The pinions, or wing-feathers, appear 
first; next, those on the back; and later, those on either 
side of the breast. The whole of the upper portion of the 
body is almost entirely fledged before the young robbers 
have learnt to sit up, while the under part scarcely shows 
any sign of feathers. Still our bird is incapable, as yet, 
of any independence of movement. Days and weeks pass 
away before it is able even to crawl about the nest; 
and it is only shortly before leaving it altogether that the 
Eaglet tries its wings, as it were, by flapping them up 
and down. Long after leaving the eyrie they require the 
care of the parent birds. All other birds which arrive, so 
to speak, at maturity in the open nest, are equally tardy 
in their developement up to that point. 
The contrary takes place in the case of all Gallinaceous 
birds, as well as Waders and Waterfowl. Every one is 
acquainted with the history of the first four-and-twenty 
hours’ life of the domestic Fowl. Scarcely has the 
Chick escaped from the shell, and its downy dress 
become dried, than it gives evidence of self-confidence 
and activity, such as would lead one to believe that it had 
already been hatched a month or more. It nimbly follows 
the mother about, listens to her call, and acts as though 
it were fully aware how such a youngster should conduct 
himself; and, lastly, picking up, without further cere- 
paony, such food as it discovers and recognises as fit for 
