THE SADDLEBACK ive 
Wishing once to obtain the two Saddlebacks 
on one plate, I had blocked the nest by wedging 
my handkerchief into the cranny. The gentle 
birds were not in the least alarmed by the linen. 
They could only not make up their minds to 
remove it, and in this dilemma very character- 
istically merely attempted to squeeze past the 
obstruction; on the other hand a Robin, who 
had no business at all on the premises, began at 
once with the utmost hardihood to tug at the 
handkerchief. 
The business of sanitation of the nest is shared, 
but often, if the hen had been at work, the male 
would carry off in his bill any bit of rootlet or peat 
that might catch his eye. His instinct was to 
carry away something; it was a happiness even 
to seem to be doing something for his beloved 
children. Sometimes the droppings were carried. 
off in the bill, and sometimes swallowed on the 
spot. 
Although so exceedingly tame to me, now and 
then, for reasons I could never fathom, panic 
would seize the pair. On these occasions no cry 
of warning or apprehension would be given; 
without audible sound the alarm would be com- 
municated from one to the other, the birds silently 
bounding over the ground or through the low 
scrub at a great pace. These nerve attacks were 
of brief duration, and from whatever cause origi- 
