yawning cavities, as they appeared when the right whistle — 
was given. As soon as a head was full, it would drop 
- drowsily back into the nest and sleep, but the process had 
to be repeated several times that first night, though not 
afterwards in the gloaming. __ | 
When the adult birds did net return and ae adopted 
parents undertook to raise the unfeathered fledgelings, little 
they knew of all that this would mean. For the next few 
weeks their days were spent turning over roots, stones, and | 
boards hunting for insects, or digging in their garden for 
angleworms. It was only a short time before the newcomers 
learned to know the tweezers and their other friends, and 
they would call sharply whenever a motion was made near 
them. The foster parents struggled to satisfy the ever- 
increasing appetites, yet the babies might have fared badly _ 
if a number of decaying logs containing quantities of white _ 
ants and their eggs had not been found near by. 
Even then the young bluebirds did not thrive as well as 
if they had remained with their own parents. Usually, a 
brood will be strong enough to leave the nest in about three 
weeks, but, when a photograph was taken of these five little 
orphans when they were five weeks old, rated were still un-— 
able to care for themselves. © 
They were entirely unafraid, though, at this tine. 
climbing up the hand and arm of any human observer, 
snuggling down into the hollow of any friendly neck, as their 
environment had taught them that people meant to be kind 
to them. Heredity, however, showed its power also, for — 
perhaps fifty per cent of the things ey sis learned 10:d0 
came from that source. | 
For example, on this day just as ee people had 
succeeded in getting all five babies posed on one of their 
food stricks held in the hand of the man of the house, one 
birdling gave a peculiar call and the home owner said, ‘“That 
is their hawk, or warning, call,” and on our looking up there 
was a desert sparrow hawk flying above our heads. Before 
of 
