. Nestlings of forest and marsh, by Irene Grosvenor Wheelock; . oing to tell of a farmershate and a father birds love is true in everyrespect, and is, alas ! only one of many suchinstances. Early in April a pair of crows selectedthe top of a sturdy oak in the wood aboutour temporary home for their nest, and be-gan to build. Day after day they carriedtwigs from the brush pile, dead leaves fromthe wood, and bunches of cow-hair from thepasture, to the crotch, and placed each bitwith nicest care. Let no one slur a crowsnest, for every twig has its own place, andyou cannot remove one without distur
. Nestlings of forest and marsh, by Irene Grosvenor Wheelock; . oing to tell of a farmershate and a father birds love is true in everyrespect, and is, alas ! only one of many suchinstances. Early in April a pair of crows selectedthe top of a sturdy oak in the wood aboutour temporary home for their nest, and be-gan to build. Day after day they carriedtwigs from the brush pile, dead leaves fromthe wood, and bunches of cow-hair from thepasture, to the crotch, and placed each bitwith nicest care. Let no one slur a crowsnest, for every twig has its own place, andyou cannot remove one without disturbingthe entire structure. This particular nest,according to the description of the Man78 JIMS BABIES with the Camera, who had climbed to inspectit, was the perfection of good workmanship,and was lined with a thick mat of cow-hairpadded down toa had sup-posed it to bemuch flatter andless deep thanthe examinationrevealed. In itwere laid fivepointed olive-green eggs, spot-ted with were ar-ranged in a circlewith points to-ward the Olive-green eggs spotted with black The mother bird was extremely shy, andleft the nest before the intruding climber hadreached the first crotch, and all efforts toobtain a good photograph of her failed. Shewas never away long, and on returning in-79 NESTLINGS OF FOREST AND MARSH variably followed the same route with thesame precautions. Circling over and pastthe tree-top several times, she would alighton a tree fifteen feet to the west, and lookin every direction ; then flying to one aboutthe same distance to the east, she lookedagain. In order to remain hidden I wasobliged to swing myself around the trunkof a tree as she moved in search of assured herself that all was well,she flew to the topmost limb ot the nest-tree, and hopped down the branches to theone containing the nest ; then, walking witha comical deliberation along it, she slippedonto the eggs so deftly that, watch as Imight, I never saw her do it. O
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1902
