. The home life of wild birds; a new method of the study and photography of birds. Birds; Photography of birds. Wild Birds. It is the young, tlie young, always THE YOUNG in whom the interest of the old birds is centered, and about whom their lives revolve. They are the strong lure, the talisman, the magnet to which the parent is irresistibly drawn. The tree, the branch, the nest itself, what are these in compari- son with the young for whom alone they exist ? With some species it is possible to make the necessary change without evil consequences when there are eggs in the nest; with others we
. The home life of wild birds; a new method of the study and photography of birds. Birds; Photography of birds. Wild Birds. It is the young, tlie young, always THE YOUNG in whom the interest of the old birds is centered, and about whom their lives revolve. They are the strong lure, the talisman, the magnet to which the parent is irresistibly drawn. The tree, the branch, the nest itself, what are these in compari- son with the young for whom alone they exist ? With some species it is possible to make the necessary change without evil consequences when there are eggs in the nest; with others we must wait until the young are from When to four to nine days Change old. It is all a the Nest-quegtion of the ingf Site. ., r ,i ^ strength of the parental instinct, and this varies between wide limits in different species, and very considerably between different individuals. From the nature of the case there can be no infallible rule. If we know little of the habits of the birds in question it is safest to wait until the seventh to the ninth day after the young are hatched, or when in many passerine birds, as Robins, Orioles, and Waxwings, the feather-shafts of the wing-quills begin to appear in the young, or better when they project from one quarter to one half inch beyond the feather tubes. At this period the parental instinct is reaching its maximum, and, what is equally important, the sense of fear has not appeared in the young. When we try to formulate a rule, however, we at once encounter numerous excep- tions. Thus in Cuckoos the feathers do not shed their envelopes gradually as in most birds, but remain sheathed up to the last day in the nest. Of greater importance is the understanding of the principles involved, and with these in mind and judiciously applied very few mistakes should be made. At the beginning of observations a nest with eggs should be watched, but not dis- turbed. When the period of incubation has been determined, and the time of hatching. Fig. 4. Trun
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1901
