. Nestlings of forest and marsh, by Irene Grosvenor Wheelock; . stay-at-homes actually ventured out ofthe nest as far as the nearest twig. Thisboldness so astonished the last nestlingthat, actuated by some occult impulse, hetoo resolved to try. As he balanced hesi-tatingly on the edge, the mother dartedsuddenly toward him, thereby precipitatinga fly or fall crisis. Both nestlings flew— blindly — and landed in the shelterof a hawthorn-bush. There they sat allday, and about five p. m. fluttered to thelowest branch of a sapling for the mother slept there with them thatfirst night, and b
. Nestlings of forest and marsh, by Irene Grosvenor Wheelock; . stay-at-homes actually ventured out ofthe nest as far as the nearest twig. Thisboldness so astonished the last nestlingthat, actuated by some occult impulse, hetoo resolved to try. As he balanced hesi-tatingly on the edge, the mother dartedsuddenly toward him, thereby precipitatinga fly or fall crisis. Both nestlings flew— blindly — and landed in the shelterof a hawthorn-bush. There they sat allday, and about five p. m. fluttered to thelowest branch of a sapling for the mother slept there with them thatfirst night, and by morning they had all75 NESTLINGS OF FOREST AND MARSH gone farther afield, where I did not followthem. But there was still an unhatched egg inthe nest, and the small boy again climbedafter it. To our surprise we found thisegg contained a young bird nearly ready tohatch, and apparently it had been alivewhen the mother left the nest the day be-fore. This irregularity is by no means rareamong woodpeckers, but I had not foundit before in the robin family. 76. JIMS BABIES You slay them all ! And wherefore ? For the gainOf a scant handful more or less of wheat,Or rye, or barley, or some other grain,Scratched up at random by industrious teet,Searching for worm or weevil atter rain ! Longfellow. MR. ERNEST SETON-THOMP-SON says every wild creaturecomes to a tragic end, and this seems tobe particularly true of crows. They are theIshmaels of the feathered kingdom, withevery mans hand against them. The lawwhich protects other birds offers a bountyfor their heads. The farmers hate them ; thesmall boy considers them legitimate prey, andpockets the price on their heads with thesatisfaction of well-doing. I confess to agrudge against them myself for the manynests of song-birds they have robbed withinmy own precincts. It is disappointing towatch a brood day by day until the young77 NESTLINGS OF FOREST AND MARSH are hatched, and you have conceived a reallove for the helpless little things,
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1902
