. Nestlings of forest and marsh, by Irene Grosvenor Wheelock; . r up the branch, — a smallround hole made by a downy little bluebird mother, distressed at theundesired exposure of her domestic arrange-ments, after much talking it over with herspouse, decided to abandon the eggs andmake a new home elsewhere. At first aclump of willows in a swampy place was29 NESTLINGS OF FOREST AND MARSH considered, and had this been chosen our his-tory might never have been written. Bothbirds seemed to examine every available placethere, and so pleased were they with one deserted wood-peckers ho
. Nestlings of forest and marsh, by Irene Grosvenor Wheelock; . r up the branch, — a smallround hole made by a downy little bluebird mother, distressed at theundesired exposure of her domestic arrange-ments, after much talking it over with herspouse, decided to abandon the eggs andmake a new home elsewhere. At first aclump of willows in a swampy place was29 NESTLINGS OF FOREST AND MARSH considered, and had this been chosen our his-tory might never have been written. Bothbirds seemed to examine every available placethere, and so pleased were they with one deserted wood-peckers home, Ibegan to fear theyhad decided upon it. She who hesitatesis lost, and whileMadam was stilllooking at emptyhouses this one waspreempted by nut-hatches. Whennext she approachedit in blind confi-dence with mouthfull of grass, a storm of nasal Non, non, Non, non, greeted her. Nuthatch Frenchwas convincing, and beyond a feeble protestshe made no attempt to dispute their estab-lished claim. A site was finally chosen,after much anxious consultation and fre-3°. Bluebirds nest in hollow tree A MAY MOVING quent internal inspection, to see whether itwould fit and had a good subcellar andplenty of closet room, and with many pro-longed pauses in the doorway to considerthe view. It was in a tall stump in a groveof elms on the shores of a beautiful lake,and was more commodious than the firstnesting-place, being the last years excava-tion of a red-headed woodpecker. Also,the more pretentious doorway was severalfeet higher up and well out of the reach ofprying fingers. Another thing commendablein the eyes of the home-seekers was theabsence of any bark on the outside thatinquisitive hands could break off. Theother door taced east, while this faced westand allowed a fine view of the sunsets overthe lake. Well satisfied with their choice,the patient, uncomplaining pair broughtgrass, feathers, and hair to furnish their newdwelling. In a few days — five, I think —the little blue mother re
Size: 1238px × 2017px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1902
