. Rambles of a Canadian naturalist. Natural history; Natural history. A GREAT, callow, overgrown Cow- bird, fed by a ditninutive pair of industrious and attentive Chipping Sparrows, is the most palpable fraud of the summer season. The over-burdened foster parents have to stand on tip-toe to reach the open beak of the hungry pretender, who has turned out their own progeny to die helplessly beside the parental nest. How importunate he is ! If they fly across the field he flies after them, as if he were angry at the freedom they presumed to take, and determined by force, if neces- sary, to make t
. Rambles of a Canadian naturalist. Natural history; Natural history. A GREAT, callow, overgrown Cow- bird, fed by a ditninutive pair of industrious and attentive Chipping Sparrows, is the most palpable fraud of the summer season. The over-burdened foster parents have to stand on tip-toe to reach the open beak of the hungry pretender, who has turned out their own progeny to die helplessly beside the parental nest. How importunate he is ! If they fly across the field he flies after them, as if he were angry at the freedom they presumed to take, and determined by force, if neces- sary, to make them more assiduous and attentive. But they do not shirk the burden that fate and intentional deception have imposed on them. They sktury about in the edge of the grain field and along the roadside, picking up every insect in sight and returning in haste to the big, indolent impostor sitting on the rail with bill readily agape. He seems to have a phenomenal capacity for swallowing. No matter how frequent the visits of his little foster parents, he is ever ready to demand more. His insatiable appetite seems to puzzle and worry 105. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Wood, Samuel Thomas, 1860-1917; Holmes, Robert, ill. London [etc. ] J. M. Dent & Sons
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectnaturalhistory, booky
