. Nestlings of forest and marsh, by Irene Grosvenor Wheelock; . us, and watched my windowwith frightened eyes. Fearing she woulddesert, I kept the curtains drawn, and onlyindulged in cautious peeking. For fourteendays she brooded, relieved at long intervalsby her mate. At these times, when he was left incharge, he made no pretence of coveringthe eggs, but stood astride them, a ludi-crous picture of masculine helplessness inthe care of babies. If she lingered awaytoo long, he called her,— at first coaxingly,then imperatively, then angrily ; and oftenhave I seen him fly out and drive her backto
. Nestlings of forest and marsh, by Irene Grosvenor Wheelock; . us, and watched my windowwith frightened eyes. Fearing she woulddesert, I kept the curtains drawn, and onlyindulged in cautious peeking. For fourteendays she brooded, relieved at long intervalsby her mate. At these times, when he was left incharge, he made no pretence of coveringthe eggs, but stood astride them, a ludi-crous picture of masculine helplessness inthe care of babies. If she lingered awaytoo long, he called her,— at first coaxingly,then imperatively, then angrily ; and oftenhave I seen him fly out and drive her backto her proper sphere in the home. At suchtimes he lectured her severely on her neglectof duty, and flew away without his customarysoft twittering. Whether because she fearedme or because she liked liberty, she wasloath to come back to the drudgery of nest-keeping, and he knew it. He was a strict63 NESTLINGS OF FOREST AND MARSH disciplinarian, and his rule of conduct evi-dently was, I will be master of what ismine own. , On the fifteenth day there was a change-. Baby robins eighteen days old Three small featherless birdlings were seenlying in a mixed-up mass in the little by their great gaping yellow mouthscould we tell how many there were, butthose were ever open. The parents surveyedthem with such ostentatious pride, I decidedit was their first brood. For a long timeboth male and female brought food, andseemed to know instinctively which one hadbeen fed last. They were model offspring64 A MARTINET IN FEATHERS and rarely cried, but I could notice littlecontented wrigglings and cuddlings when thesoft low twittering of the parents on theirway home was heard. Some of the leaves hung over the nest onthe side next the window, and preventeda full view, so a small boy climbed upand removed them. This caused great con-sternation in the robin family, and it wasmore than an hour before the mother cameto the nest again. When she did, it wasonly to sit on an adjacent branch andchu
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1902
