. Nestlings of forest and marsh . d I watched themopenly. At first they came with mud, thenbits of fibre and fine moss, then more six days they were busy weaving andshaping it to their taste. As she sat in it tomould it, her little tail was often flat upagainst the boards, a most uncomfortableposition, but the home-making so absorbedher that she did not mind. When the housewas finished, an artist might have marvelledat its beauty, — of soft green and silver, soround and smooth that it looked to beshaven, and yet every little spear of mosswas perfect in shape. It has been suggestedtha
. Nestlings of forest and marsh . d I watched themopenly. At first they came with mud, thenbits of fibre and fine moss, then more six days they were busy weaving andshaping it to their taste. As she sat in it tomould it, her little tail was often flat upagainst the boards, a most uncomfortableposition, but the home-making so absorbedher that she did not mind. When the housewas finished, an artist might have marvelledat its beauty, — of soft green and silver, soround and smooth that it looked to beshaven, and yet every little spear of mosswas perfect in shape. It has been suggestedthat Phcebes, humming-birds, and others whopad their nests thickly with moss and down,do so to render them non-conductors ofelectricity during a storm ; but this seems tome very improbable. Yet what better ex-planation have I ? We all ask why ? but he who is to explain Natures mysteriesis yet to come. It was enough for me toknow that when the five tiny white eggswere laid in that pretty nest, the mother92 PHCEBES AND THEIR COUSINS. brooded while the father watched andsang. He took up his position on the end ofthe ridge-pole of theroof directly over thenest, and while incu-bation was going onwas rarely absent andrarely silent. At allhours of the day andfar into the night Iheard him, and myglass seldom failed toshow him standinglike a sentinel inthe same place. Heseemed never tosleep, and I know he Baby pewee fast aslecp spent every clear night on the ridge-pole. When the little ones were hatched, mostof the feeding seemed to be done by themother. True, the father would catch hismeal in a short flight out from his perch andback again in true flycatcher fashion, and93 NESTLINGS OF FOREST AND MARSH dodge down with it to the babies; butusually it was the mother who flutteredback and forth with tiny bugs for the were five pretty nestlings in that onesmall house, scarcely big enough for they grew larger, the wee mother seemedto sit up on a platform of tiny
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1902
