54 Bird — Lore
up to me and looked me in the eye. as if to intimidate me, while he exclaimed “artittllpl a-tittup!“ but soon disappeared and either fed his brood silently or led their uncertain flight from sapling to sapling.
The young have an odd appearance of being larger than the parents, owing to the plumage being fluffy and not so neatly preened as in the neat, alett older bird. They are of a light gray, more like a Bush-tit with short tail, and lack the flame-colored rrown-ornament of the male and the greenish shade that distinguishes both older birds, Their note is the finest, most needleelike chirp imaginable: and it was no longer a wonder that I could not hear it while they were still in the nest, Following this sound, I distinctly saw one only a few feet above me. His mother came and fed him silently, with as much unconcern as if I had been far away.
I returned to the nest and chopped down the tree, hoping to take the nest home I found it too loosely built and too dependent upon many growing twigs of the tree to be retrieved, and the whole limb was too bulky, I was rewarded for my pains, however, by finding a perfect little egg, which was so well protected by the mass of feathers that it did not break when the tree crashed to the ground. This egg appeared rather of a cream-color than a buff, and had no distinguishable spots, though the texture seemed somewhat granular. It was decidedly pointed at one end and very broad at the other, measuring .ssx.47.
Early on the morning of August 3. I heard again the high musical song of the male. The line insect-like chatter of the young was all about me in the boughs that formed my shelter. so I knew that the family was still keeping together and gaining strength for their long journey to the south, where I hope to meet them again next winter.
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