9.55.—One of the birds back. Too dark, of course, to observe. Both the chicks were fed once at least by the arriving bird, and in a manner which suggested regurgitation and nothing else—jerking of the parent bird's head, muscular action of the throat, &c. Whatever they got was disgorged in some manner from the crop or gullet. It was not carried in the beak and dropped into their mouths. But to-night I could not feel so sure that the chicks were fed a second, third, or fourth time. If fed at all after the first time, it was in a very inferior degree. The bill of the old bird, indeed, was placed within that of the chick (or rather the chicks so placed it by grasping it with theirs), and jerks of the head were made by the parent bird, but with much less emphasis than the first time.
At 10.10 came away, leaving bird still with the chicks.
July 3rd.—(Fine all day.) Arrived at 8.30 p.m. Bird had moved again, and was sitting where I found her on July 1st. Note here that "Bird" at beginning of entry means throughout the lighter coloured bird that sits all day, and which I take to be the hen. Henceforth I shall call the dark bird the male, and the light one the female. This, however, is only assumption, however probable.
8.45.—Chicks came out and jumped up to be fed, but, as far as I could see, were refused. This twice. The third time they may have got something, but I do not think they did. Nor the fourth. During this, one of the little chicks ran with perfect ease some four or five inches from the old bird, and then returned. Afterwards the other did the same. Find it difficult to be quite sure if the parent bird gives the chicks anything before she flies away for the first time. One of the chicks running all about.[1] Again, they may have got something, but cannot be certain. Old bird gave a great gape with her enormous jaws—and just now again; quite a wonderful sight. This makes me think that the chicks did get something, as I have not seen the birds gape except in connection with the process of feeding, either at the time or afterwards, that is to say.
- ↑ "The young of this bird, when able to crawl about," &c. (Seebohm, 'A History of British Birds'). "The nestlings... have been known to display a precocious activity approaching to that of the young of gallinaceous," &c. (Howard Saunders, 'Manual of British Birds'). I do not suppose my chicks were two infant prodigies. [My own italics.]
