The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1902-04-24
THE BIRDS KINDERGARTEN
Early Lessons Taught by Bird Parents TO
Some OF Our Best Known SoBgsters.
GENE STRArroS-PoRrER IN OUTING.

| fair division of food and eat i'll urn, but
in this they are scarcely successful, for the
firstborn has one day the start. Each day
counts largely with nestlings, and as the
first Matched stands the tallest, is strong
est, opens its mouth widest, and squeals
| loudest, the result is that it is the first fed
and usually gets the lions share. Even
after leaving the nest this frStling of the
brood continues to demand first and most
attention so vociferouSly that he usually
gets it. Nanny, nanny, don't you see
| mei' he seems to be crying. Il am your
firstborn and your darling. | am the hun
grieSt, and the worms are so small
you stay so long getting them, and
the rest had all the last ones. So that,
no matter for which mouth the little moth
er really intended the worm. II usually
goes down the guilet thrust most persist
emily in front of her beak, though she tries
hard TO avoid it and divide evenly, as an
impartial mother should. Often the half
starved baby lifts its feeble head and
clamors SO piteously that, in a pang of
mother pity and self condemnation, she
leans over and goes through the motion
Of dropping morsel with an empty beak
into little mouth equally as empty.
The first real lesson given young birds
| in the nest is how to act at the approach
of intruders. In case something frightens
them, or their parents chirp the danger
signal, they are taught TO crouch low IN
the nest, cling to the lining with both feet
for dear life make no sound, and look Just
as much like a mass of sticks and twlgs
as possible So completely are they
drilled in this that ones hand may even
touch them before they will cry or move.
1t is only when picked up that they cling
with surprising strength, often bringing
the lining of the nest with them, and squat
to make up for lost time.
The next lesson of young birds is flight
! Flight is not altogether matter OF IN
lstinct. Many young birds are nervous ana
tiInid ard have to be taught, and, as
last resort, fairly hustled and driven from
the nest Warblers, fycatchers, and
thrushes seem to fly with greater ease and
less fear but members of the sparrow
tribe, buntings, finches, and grosbeaks, as
well as some of the birds of extreme
nights, must have the method OF tight
! illustrated over and over, and still cling
to the nest qniyering with fear while their
| teachers coax, encourage, and almost force
them before they gather courage to spread
their wings, launch their trembling little
bodies into space, and emulate the lessons
given them They may well be excused
their hesitation and fears. No doubt 1t
is Just cause for extreme misgiving to
leave for the first time their sheltered,
downy nest, perched often at an extreme
hight. and try to believe that il they
spread their wings and leap into space
they will land safely in the next tree in
stead of being crushed to death far be-
low. In the case of a wel-flled nest,
flight is almost sure to be a compulsory
matter up to the departure of the baby,
and even its leaving is not always vOlun-
tary. The first Matched is the strongest
and keeps well on top of the weaker nest
lings in order to be ready for the greater
share of food supplies, and so finds it easy
to climb to the edge of the nest. Once it
attains the edge it needs only little jOstle
by the old ones, only a slight push by the
next in size back of it, only a stiff breeze,
and it loses balance and in the headlong
plunge it must fly or be killed. With the
baby of the brood there is a chance for a
different situation, and it aptly illustrates
what the whole brood would do if they
had its opportunities. 1t so enjoys mo-
nopoly of the nest that it remains there for
the greater part of two days, and then
cautiously climbs to the edge. There it
cries, spreads its wings, and pleads for
help; wishes it could fly, and don't see why
it can't; settles down and sleeps, and wax
ing repeats the performance over and over
until its parents have followed the rest of
the family so far afield that it is frequent
ly forgotten. 1t suffers from hunger to
such an extent that it sometimes becomes
so excited on hearing its mothers chirp
in the vicinity that it leans too far, and
like the rest of the brood is compelled to
fly in self-preservation after all its hours
of dread and waiting. But as n rule the
baby has the best chance of any nesting
of the brood to stay until it is ready TO
attempt fight because it feels that it is
able to fly.
simultaneously with the lesson of flight
comes training on the selection of suitable
perching places. how to hide under leaves
and debris if they cannot fly very well,
how 10 select high, dry, secure sleeping
places, how many times to turn around,
how often to refold the wings, and how
to tuck their heads. All the requirements
of going to sleep properly are embraced
in this lesson.
The bird teachers meet one of their most
discouraging times with the next lesson
which is how to forage. Birds that are
light and quick of wing take to food hunt
ing almost instinctively, while others, not
ably sparrows, absolutely refuse to search
for food, and sit open-mouthed and squaIl-
ing when they really appear larger than
their overworked little mothers, who be-
come SO distracted at their clamor and
hunger-cries that they often leave a new
nest and brooding and go to forage for
their hungry children in order to still their
cries. At the mention of the sparrow it
is not necessary to let the mind revert to
sparrow curse. W q nave Is
other sparrOws among our native song
sters, all of them dainty, beautiful birds,
fair singers, Industrious breeders, skilful
architects, and valuable destroyers of
plant lice, bugs, and worms. These tired
little sparrOw-mOtherS make all sorts of
efforts to encourage their offspring to be-
come self-supporting. They illustrate the
method of darting after flies over and
over. They show the young ones how to
peer under leaves and search tender stalks
for plant lice and bugs. They coax them
to the ground and give them object les
sons on how to scratch for worms. And
there are other youngsters even more help
less than the sparrows. 1t is nothing I'M
common to see robins, larks, blackbirds,
crows, and many others feeding young
ones that really appear as large as them
selves. There are no more beautiful
babies in all birdland than young shrikes,
but they are extremely slow to become
self-suppOrting.
Another important lesson-for the birds
are always immaculate-is the toilet.
There are exceptions, but most young birds
are carefully groomed before leaving the
nest. Their feathers are neatly dressed,
the down pulled out and they go forth to
the world quite as beautiful as their ex-
cited little parents think them. Several
species of small birds carry down from the
nests on their heads, but young bellbirds, !
orioles, cardinal and roSe-breaster gros-
beaks, shrikes, jays, bobolinks, and many
others leave their nests perfect picture of
neatness and beauty.
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