The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1919-08-23
BRINGING UP THE BIRDS.
How Young Blue Jays Are Taught to
Get Their Own Living.

The young bird has to learn how TO do
things, just as small boys and girls do,
although not in exactly the same way
One Of the first lessons he learns is
how to fly He really knows how to do
this, but needs practice until his wings
grow strong enough. to carry him through
the air. Many young birds begin this
practice before they leave the nest.
have often seen nesting beating and
beating his wings without stirring an
inch from his tiny home.
You have heard perhaps that the fa-
Their and mother birds push their babies
out of the nest. Do not believe any such
thing, because it is not true. have seen
many young birds leave the nest of their
own accord, but never one pushed out.
Sometimes the mother may coax her
children, but often they fly out while the
parents are away finding food.
After the young bird leaves the nest,
his father and mother follow and feed
him, for he does not know yet how to
feed himself This is the next lesson he
has TO learn He must also know where
to sleep, and how to protect himself from
all the other creatures that want TO
catch and eat him. Then he must be able
TO sing, and no doubt there are many
other lessons for him to learn that we do
not know about.
Once had a good chance to watch two
young blue jays learn to get their own
living. After they left the nest they
lived in a little grove, where I could cas-
lily find them when | went to watch
They seemed 10 be always hungry, and
every few minutes one of the parents
would hurry up with a grasshopper or
some other insect to stuff INTO the wide
open mouths. They were fed choke cher
ries, too, These little wild cherries grew
on big tree in the grove.
One day after giving the twins choke
cherries the parents slipped quietly out
Of sight and stayed away long time.
could see them perehing near, but the
young birds could not The father and
mother were not hunting food as usual,
but seemed to be taking a rest. won
dered at this, for | had never seen them
resting since the little ones were hatched
The twins, who were quite as large as
their parents now, did not try to pull
any of the fruit from the trees, although
it grew all about, and they had often
seen il done. They sat idly picking at
their toes, stretching their beautiful
wings, or hopping from branch TO branch.
Soon it was evident that they were
hungry, for they began to call Nothing
happened. They called again. Still no
food This must have been great sur
prise, for usually their cries brought a
parent with food at once. Hungrier and
hungrier they grew, and louder and
louder they called but still no parents.
All this time / could see the mother
and father birds sitting near, and also
began to wonder why they did not bring
something,
At last the mother flew to the children,
but with nothing in her beak. Squawk
ing madly, the two hungry youngsters
flung themselves upon her. They almost
knocked her off the perch. She just
hoped out of the way and did not seem
to care that they were hungry. Again
the twins few at her. begging for food,
and again she calmly hoped out Of the
way Then she hoped up to branch of
cherries and pulled one. The children
crowded close, and what do you think
that bird did? She deliberately swal.
lowed that cherry herself
The twins seemed dumbfounded. For a
minute they did not make sound nor
move muscle. Then screaming louder
than ever they began jerking at The
choke cherries for themselves At first
they were so clumsy they dropped every
one, but soon they managed to swallow
few
These two young blue jays had learned
the great lesson of their lives.-0live
Thorne Miller in "Zion's Herald"