Evening star., 1948-05-20
This and That
BIZ Charles z. TrdceWell

Can pigeon move her eggs from one nest
to another?
This is the question asked by reader, who
says: There is pigeon sitting on two eggs
on one of my garage window sills. At first the
eggs were on one window sill. Now she is
sitting on two eggs on the third sill, two
windows away from the first. No eggs on first
sill. Can she move her eggs? Positively the
same pigeon. No sign of shell below window
to show that she pushed the first eggs of"
The answer is that the pigeon cannot. The
bird egg, once laid is laid for keeps, unless
some more powerful creature takes fancy
to it.
In the present case, we would say that per-
haps some wag of human changed the eggs,
just for the fun of it, or, what is more likely,
jay or squirrel took them away, and the
mother pigeon laid anew
There is now on the press SIT book on
"The Avian Egg"
Too bad that it's price has to be so high, for
surely there would be much in 1t to interest
all nature lovers.
The way birds lay eggs incubate them, hatch
them, then feed and care for the babies
is never-ending source of wonder
The eggs, themselves, Of many shapes and
colors, with shells of varying thickness and
texture were once collectors items, but pres
ent laws forbid their collection
Some of the books on birds have plates
showing bird eggs, and these are valuable
Matching the pictures to the real things is
not easy, and the average information seeker
cannot be quite sure he has done 1t correctly.
When one stops to think of the millions of
eggs laid it is a wonder that no more of them
are found smashed on roadway Or sidewalk.
The birds and the beasts do not get very
many of them, evidently.
Nor do winds tumble them out. or bad wrens
peck holes in them, as a general thing.
Nature, with her birds, has done better. and
though many are lost, inevitably, most OF the
eggs become birds, feathers and all
sAS+
The inability of birds to do anything about
eggs fallen from the nest is proverbial.
The songsters cannot help much, either
when a baby bird falls.
Kind-hearted humans often put the babies
back, but the Humpty Dumpties of eggs usually
are beyond collection.
The baby bird fallen from a nest must
wander hopelessly, usually to be killed by some
animal, If human being does not come to
| its rescue.
Young birds have something of the faculty
| of human babies to arouse sympathy.
| And those who have raised them "by hand"
| state that there arises a peculiar bond be-
| tween the two beings In such different levels
of life.
| 1t is the happy fate of many of these foster
| parents to have the birds return every spring.
and to show evidence Of their knowledge Of
| the favors done them in the past.
| This is happy experience, one duplicated
| thousands of times in the suburban sections.
| Here is is a baby robin, here blue jay, here
| a young sparrow. Perhaps the young robins
| are most rewarding, but this will be disputed
| by bringer-uppers Of other birds.
Young birds need to be fed every hour with
bread and milk, ground meat yolk Of hard
| boiled egg, bits of liver, tiny insects and
| beetles, with plenty of water, administered
with a medicine dropper. If a feeding is
missed, no harm is done. No food need be
| given from dusk to dawn. The bird should
be given an opportunity to peck at dirt beneath
a tree or shrub, but no grit, as such, should
| be fed. 1t is amazing how quickly young birds
learn to find ugly looking bugs and beetles.
| At last the time will come when the baby
must be released, and he will unnlistakabiy
set the day for hirpself.