File:Birds and their nests and eggs - found in and near great towns (1907) (14753173234).jpg

Identifier: birdstheirnestse00vosg (find matches)
Title: Birds and their nests and eggs : found in and near great towns
Year: 1907 (1900s)
Authors: Vos, George Herklots
Subjects: Birds Birds Birds
Publisher: London : G. Routledge New York : E.P. Dutton.
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Smithsonian Libraries

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ed out of its nest accidentally,or have come off worst in a quarrel with itsstronger brothers and sisters before it couldfly. I have seen the young, tw^o or three ata time, when almost ready to take wing, situpon the edge of the nest (see Plate XLI),pecking each other mercilessly, all tryingeither to get the best place or even to dis-lodge one another entirely, in their efforts notto miss the tit-bits from the attentive, inde-fatigable parent birds, who keep flying up tothe nest from time to time. This perching onthe rim of the nest when they sit up for thefirst time, lasts, I believe, only two or threedays. Then, after they have felt their wingsa bit, comes the first flight, which is an anxiousmoment for themselves and their parents.They do not, I think, return much to the nest,but sit about on gutters or ledges, where theykeep twittering to remind their parents theyare there and are hungry all the time. Whenstrong enough they join their parents in EARLY JUNE—OUR LAST EXCURSION 143
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Plate XLI : Nest of house-martin—with fledgHng.(yo size.) catching insects, up and down the streets,or in the meadows (their smaller size andfeebler flight distinguish them), until they 144 * AMONGST THE WOODLAND BIRDS- get quite strong on the wing, and migrate withtheir parents in the autumn. The old birdslay a second clutch of eggs as soon as thelittle ones are gone, or even before this, Ihave thought. Perhaps this fledgling hadtaken its first flight and colhded with the tele-graph wires, which seem to be multiphed eachweek! Anyhow, some mishap overtook it. Ipicked it up insensible, and it breathed forseveral hours afterwards, but finally suc-cumbed—the cause of death was concussionof the brain, I think. A similar bird to the house-martin and theswallow is the swift. It has a considerablybroader expanse of wing than either of theother birds, and is totally black, or ratherbrownish-black, except the chin which isgreyish-white. The swallow is buff-wliite on the chestand the under

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