Page:Bird-lore Vol 05.djvu/100

 Nesting of the Indigo Banting

BY LILIAN CLEVELAND. West Mediord. Mass.

N the morning of IVIay 26, 1900, while working in my garden. a O sharp [Iii/t! attracted my attention, and, glancing up, I saw a small brown bird perched on the piazza rail, with some plant- down in its billi After nervously bobbing its head up and down, and twitching the tail from side to side several times, it darted into the deut- zia bush, and in a moment appeared from the other side and ﬂew away. Upon examination, I found the upright stalks drawn together and fastened with rootlets twined around them Dried leaves and shreds from the grapewines also were included in the foundation. Some of the previous year's clematis ﬂuff was next in order. Thinking to help my little visitor, I hung some hairs from a horse's tail about on the bushes. She readily accepted them, and lined the nest beautifully. My desire to identify this plainly dressed bird was great, It looked like a Sparrow. but unlike any of those I knew well. Great was my surprise and delight when. on a birch close by, I next day discovered the pair in consultation. Now identiﬁcation was easy, for the brilliant iridescent greenish blue of the male was unmistakable After that he came with his mate often and went into the bush, but I am quite sure he did not bring any material for the nests They talked together while there in little chirps and coos.

After the nest was finished, which was on the 30th, they left it, and. I feared, would not return; but, on ,Iune 3, one little white egg was in the nest, the next morning another. and the next still another. Then followed two weeks of incubation, during which time I never saw the male near the nest. I heard him singing from the tree-tops in a neighboring ﬁeld; but, early or late, so far as I know, he did not come to the bush- The little mother, though at ﬁrst very much frightened when we watched her, soon became accustomed to our presence. and would not fly off when we leaned over the railing and talked to her in the most ﬂattering languagei

On June 17 these patriotic birds hatched, one in the morning, the other vtwo before nights Then came the question of food for them, and at this time I watched for the father. thinking he would surely come to do his part; but either he was uncommonly la or it was part of the plan to keep his brilliant color away from the vicinity of the nest, as I caught not even a glimpse of himr Owing to the thickness of foliage and blossoms on the bush, it was quite difﬁcult to tell whether the exclusive diet of the nestlings was soft, green worms and three-quarter-inch grass— hoppers or not. but those two were all that we saw them have. Their mother had a busy time hunting grasshoppers by hovering over the uncut grass in an adjoining ﬁeld. On June 26 the little ones began leaving

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