11 OCTOBER 1930, Page 16

How BIRDS FF.ED.

It is a question open to more scientific enquiry than it Inc received how far birds prepare the food for their young. Certainly some feed by regurgitation ; some perhaps in both ways. My correspondent brought up a young swallow which the older birds fed, becoming so tame that they would perch on the little finger and feed the youngster who clung to the forefinger of their saviour's hand. In this case the young was stuffed with "what looked like a bundle of legs of large gnats," but the operation was so rapid that even so it was difficult to trace the process. Most of us probably have watched swallows feeding the young in the air and been amazed at the dainty speed.

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