* * * * Late Broods In a colony of
martins, who have built over three score of nests in one short piece of wall, two or three have this week, and this week only, hatched their final brood. These are probably the pairs that have been previously ousted by sparrows, though for the most part, rather surprisingly, the sparrows were worsted in their efforts to evict the martins. The size of the colony perhaps frightened them and, indeed, at times the clamour has been almost alarming. What will happen to these late-hatched broods ? Will they really be strong enough a few weeks hence to set forth on journeys that may be three thousand miles in length, say seventy hours of flying ? Probably they will. All this tribe develop at quite surprising speed ; and the last brood, I fancy, is the quickest to grow. They return to the nest till they are well grown. The parents have nothing else to do but feed them, and the air, for the first time this year, is full of flies and the like. The birds can be crammed with success and without the ill effects that follow an excessive dose of scholastic pabulum.
Previous page
