Every morning on entering the court I called at the nest, and always
found five yellow beaks turned to the front. On the third day the heads
were covered with slate-colored down; on the fourth, wing-feathers began
to show among the heads, but the body was still perfectly bare; on the
fifth, the eyes opened on the green world about them,--they were then
certainly five days old, and may have been seven; owing to our
unfortunate absence at the critical time I cannot be sure. On the
seventh day the red-brown of the back began to show, and the white of
the breast made itself visible, while the heads began to look feathery
instead of fuzzy. Even then, however, they took no notice when I put my
finger on them.
Long before this time the manner of the parents had changed. In the
first place, they were more busy; foraging industriously on the ground,
coming within ten or fifteen feet of us, without appearing to see us at
all. In fact they had, after the first day, paid no attention to us, for
we never had disturbed them, never went to the nest till sure that both
were away, and kept still and quiet in our somewhat distant seat.
About this time they began to show more anxiety in their manner. The
first exhibition was on the fourth day since we knew the young were
hatched (and let me say that I _believe_ they were just out of the shell
the morning that we found the father feeding). On this fourth day the
singer perched near the nest-tree, three or four feet from the ground,
and began a very loud wren "dear-r-r-r! dear-r-r-r! dear-r-r-r!"
constantly repeated. He jerked himself about with great apparent
excitement, looking always on the ground as if he saw an enemy there. We
thought it might be a cat we had seen prowling about, but on examination
no cat was there. Gradually his tone grew lower and lower, and he calmed
down so far as a wren can calm, though he did not cease his cries. I did
not know he could be still so long, but I learned more about wren
possibilities in that line somewhat later.