the second time i went to california the little whitewashed adobe opposite my ranch was still standing, but an acacia-tree had grown over the well where the black ph?be had nested, and the shaft was so overrun with bushes and vines that it was hard to find a trace of it. drawn by pleasant memories, i rode in one morning, sure of finding something interesting about the old place.
i had not waited long before the chip of a young bird came from the vines over the well. it proved a callow nestling, with no tail, and little to mark its parentage. presently a brown long-tailed wren-tit came with food in its bill and peered down through the leaves at it; and then a california towhee came and sat around till satisfied as to whose child was crying. a moment later a lazuli bunting flew over with food in her[190] bill, and i at once bethought me of the lazuli-like markings, the brownish wing-bars and the sharp cry of "quit," which none but a lazuli could give. that surely was my bird.
but if so, what did this interest on the part of the wren-tit mean? she hopped about the nestling with tail up and crest raised, chattering to it in low mysterious tones; and when i suspected her of giving her worm to it, suddenly turned her head and looked away with a suspiciously non-committal air. the lazuli, however, sat indifferently on a branch and plumed her feathers, though when she did fly down toward the young one, the wren-tit gave way. but even then the lazuli did not feed the small bird. when she had gone, the wren-tit came back. she spoke low to the nestling, and drew it down into the thick part of the tangle where i could not see them, though there was a hint of tiny quivering wings, and i was morally certain that the old bird was feeding it, especially when she flew up in sight with the smart air of having outwitted me.
i was getting more and more bewildered. what did it all mean? were there two families of young down in the tangle? if not, why were two old birds feeding one little one, and to which mother did the child belong? the wisdom of solomon was needed to solve the riddle.
the wren-tit simply devoted herself to the little bird, going and coming for it constantly; while[191] the lazuli, ordinarily the most nervous noisy bird when her young are disturbed, sat around silently, or flew away without remark. i became so impressed by the wren-tit side of the case that i quite forgot the lazuli note and markings.
just as i thought i had come to a decision in the case, a male lazuli flew in, lighting atilt of an acacia stalk opposite the wren-tit. but when he saw me he craned his neck and flew off in a hurry—no father, surely, scared away at the first glimpse of me! however, i was not clear in my mind, and sat down to puzzle the matter out.
at this juncture madame lazuli came with food; the young bird turned toward her for it, and behold! she took to her wings with all she had brought. i had hardly time to congratulate myself on this new piece of testimony, when back came the lazuli with her bill full!
in my perplexity i moved so near the little one that, without meaning to, i forced the old birds to show their true colors. the situation was too dangerous to admit of further subterfuge. both madame lazuli and her handsome blue mate—whom i discovered at a safe distance up on a high branch out of reach—flew down and dashed about, twitching their tails from side to side as they cried "quit," in nervous tones; altogether acting so much like anxious parents that i had to relinquish my theory that the little bird belonged to the wren-tit. like the mother whom solomon[192] judged, she forgot all else when real danger threatened the child. having come to my decision from circumstantial evidence, i remembered with a start that i had known it all the time, from the wing-bars and the call note! nevertheless, my riddle was only half solved, for how about the wren-tit?
a young bird called from the sycamore at the corner of the adobe, and when both old birds flew over to it, i thought i'd better follow. i got there just in time to see a little bird light in the elbow of a limb, totter as if going to fall, and save itself by snuggling up in the elbow, where it sat in the sun looking very cozy and comfortable—winning little tot. the mother lazuli started to come to it, but seeing me flew away to another branch, where, well screened, she stretched up on her toes to look at me over the top of a big sycamore leaf. though the fledgling called, the mother left without going to it.
the wren-tit had stayed behind at the well; but while the lazuli was gone, who should come flying in but the foster mother! i was astonished. moreover, the instant the youngster set eyes on her, it started up and flew to her—actually flew into her in its hurry. she admonished it gently, in a soft chattering voice, for she could not scold it.
when the lazuli came back with food, it was only to see her little bird flying off to the other side of the tree after the wren-tit! i thought she[193] seemed bewildered, but she followed in their wake—we all followed. here came a closer test. both lazuli and wren-tit stood before the small bird. which would it go to? the lazuli kept silent, but the wren-tit called softly and the little one raised its wings and flew toward her, leaving its mother behind.
i watched and waited, but the wren-tit did not give over her kind offices, and the last i saw of the birds, on riding away, the three were flying in procession across the brush, the lazuli following its mother and the wren-tit bringing up the rear.
i went home very much puzzled. was the wren-tit a lonely mother bird who had lost her own little ones, or was she merely an old maid with a warm spot in her heart for other peoples' little folks?
