It's A Big, Big World

Day 244: There's been lots of activity at the doorway of the House of Chirp over the last few days, both parents flying in with tasty bugs to lure the kids up from the nest cup for their first look at the big, big world. And once the youngsters have seen Mom flying, their curiosity draws them to peek out time and again, siblings jostling for the prime position. "Where does she go? How does Dad catch bugs? Oh, it's a long way down!" The parents perch on the power line, calling to the kids. "Come on, you can do it!" It won't be long now before this brood takes wing. The little ones' gapes are still yellow, their head feathers dark grey. The gape colouration will change over the next two weeks, although the parents will still feed them on the wing for a while. Their feathers will grow stronger and take on the iridescent sheen of purple and green as melanin is activated, although much of what we humans perceive as feather "colour" is actually due to the microscopic structures within the feathers themselves, and not to the pigment. Within a month, the kids will look just like their parents, but a practiced eye may be able to pick out youngsters by their behaviour. After all, kids will be kids, even little birds.