三. 辛劳的鸟妈和鸟爸

小鸟破壳至今已满一周。它们已经睁开眼睛，常常吃饱了就伸头向外张望。但它们非常敏感，只要我一举起手机准备拍照，它们就立即缩回去。它们很能吃，一天到晚不停地吃。鸟爸鸟妈轮流不息地出去寻食，配合得相当默契，只要外出寻食的那只一回来，还不等来到跟前，巢中这只就立刻起飞腾出位置。实在难以想象它们是怎么交流的，这对幸福的鸟夫妻竟这般恩爱，喂养鸟宝宝又如此细心和默契。

然而有一次我无意中发现一个意外情况。鸟夫妻刚刚还头对头地站在鸟巢边沿上，一边看着巢中的幼鸟，一边叽叽喳喳互相说着什么。突然，它俩同时起飞，飞到附近的葡萄架上，又飞到车库的屋顶上，异常的嘶鸣很像是在吵架，还吵得很凶。紧接着鸟妈跳开去，鸟爸追过去。鸟妈又跳开去，背对着鸟爸，鸟爸也背对着鸟妈，就这样僵持数分钟。

这是什么情况？我作为邻居和旁观者，多少有些尴尬，想劝两句。可还没想出劝架的办法，就发现鸟妈又跳到另外一个地方，这回鸟爸主动示好，也跟着跳了过去，在鸟妈身边默默站了许久。 

最后，鸟爸飞走了。鸟妈似乎还在生气，一动不动的站在那里。很快，鸟爸叼着蚯蚓飞回鸟巢。小家伙们一个个伸着脖子张着大嘴，期盼着美味。鸟爸把蚯蚓送到了鸟宝宝们的嘴里，看着小鸟吞咽，停了片刻又飞走了。这时，鸟妈才从原地一蹦一跳地回到鸟巢，站在鸟巢边沿上慈爱地看了看鸟宝宝们，然后温柔地坐进巢中。

这场持续了至少十分钟“鸟夫妻吵架”事件，增加了我对知更鸟情感世界的认知。会吵架的鸟家庭还真有“鸟情味”。

我觉得鸟妈妈应该特别习惯我的示好。每次我拿起手机对它拍照时就说声“笑一个”，它正襟危坐，不卑不亢又旁若无人地任我拍照，同时还精心守护着自己的宝宝们，而宝宝们在妈妈的警示下也立刻缩回头，乖乖地收起好奇心躲在鸟妈妈的怀中。

小鸟出壳一周多了，它们伸长脖子探头探脑地向外张望，对外面的世界充满了好奇，有时它们张着大嘴儿嗷嗷待哺。它们实在是太能吃了，白天两只大鸟一刻不停地出去寻食，有时一起出去，有时它们轮流出去，每次都能带回来蚯蚓。

我记得5月18日那天，鸟妈一早出去寻食，轮到鸟爸看护小鸟。它依然站在鸟巢边沿上，一动不动，不像鸟妈那样半蹲半站地在鸟巢中央用自己身体来保护着孩子。

不知从哪儿钻出一只黑色松鼠，悄悄来到后院，企图向这边流窜。鸟爸突然飞起，直冲地面，那松鼠吓得四处逃窜。鸟爸穷追不舍，松鼠逃到葡萄架上，它就追到葡萄架上，松鼠逃到树上，它就追到树上，松鼠又从树上逃到菜地里，鸟爸就追到菜地里，鸟爸这种勇猛果敢，全然没有它平时悠闲散漫的样子。看得我惊心动魄，要不是亲眼目睹，我怎么也不相信一只知更鸟会有这本事。

5月19日是小鸟出生的第十天。它们的羽毛日渐丰满，大鸟带回食物的时候，小鸟已不仅仅是伸长脖子张大嘴巴等着喂食，而是欢欣雀跃，扑打着翅膀抢食了，估计再有几天翅膀硬了就要各奔东西，去追求新的生活了。小鸟越来越大，吃饱后也不爱睡了，伸着脑袋向外张望，或将脑袋伏在鸟巢边沿，玩儿着玩儿就睡着了。大鸟也不像前些天那样时刻呆在小鸟身边，而是站在鸟巢附近的葡萄架上晒晒太阳，梳理梳理羽毛。一旦发现“敌人”来了，立刻像鹰一样扑过去。小鸟也非常敏感，多少次看到它们那可爱的模样，待我举起手机准备拍照时，它们便立刻缩回巢中。好像大鸟告诫过它们：

“爸妈不在家时，你们要多加小心，任何人都不能见”。

令人不解的是，我发现大鸟每次喂过小鸟之后，总会从巢里啄一些白色的东西自己吃掉。我好奇地问朋友们，它们在吃什么？有人说是小鸟自己排除的粪便，也有人说是小鸟吃完蚯蚓消化不了又吐出来的东西，如同婴儿吃奶后也会回吐一样。听上去有点恶心。不过，这也看出鸟父母一全心全意爱孩子,一点也不嫌弃。

3)      Mother and Father Working Together

Once I stumbled upon an unexpected situation. The bird couple was standing head-to-head on the edge of the nest, watching the chicks in the nest and chatting to each other. Suddenly, the two of them took off at the same time, flew to the nearby grape trellis, and then flew to the roof of the garage. The abnormal tweeting sounded like a quarrel, and the noise was fierce. Immediately after, the mother bird jumped away. The father bird chased after her. The mother bird jumped away again, with her back to the father bird, and the father bird also turned his back to the mother bird, and it was a stalemate for a few minutes.

What's going on? As their neighbour and bystander, I was somewhat embarrassed, and wanted to persuade them to make peace with a few words.  I watched as Mother Bird jumped away from Father Bird to maintain a ten meter distance from him, and looked away as if disgusted by him. Shortly Father Bird took the initiative to show sympathy and jumped over, and stood silently beside Mother Bird for a long time.

Finally, Father Bird flew away. Mother Bird seemed to be still angry, standing there motionless. Soon, Father Bird flew back to the nest with earthworms in his mouth. The little guys stretched their necks and opened their mouths one by one, looking forward to delicious food. The father bird put the earthworm into the mouths of the baby birds, watched the bird swallow it, stopped for a moment and then flew away. At this time, the mother bird jumped back to the bird's nest from the same place, stood on the edge of the bird's nest and looked at the baby birds lovingly, and then sat gently in the nest.

This "bird couple quarrel" event that lasted at least ten minutes increased my understanding of the emotional world of robins. The quarrelling bird family really has a "bird love".

I began thinking that the Mother bird should be very used to my gestures. Every time I picked up my camera and took a picture, I said "smile”. The bird sat still, upright, neither shy or showy, and allowed me to take my pictures, at the same time carefully guarded its babies. I noted that the babies shrank down immediately under the warning of their mother. Turning back, I watched as a baby bird obediently forgot about his curiosity and hid in Mother Bird's arms.

By this time, the little birds were now out of their shelves for more than a week. They stretched their necks and probed their heads to look out. They were full of curiosity about the outside world. Sometimes they opened their mouths to feed. They were so hungry that during the day the two parents went out to find food constantly, sometimes together, and sometimes they took turns. And they brought back earthworms every time.

I remember that on May 18th, the mother bird went out to hunt for food early in the morning, and it was the father bird's turn to take care of the birds. He stood on the edge of the bird's nest, motionless, unlike the mother bird who preferred squatting or semi-standing in the center of the bird's nest to protect the chicks with her body.

A black squirrel came out of nowhere and quietly came to the backyard, looking for things to eat in the garden. Father Bird suddenly flew up, dived straight to the ground, and the squirrel ran away in fright. Father Bird chased after him, with a strong flapping of wings. The squirrel escaped to a tree, ran around the tree, and then escaped from the tree back to the vegetable garden. The bird Father chased the squirrel across the vegetable garden. Father Bird was brave and resolute, completely unlike his usual laid-back appearance. I was so thrilled that if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed that a robin could do this.

May 19 is the tenth day of the chick’s birth. Their feathers are getting fuller day by day. When the parent robins bring back the food, the little birds not only wait with their necks extended and mouths wide open, but they are joyful, flapping their wings to extend their reach in order to grab the food.

It now looked like their wings would be matured in a few days and they would be preparing to go their separate ways. The birds were getting bigger and bigger, and they didn’t like to sleep anymore after they were full. They stretched their heads and looked out, or put their heads on the edge of the nest, and fell asleep while playing. The parent birds did not stay beside the small birds all the time like a few days ago, but stood on the grape trellis near the bird's nest to bask in the sun and preen their feathers.  

The babies were so very sensitive. So many times, I was admiring their cute appearance, and when I raised my camera to take pictures, they immediately ducked down into their nest.  As if the parents had warned them:

"When we parents are not at home, you have to be more careful, so no one can see you!"

What is puzzling is that I found that every time the big bird fed the small bird, it always picked up some white stuff from the nest and ate it by itself. I asked my friends out of curiosity, what are the birds eating? Some said that it is the feces that the bird pulls out, and some said it is something that the bird can't digest and spits out after eating, just like a baby will vomit after feeding. It all sounds a little gross! However, this also shows that the bird parents love their children wholeheartedly.

The baby birds were just a few days away from being able to fly off to pursue a new life. They were now fighting for food and flapping their wings, almost flying.