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The aviary at work is having another baby boom. The nest basket had been emitting louder and louder choruses of begging for food, and on Sunday a week ago the first new fledgeling emerged. And then it took until this weekend for the rest of the clutch to emerge. Last night we could see a total of four babies, who are almost as big as their parents and other relatives but much drabber colors, sitting on various perches. One very smart baby, I think the first one, is sitting in one of the larger seed dishes, perfectly positioned to beg for food from every adult that comes by to feed themself. These finches are not usually friendly to people. They will fly away from capture or handling just as a wild bird would. There is, however, a magical interval, only a day or so at most, when the baby birds have not yet learned to be afraid of humans. If you can be there during this time, you can reach into the aviary and gently stroke them. Maybe even, very carefully, get one to perch on your finger. Yesterday, I pet the smallest, silver-colored baby, and got him/her to perch on my finger. Today, I pet three of the four, and got one of them, a very grey green, to perch. This is the closest most people can get to the scenes in Snow White where all the little woodland creatures gather around and alight on shoulders and heads. They are just so adorable and innocent! Tomorrow, I will likely try again, and they will almost certainly fly away at the slightest approach. But for today, they are so very sweet and their feathers are so soft....

It is a surprisingly persistent tale. Apparently it has been extended to polar bears on occasion, too.

Another LBJackson Production: Loudmouth doesn't like it when Baker messes with the SAFER barrier at the wrong time.