distress, indicate tliat tlie individual is lost, for feed- 

 ing, to reassemble the covey, for battle cries, and so 

 on. Pairing of male and female usually begins in 

 April as the winter covey breaks up, and the males 

 give their hob-bob-idiiti- calls. During this period, 

 there may be song competition between males, fight- 

 ing, chasing, plumage displays, and bluffing. Compe- 

 tition is intense because there are more males than 

 females. Two to four weeks may elapse before the 

 pair begins to nest, durinj;; wliich time the two birds 

 stay close together. 



Nesting may start in April in the South ; May to 

 August in the North. Nests are placed in good cover 

 where the herb stratum is open enough so the birds 

 can run around over the ground near the nest. A 

 slight hollow is scratched in the ground, and the nest 

 is commonly constructed of grasses, pine needles, 

 mosses, or whatever is immediately available. A 

 grassy arch is made overhead to serve as a roof and 

 to conceal the nest from predators. It is ordinarily 

 located on well drained high ground. 



One egg daily is laid until the full clutch of 14 or 

 so is attained. An occasional day may be skipped, 

 and clutches laid early in the year are larger than 

 those laid later. The incubation period lasts 23 days, 

 and incubation may be performed either by the male 

 or female ; three out of four times it is the latter. 

 During this period the incubating bird usually leaves 

 the nest for a time to feed early in the morning and 

 often again in late afternoon. The incubating bird 

 joins its mate at a distance from the nest and they feed 

 and rest together from one to occasionally nine hours, 

 depending on the weather. The birds do not need 

 surface water for drinking, but get what water they 

 require from their food or from dew. About 86 per 

 cent of eggs hatch, and all of these within about an 

 hour. The young chicks quickly leave the nest and 

 are cared for and brooded against cold, wetness, and 

 too much sun by both parents for another two weeks. 

 By that time, juvenal plumage is replacing the natal 

 down, and the birds will flush and fly a short dis- 

 tance when disturbed. The young birds become simi- 

 lar in plumage to the adults at the end of 15 weeks. 

 There is some feather molt about the head in the 

 spring and a complete molt from August to October 

 each year. 



The winter covey forms in the autumn, and com- 

 prises one to three pairs of adults, their surviving 

 young, and a few birds that were unmated. As birds 

 die, small coveys unite and maintain an average size 

 of about 14 birds. A covey may confine its activities 

 within a range of 60 to 16 hectares (24 to 6 acres), 

 and the ranges of adjacent coveys may overlap. The 

 birds commonly freeze when approached by enemies, 

 relying on their protective coloration for escape. If 

 too closely approached they burst forth in rapid flight 

 that carries them in all directions for 400-500 meters, 



FIG. 9 17 Formation of egg-chambers by the millipede Pseudo- 

 polydesmus serrafus. Top and bottom, base of two egg-chambers 

 being formed; middle three, egg-chambers filled with eggs 

 and partially capped over (Hanson 1948). 



whence they then drop down into other cover. When 

 the enemy disappears the covey call reunites them 

 again. Coveys feed together and roost together. They 

 roost on the ground in compact circles with heads 

 pointing outward. 



Species predaceous on eggs, chicks, and adults in- 

 clude skunks, rats, foxes, weasels, opossums, rac- 

 coons, dogs, snakes, red ants (eggs), cats, shrikes 

 (chicks). Cooper's and sharp-shinned hawks, and 

 great horned owls. Numbers of parasites and disease 

 organisms potentially dangerous to it are harbored by 

 the species. Heavy rains may be destructive to nests 

 and young birds in the summer, while extreme cold 

 combined with long periods when snow covers the 

 ground may kill adults during the winter. The popu- 

 lation turnover during a year is therefore large. 



Millipede ( Pseudopolydesmus serratus) 



This species feeds on decaying leaves and other 

 organic material. Adults occur in populations up to 

 5 per m-, and immature stages may be present up to 

 several hundred per m-. High populations, however, 

 occur only in poorly-drained, moist forests. During 

 periods of low precipitation, individuals migrate and 

 become concentrated in wet depressions. The de- 

 pendency of the species on moisture is further indi- 

 cated by higher reproduction during wet than dry 

 years. 



Copulation occurs March to December, but there 

 are two principal peaks of egg-laying ; one in April, 

 the other, during the first half of July. This results 



Grassland, forests, and forest-edges 1 43 



