REPRODUCTION— CARE OF THE OFFSPRING 221 



markablc is the case of a Common Partridge, which was dis- 

 covered sitting on a nest of eggs in a field that w^as being 

 ploughed. The bird was first noticed as the horses passed it, 

 so near that it narrowly escaped being crushed. The owner of 

 the field, who happened to be i)a}'ing a \isit of inspection, 

 quite accidentally descried the bird immediately the plough had 

 pas.sed, and found that she was sitting on a nest of twenty-one 

 eggs, near the point of hatching, for .some were beginning to 

 chip. Returning with the plough, to his surprise he found the 

 nest empty ; and after careful search, suspecting that she must 

 in the meanwhile have removed her eggs, he found them under 

 the hedge about forty yards off; a task which, probably with 

 the assistance of the cock, had been performed in about twenty 

 minutes ! A similar case is recorded by the naturalist Selby of 

 a Moor-hen which had built a nest on the edge of an orna- 

 mental pond, into which the water from another pond was 

 occasionally admitted. This was done while the bird was 

 sitting ; and as the nest had been built while the water level 

 was low the sudden influx caused a rise of several inches, 

 threatening the .speedy submersion of nest and eggs. This 

 the birds apparently realised, for when a gardener who knew 

 of the nest went to it, expecting to find it destroyed, he found 

 the birds adding fresh material thereto by way of raising it 

 above the level of the flood, and further search revealed the 

 eggs, which had been deposited on the grass a foot or so from 

 the water's edge. Fearing that he might alarm the birds, he 

 did not remain to watch their further proceedings ; but return- 

 ing in less than an hour found the hen comfortably sitting on 

 the newly raised nest. A few days afterwards the young were 

 successfully hatched. 



A similar case has been recorded of a Swan which, while 

 sitting on a nest of four or five eggs, was observed to be " very 

 busy collecting weeds and grasses to raise her nest. A farm- 

 ing man was ordered to take down half a load of haulm, with 

 which she most industriously raised her nest and eggs two feet 

 and a half. That very night there came down a tremendous 

 fall of rain, which flooded all the malt-shops and did great 

 damage. Man made no preparation, the bird did ; instinct 

 prevailed over reason. Her eggs were above, and only just 

 above the water." 



