THE BOB-WHITE. 



563 



casual inspection of them by human beings. If she suspects the nest has been 

 visited, and especially if the eggs have been handled, she will destroy the entire 

 set forthwith. 



As soon as hatched the young fulldw their mother about, peeping lustily 

 and behaving very much as chickens do under similar circumstances At the 

 advent of danger, the chicks disappear as if by magic, while the mother covers 

 the critical mo- 

 ment of their re- 

 treat either by 

 making a sensa- 

 tional departure 

 herself, or by 

 feigning lame- 

 ness, or, some- 

 times, flying in 

 the face of the 

 intruder. T h e 

 young may be 

 discovered b }• 

 feeling about in 

 the grass, or un 

 der dead leaves, 

 sticks, etc. 

 Clasped h a n d s 

 make a good 

 foster mother 

 for a few mo- 

 ments, but it i-. 

 more fun to re- 

 tire and wait for 

 the m o t h e r's 

 cluck w h i c h 

 brings the little 

 ones scampering 

 from their hid- 

 ing places. 



Bob-whites have been imported into this State at frecjuent intervals thru 

 the last twenty-five or thirty years. They seem to thrive alike in the grain 

 fields of the Palouse country and in tlie cultivated valleys of western Washing- 

 ton, and are especially well established on Whidby Island and others of the 

 San luan group. Besides furnishing, under reasonable regulation, the best 

 of sport, these birds render valuable services to the farmer, \\liile they are 



Taken near Spokane. 



Photo by F. S. Merrill. 



MRS. BOB-WHITE'S NESTFUL. 



