THE FASTING PERIOD 



note must be made of the fact that violence is 

 never under any circumstances resorted to by the 

 thieves. When detected, these invariably beat a 

 retreat, and offer not the least resistance to the 

 drastic punishment they receive if they are caught 

 by their indignant pursuers. The only disputes 

 that ever take place over the question of property 

 are on the rare occasions when a bona-fide mis- 

 understanding arises over the possession of a nest. 

 These must be very rare indeed, as only on one 

 occasion have I seen such a quarrel take place. 

 The original nesting sites being, as I will show, 

 chosen by the hens, it is the lady, in every case, 

 who is the cause of the battle, and when she is 

 won her scoop goes with her to the victor. 



As I grew to know these birds from continued 

 observation, it was surprising and interesting to 

 note how much they differed in character, though 

 the weaker-minded who would actually allow them- 

 selves to be robbed, were few and far between, as 

 might be expected. Few, if any, of these ever 

 could succeed in hatching their young and winning 

 them through to the feathered stage. 



When starting to make her nest, the usual pro- 

 cedure is for the hen to squat on the ground for 

 some time, probably to thaw it, then working with 



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