64 ALLEN'S NATURALL^T's LIBRARY. 



listening to hundreds of different voices, pitched on different 

 keys, coming from every direction and from various distances, 

 the Hstener is rather soothed than excited. If this sound is 

 heavier than the deep key-notes of a large organ, it is much 

 softer, though vastly more powerful, and may be heard at a 

 much greater distance. One who has heard such a concert 

 can never after mistake or forget it. 



" Every few minutes this display is repeated. I have seen 

 not only one, but more than twenty cocks going through this 

 funny operation at once, but then they seem careful not to run 

 against each other, for they have not yet got to the fighting 

 point. After a little while the lady birds begin to show an 

 interest in the proceedings, by moving about quickly a few 

 yards at a time, and then standing still a short time. When 

 these actions are continued by a large number of birds at a 

 time, it presents a funny sight, and you can easily think they 

 are moving to the measure of music. 



"The party breaks up whe.i the sun is half an hour high, to 

 be repeated the next morning and every morning for a week or 

 two before all make satisfactory matches. It is toward the 

 latter part of the love-season that the fighting takes place 

 among the cocks, probably by two who have fallen in love 

 with the same sweetheart, whose modesty prevents her from 

 selecting between them." According to Bendire, immense 

 numbers of nests of this species "are annually destroyed, 

 either by fire in dry seasons, or water during wet ones. . . . 

 On the prairies they generally select unburnt places to nest in, 

 where the old grass is thick ; others prefer the borders of large 

 marshes, where, during a wet season, they are almost certain 

 to be destroyed by water." Many nests and eggs are also 

 yearly ploughed up, as cultivated fields and meadows are often 

 selected. 



Nest. — A slight excavation in the ground, generally without 

 any lining, but sometimes lined when materials are available. 



