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A BI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE 



DEVOTED TO THE STUDY AND PROTECTION OF BIRDS 



Official Organ of The Audubon societies 



Vol. XXIII November— December. 1921 No. e 



A Double Tragedy 



By DR. and MRS. FRANK N. WILSON, Ann Arbor, Mich. 

 With Photographs by Dr. Wilson 



IN MAY, 1920, while looking for nests in a large tract of brush and open 

 woods in the western outskirts of St. Louis, Missouri, I flushed two Quail 

 from the tall grass that grew about a brush heap, and a short search 

 revealed a nest containing a single egg. During the next fortnight, I visited 

 the spot frequently; each day another egg appeared until the set contained 

 twelve. Then, for the first time, I found the female on the nest. I was anxious 

 to secure some photographs so I hurried home and returned with the camera 

 and hiding-tent. The Quail was not at home when I got back and did not 

 return until late in the afternoon. Two exposures, made just before sunset, 

 were absolute failures because of the poor light, and although I sat in the tent 

 most of the following day no more pictures were secured. Further attempts 

 could not be made because of my departure from the city. 



This failure only increased my desire to have photographs of a Bob-White, 

 so I was very happy when, in June, 192 1, a visitor at a farmhouse where I 

 was spending my vacation found a nest in a neglected field, grown up to 

 thistles and weeds. It was built just at the base of a tall bushy weed in a 

 rather open spot and was completely arched over. There were twelve eggs 

 piled helter-skelter, as if the bird had not yet begun to incubate. In the 

 evening I put up the hiding-tent near the nest and concealed it with weeds, 

 and the next morning, just after sunrise, I crawled in and made ready for an 

 exposure. Observations made on the nest of 1920 led me to believe that the 

 eggs were deposited in the early morning, but the half-hours and then the 

 hours slipped by and the Quail did not return; so, after a time, I turned my 

 attention to some small Sparrows that had built about 3 feet away from the 

 Quail's nest. 



I had noted their nest on the previous evening and had taken it for that 

 of a Vesper Sparrow, a species that was abundant in the field; but now I 

 recalled that the eggs were smaller and much less freely marked than the 



