I20 



THE MUSEUM. 



the ground on the outskirt of retiring 

 woods, generally choosing rather high 

 sloping ground and almost invariably 

 with a fence, log, or scrub growth, as 

 a background. The female while in- 

 cubating always faces the most open 

 space, which is generally down hill to 

 facilitate leaving the nesting site when 

 disturbed. The eggs are laid on a 

 leafy bed, without another household 

 furnishing, and are apparently without 

 any previous preparation and are gen- 

 erally parallel and touching each other. 

 Two eggs constitutes a full set. 



It is almost impossible to iind the 

 nest of this species unless the female 

 is flushed from her eggs, unless a great 

 disturbance is made she will not fly un- 

 til the intruder is within a few feet of 

 her, then noiselessly like a shadow she 

 sails near the ground into the wood per- 

 haps thirty feet away generally joining 

 her mate who is never far away in the 

 day time. Should there be young both 

 male and female will utter a strange 

 gutteral scream (if there is such a 

 thing) and fly around the intruder al- 

 most touching him, then settle on 

 some low limb or sapling and peer and 

 fidget around with the greatest show 

 of anxiety then again screaming on the 

 wing and repeating the process and 

 should you dare to handle the young 

 (which by the way are exceedingly in- 

 teresting little lumps of barred down 

 likewise very pugnacious) such sacril- 

 ege calls forth a shower of wings and 

 screams with such assiduity, that one. 

 is tempted to cry halt and leave the in- 

 teresting youngsters to their more na- 

 tural protectors. 



The young have an instinctive feel- 

 ing of danger and it is really amusing 

 to see them stand on their diminutive 

 toes and open their enormous mouths. 



the while flapping their half developed 

 wings in short, striving their utmost to 

 frighten the intruder out of existence. 



The eggs are not clear crystal white 

 normally, as I have known authorities 

 to state more than once, but of a rich 

 pinkish cream color, as those who have 

 taken them well know. They quickly 

 fade, however to a nearly pure white, 

 after being blown a week or too, even 

 when kept in the dark drawers of a 

 cabinet. Some fade as quickl}- again 

 as others. 



The markings, size and shape vary 

 greatly sometimes. The usual mark- 

 ings being of a clouded lavender of 

 varying density. Sometimes this alone 

 diffused more or less over the entire 

 surface again. 



The same marbling of lavender with 

 small spots and blotches of umber in 

 irregular and uneven quantity and 

 again bold deep spots of greenish tinted 

 brown. 



The average size of those I have 

 taken is 1.43x1.05. 



They are generally elliptical in shape,, 

 though sometimes they have a decided 

 smiall end. In general appearance they 

 are a handsome &gg and though rather 

 light in color are not easily found. I 

 have sometimes experienced great diffi- 

 culty in locating the eggs after flushing 

 the bird not ten feet from me. 



The great drawback (as in many 

 other instances) is finding and mentally 

 recording the first nesting site with sur- 

 roundings, this lessens the difficulty of 

 future finds fully one-half. The first 

 nest I ever saw was found by my young 

 and nature-loving wife, as we were 

 walking through a forty acre patch of 

 assorted trees one evening in May '91, 

 on the "cjui vive " for anything of in- 

 terest. She saw both birds fly from a 



