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Bird- Lore 



through the entire neighborhood, but the 

 Grouse was a surprise. 



From my house in Waban I heard the 

 harsh cackling of the cock Pheasants daily 

 in these woods, and their dusting-places 

 were frequently seen. On the afternoon of 

 May 12 I started out to look for a Pheas- 

 ant's nest, near where the cackling seemed 

 most frequent. 



I had hardly gone 200 feet from the edge 

 of the cornfield clearing when, to my sur- 

 prise, I saw a hen Pheasant sitting among 



RUFFED GKULbE SITTING 

 Waban, Mass., May 13, 1916 



the dead oak leaves at the base of a small 

 chestnut tree. She sat very close, not leav- 

 ing her thirteen greenish tinted eggs until 

 I had crept^up to within 6 feet of her. I 

 regret to state that she never came back 

 to the nest. The only other Pheasant's 

 nest I have found was also immediately 

 deserted, though in this case there was only 

 one egg, and we almost stepped on the 

 mot her[ without seeing her. The nest was 

 not touched or disturbed in any way, as 



the eggs were plainlj' visible as soon as the 

 hen flushed. 



I considered myself in great luck to have 

 found the nest before the bird flushed from 

 it, as her protective coloration makes dis- 

 covery difficult, but even better luck was 

 in store. A few minutes later, at the base 

 of a small second-growth oak, within 

 150 feet of the Pheasant's nest, I found a 

 second nest, and, to my surprise and de- 

 light. Mother Grouse was at home. She 

 flushed when I was about 10 feet away, but 

 was back on the eggs in about an hour. 

 There were eleven eggs in this nest, quite 

 different in appearance from the Pheas- 

 ant's eggs, being smaller and buflFy in 

 color. 



The next morning I returned to the 

 woods with camera, tripod, and a 15-foot 

 extension cord for releasing the shutter. 

 The Pheasant's nest was unoccupied, and 

 I snapped the eggs, then approached the 

 Grouse's nest. The mother was less timid 

 today, but I could not quite snap her 

 before she flushed. I therefore set up the 

 camera, took a couple of pictures of the 

 eggs, and left for an hour's walk by the 

 river. Returning I found Mother Partridge 

 as you see her in the picture. 



She was still sitting on May 20, when I 

 last saw her, but upon my return from a 

 brief visit to my camp in New Hampshire, 

 some broken shells showed that the young 

 had been successfully hatched. Later, a 

 friend told me that he saw a brood of 

 Ruffed Grouse, tiny downy chickens, about 

 May 30 in these same woodlands, and I 

 trust the family is still intact and will 

 increase in the neighborhood. 



The previous fall we had posted the 

 district pretty thoroughly with 'No Shoot- 

 ing' signs, and many birds had crossed 

 the river to seek sanctuary from the gun- 

 ners. The river being in the Metropolitan 

 Park, is a bird reservation, and is re- 

 sorted to yearly by American Mergansers, 

 Golden-eyes, and, occasionally, Wood 

 Duck, Black Duck, and Teal. — John B. 

 May, M.D., 'Winnetaska,' Ashland, N. H. 



