MALLARD DUCK REMOVING HER EGGS. 69 



straight from the nest at the faintest sound made by the 

 photographer; yet, on May 12th and 16th, I sat most 

 of the day three feet from a Snipe, waiting for her to hatch 

 off. Nothing I could do short of actually emerging from 

 my shelter and putting her up, would induce that bird to 

 stir. I wrote letters, ate my lunch, took photographs of her 

 and changed plates with more or less noise, struck matches 



FIG. 2. MALLARD DUCK REMOVING AN EGG. 

 {Photographed by Miss E. L. Turner.) 



and barked like a dog, but she bore it all with the utmost 

 serenity. No two birds will ever behave exactly alike 

 under the same circumstances. Heredity and tradition 

 hold them in a tight grip, yet each individual has a certain 

 amount of " play," and one can never lay down hard and 

 fast rules for birds — of all nature's children the most erratic. 



