102 The Wilson Bulletin — No. 99 



collected quite a quantity of small weathered pieces of cornstalks 

 and scattered them in and around the nest. 



June 28th. — The killdeer's eggs have not hatched yet. 



July 2d.- — I went out to the killdeer's nest this morning about 8 

 o'clock. The three eggs were just pipped; that is, the shell cracked 

 out, not broken through. At 3 p. m. the eggs were still in the 

 same condition. Both old birds were there and somewhat solic- 

 itous, although they did not come very near. I went out to the 

 nest again at 6:30 p. m. I could hear one chick peep inside the 

 shell several times, otherwise conditions were unchanged. 



July 3d. — The killdeer's eggs were pipped through the shell and 

 membrane this morning. At noon they were not yet hatched and 

 were in the same condition at night. The old killdeers were in 

 the vicinity of the nest morning and evening, but not at noon. 



July 4th. — The eggs were not hatched early this morning. I 

 could hear one chick peeping very loudly. 



July 5th.— The killdeer's eggs were not hatched at 6 a. m. and 

 I could hear the chicks peeping. As the weather had been very 

 dry and very hot the past week I concluded that the eggs needed 

 moisture and poured the stale water from my water jug over them. 

 The female killdeer was a little alarmed at this. At 1 p. m. I 

 again visited the nest and found the eggs hatched. The young 

 birds were squatted flat on the ground in the nest, two of the three 

 not yet dry, and they were puffing from the heat. The tempera- 

 ture was 102° F in the shade, and they were exposed to the full 

 glare of the sun upon the dark earth. The old birds were both 

 there, but made only a slight outcry. About 2:30 p. m. a shower 

 of rain fell, which would have supplied the moisture had I not 

 done so. Some friends and I again went out to the nest at 8 p. m., 

 but although the old birds circled about, the young killdeers were 

 gone. 



July 9th. — I saw the two old killdeers and two chicks in the 

 bluegrass pasture about one-fourth mile from where they were 

 hatched. I followed one chick slowly for abovit five rods, when I 

 was able to capture it. It called repeatedly just before I caught 

 it and was apparently tired out. After replacing it on the ground 

 I could not persuade it to move, so I left it. 



My father saw the chicks in the same locality about two days 

 later, so I hope they survived. 



According to these notes the incubation period would be either 

 twenty-one or twenty-two days, depending on when the incubation 

 commenced, had the eggs hatched the day they were pipped. As 

 conditions were, the period of incubation was either twenty-four 

 or twenty-five days, which shows how hardy the killdeer chicks 

 were. 



