PRAIRIE HEN. stan 
beloved by both combatants. Having chosen their mates 
the pairs seek suitable places for the nest, which is placed 
in the midst of thick prairie grass, or in a corner of some 
field among weeds, on the borders of swamps, in culti- 
vated grounds, or far out on the open prairie, sometimes 
in quite exposed situations. A slight depression in the 
soil is lined with grass and some feathers from the hen’s 
own body. Prairie fires, mowing machines, and floods 
destroy many thousands of eggs in a season, and occa- 
sionally the young themselves are caught and slain by 
the sharp knives that are laying low the grass. The 
usual number of eggs is from ten to fourteen, but some- 
times twenty or more have been found in one nest. 
Their color shades from a pale cream to light brown, 
regularly spotted with fine reddish brown dots, and there 
is great variation among them, no two being exactly 
alike. Incubation lasts from twenty-three to twenty- 
eight days, and one brood is raised in a season, though, 
if the eggs be destroyed or lost from any cause, the hen 
may lay again, but this is exceptional. The male does 
not trouble himself with the cares of either the nesting 
or of the young when they appear, but keeps to him- 
self, and the broods probably get along just as well with- 
out him. 
As soon as they are hatched the chicks leave the nest, 
and the female leads them away where insects, especially 
grasshoppers, abound, and these at first are their sole 
food. As they grow in size and strength they eat grain 
of different sorts as they may happen to find it, and also 
berries. The hen is courageous and protects her brood 
to the best of her limited ability, feigning lameness and 
employing all the usual artifices to attract attention to 
herself and give her little ones a chance to escape. These 
hide away with great celerity and adroitness, and it is 
