178 AMERICAN GAME BIRD SHOOTING 
actions of the male are now redoubled, and woe be to 
any bird of his kind which attempts to even cross his 
chosen locality. Battles ensue which for fierceness are 
seldom equaled by birds of larger size. 
“In the vicinity of Fort Chimo the nesting of this 
species begins during the latter part of May. The 
nest is usually placed in a dry spot among the swamps, 
or on the hillsides where straggling bushes grow. 
The nest is merely a depression in the mosses and 
contains a few blades and stalks of grass, together with 
a few feathers from the parent bird, which is now 
in the height of the moulting from the winter to the 
summer plumage. 
“The first eggs obtained were two on June 1, 1884, 
this being the earliest record at Fort Chimo. The 
number laid for a set varies greatly in different locali- 
ties. At Fort Chimo seven to nine is the usual num- 
ber, although in exceptional instances as many as 
eleven and rarely thirteen may be found. 
“While I was at St. Michael (Norton Sound, 
Alaska) I frequently found nests containing as many 
as fifteen, and several times found seventeen. I was 
there informed that over twenty eggs had been taken 
from a single nest. On neither side of the continent 
did I hear that more than one female deposited eggs 
in the same nest. I can affirm that a clutch of seven 
eggs may be taken, and if the nest be not disturbed, 
the female will deposit nearly the same number again. 
These may again be taken, and not over three eggs 
will be deposited, and if disturbed a third time she will 
