196 STORIES ABOUT BIRDS. 



rogues, though. That thought is some little 

 consolation to me. 



Quails frequent the forest, and are most 

 numerous in the vicinity of fields of grain. 

 They are very fond of wheat, and the farmers 

 sometimes suffer a good deal from their en- 

 croachments. When they are not too much 

 persecuted by the hunter, they frequently be- 

 come quite tame in the ^vinter, and will eat 

 with the hens around the house. 



The quail builds its nest early in May. 

 The nest is made on the ground. It is well 

 covered above, and an opening left on one side 

 for an entrance. You might, in the course of 

 a ramble in the forest, pass half a dozen of 

 these nests without discovering them, on ac- 

 count of their being so carefully concealed. 



The young leave the nest as soon as they 

 are free from the shell, and are conducted 

 about in search of food by the female. She 

 calls them much as a hen calls her chickens, 

 and shelters them with her wings in the same 

 manner. If the little family are at any time 

 surprised, the utmost alarm prevails among 

 them. The mother throws herself in the path, 

 fluttering along, and beating the ground with 

 her wings, as if sorely wounded, using every 

 artifice she is capable of, to entice the enemy to 



