PRAIRIE HEN. 113 



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 



