96 Trails to Woods and Waters 



an egg in the nest, until the number was six- 

 teen, then began her arduous task of incuba- 

 tion. 



Two or three times during that long three 

 weeks Mr. Bob-White took his turn upon the 

 eggs for half an hour while his wife went for 

 a dust bath. 



There are ornithologists who accuse Bob- 

 White of being a bigamist, but I do not be- 

 lieve that he ever woos the second wife until 

 after the first chicks have hatched, and that 

 might be called a lawful second marriage. I 

 do not doubt, however, but that he would flirt 

 with a coquettish lady quail even while his 

 own faithful wife was sitting on the eggs if 

 chance offered. 



About the twentieth of June Mrs. Bob- 

 White appeared, closely followed by fourteen 

 quail chicks. She was clucking and bristling 

 like the good little mother partridge that she 

 is, and each of the tiny chicks was spry as a 

 cricket. It had not been necessary for the 

 old birds to carry food to these nestlings. 

 After the first tiny little creature had picked 



