494 BOAKD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



the situation up. A partridge (ruffed grouse) was warning 

 Mr. Fox that she had claims to that particular tract of land 

 that he would be required to respect. But Mr. Fox was 

 evidently hungry, so he followed the brave little mother 

 back to her nest beside a stump on the edge of the scrub. 

 Although the bird made one or more rushes, they were of 

 no avail, and, although I did not at first intend to harm the 

 fox. as at that time of year he would be of no use to me 

 dead, I regarded it, in the light of recent developments, to 

 be a case for armed intervention, so I put a bullet where it 

 would do the most good, and he died within his length of 

 the nest, with his mouth and throat filled with egg con- 

 tents." 



Probably foxes kill some of the young of the smaller birds 

 when they are learning to fly, catching them as cats do. Of 

 this habit Mr. F. H. Mosher says: "I have seen but one 

 instance of the fox catching a bird, and that was several 

 years ago. I was standing on a rise of ground that over- 

 looked a wet meadow. A fox came out of the woods and 

 appeared to be hunting for mice in the grass. As he came 

 opposite a small clump of bushes, a small bird flew out and 

 started for the woods. The fox ran a few steps after it and 

 gave a tremendous spring, and caught it on the wing. Prob- 

 ably it was a young bird." 



If foxes quarter over the ground in summer, as they cer- 

 tainly do in winter, it would seem impossible for any nest 

 on the ground to escape their notice, unless, indeed, they 

 are unable to smell the sitting bird. Prof. C. F. Hodge 

 told me in 1903 that he had found by experiment that trained 

 pointer and setter dogs were unable to find a ruffed grouse 

 sitting on her nest, even when, in one case, the bird had left 

 her nest and walked about a short time previously. This 

 seems to indicate that these birds leave no scent during in- 

 cubation ; but Mr. Brewster informs me that his dog on 

 more than one occasion found a woodcock on her nest. It 

 seems probable, however, that ordinarily dogs and foxes find 

 only such nests as they happen to stumble upon ; otherwise, 

 what is to prevent them from destroying the broods of nearly 

 all ground-breeding birds ? 



