696 



NATURE 



[January 27, 192 1 



from her body to cover more completely the well 

 of the nest, and finally get such a spread on 

 them that the primaries are parted, and each acts 

 as a watercourse from her back and wings. 



Fig. I. — Incubating : normal position when easy in mind : very low in nest. 



If it is very hot and the sun shines on the nest, 

 she will get up from time to time and stretch or 

 stand beside the eggs (Fig. 2). Sometimes she 

 will preen herself, but she never 

 stays off the eggs for long at a 

 time. If she is very near hatch- 

 ing she will not relieve herself by 

 more than a stretch, although she 

 may be in agony from the direct 

 rays of the sun. All she does is 

 to rise slightly on the eggs and 

 pant with her whole body. 



For the first few days after the 

 young are hatched she may be 

 said generally to be covering 

 them completely. As they get 

 stronger and more vigorous they 

 scramble from under her at will 

 if the weather is fit. If it is rain- 

 ing, or the sun is directly on the 

 nest, they have to go under cover. 

 Later, when the weather is suit- 

 able, she may be on the nest, but 

 the young may be all clear of her. 

 At such times she will often shut 

 her eyes and nod on the nest. 



In wet weather she makes 

 an umbrella of her body. She 

 puts her back to the direction 

 of the storm, the young col- 

 lect, heads together, in the 

 middle of the nest, and she shuffles over them. 

 She usually opens and depresses her wings so far 

 as the occasion demands. Of course, there are 

 NO. 2674, VOL. 106] 



variations of position in this as in everything else. 

 On one occasion, in a very heavy thunderstorm, 

 the hen stood more between the young and the 

 direction of the storm, and threw one wing over 

 the young ; then she gradually 

 sank down until this wing was 

 upheld by them (Fig. 3). In 

 storms she usually crouches over 

 the young, but gradually sinks 

 lower until she is resting on 

 them. Always, as she shuffles 

 over them, she looks for the 

 youngest nestling, and pulls it 

 into the most protected position 

 with her bill. Even when brood- 

 ing is a thing of the past, the ap- 

 proach of a storm will bring her 

 on to the nest very quickly, and 

 she covers it immediately rain 

 begins to fall. If she brings food 

 to the nest she breaks it up first, 

 but if the cock deposits food on 

 the nest during the storm she 

 takes no notice of it. When the 

 storm passes away she will 

 break such food up and then 

 dry herself thoroughly on some 

 branch from which she can 

 watch the nest. She opens her 

 wings and tail, and either faces 

 the wind or has her back to it. 

 She may get in a place where 

 the sun can help the drying, but mostly she 

 trusts to the wind. Sometimes her feathers 

 are almost closed ; at other times they are 



Fig. 2. — Off the nest owing to sun : a pause and look round before returning. 



open to their widest extent ; the amount of 

 spread varies constantly. After drying is 

 completed she preens herself thoroughly, pay- 



