SHARP EYES 41 



her eggs, and then, after a moment's pause, hobble 

 awkwardly upon them. 



After the young had appeared, all the wit of the 

 bird came into play. I was on hand the next day, I 

 think. The mother bird sprang up when I was within 

 a pace of her, and in doing so fanned the leaves with 

 her wings till they sprang up, too; as the leaves 

 started the young started, and, being of the same 

 color, to tell which was the leaf and which the bird 

 was a trying task to any eye. I came the next 

 day, when the same tactics were repeated. Once a 

 leaf fell upon one of the young birds and nearly hid 

 it. The young are covered with a reddish down, 

 like a young partridge, and soon follow their mother 

 about. When disturbed, they gave but one leap, 

 then settled down, perfectly motionless and stupid, 

 with eyes closed. The parent bird, on these occa- 

 sions, made frantic efforts to decoy me away from 

 her young. She would fly a few paces and fall upon 

 her breast, and a spasm, like that of death, would 

 run through her tremulous outstretched wings and 

 prostrate body. She kept a sharp eye out the mean- 

 while to see if the ruse took, and, if it did not, she 

 was quickly cured, and, moving about to some other 

 point, tried to draw my attention as before. When 

 followed she always alighted upon the ground, drop- 

 ping down in a sudden peculiar way. The second 

 or third day both old and young had disappeared. 



The whip-poor-will walks as awkwardly as a swal- 

 low, which is as awkward as a man in a bag, and 

 yet she manages to lead her young about the woods. 



