324 FIELD ZOOLOGY. 



and convex, and not constricted anywhere from base to 

 tip. In the region of the nasal fossae, where the nostrils 

 open upon the upper mandible, the bill is usually soft, 

 but elsewhere it is horny. 



All the birds of the order are social as to their own 

 kind. Some birds associate because of the food supply; 

 but these gallinaceous birds have the gregarious habit, 

 gathering in flocks because of common tendencies and 

 needs; and seeming to satisfy their desire by being in 

 company with others of their kind. The domestic birds 

 of the order are good illustrations of these facts. There 

 seems to exist a considerable degree of domesticity, or 

 house and home interest, such as we ourselves possess; 

 the manifest desire to live with one's own kind. Even 

 the occasional hen that "steals her nest," associates with 

 her kind except during the time she is sitting. And so 

 far as the latter fact is concerned, it may be said that at 

 this season isolation is the typical condition for all 

 animals, and especially so for the higher forms of life. 



The young of gallinaceous birds are all praecocial 

 with a generous covering of down at birth, and soon are 

 able to find their own food; though the brood stays with 

 the mother for shelter and safety, just as the young of the 

 hen and the turkey are sheltered and instructed by their 

 mothers. Most of the birds of the order are polygamous, 

 the bob- whites forming an exception to this rule. 

 Throughout most of the order the irresponsibility of the 

 male in the care of the young is evident; but to this also 

 the bob- whites form an exception. 



Among the bob-whites, the male bird even assists 

 in covering the eggs during the three weeks, usually 

 twenty-three days, of incubation. When the mother 

 bird is on the nest, the male usually does sentinel duty, 



