GALLING. 325 



when he is not hunting his breakfast, dinner, and supper. 

 When the young are hatched, if the family is disturbed 

 the male usually flies or runs away from the place, taking 

 care to remain some time in sight ; while the mother bird, 

 having given the danger signal to her nestlings, flutters 

 off in the opposite direction, almost under the feet of the 

 pursuer, feigning lameness, yet striving to lead the 

 disturber farther and farther from the vicinity of the 

 helpless nestlings. She will eventually run or fly to 

 cover; and the disturber of her peace will be left without 

 trace or wing rustle to reveal the whereabouts of the birds 

 so lately visible. 



Experiments were made by some of the early investi- 

 gators, and have been repeated by some later ones, testing 

 the intimacy of relationship, both in reversion and 

 adaptation, existing between bob-whites and domestic 

 chickens. Bob-whites' eggs were placed under a domestic 

 hen, and a bob- white was given a sitting of domestic 

 hens' eggs. Both mothers hatched their broods success- 

 fully. The chickens of the bob- white mother ran about 

 as young bob-whites do; their calls were those of the 

 domestic chicken, but the timidity and response to danger 

 signals, squatting and staying quiet until again sum- 

 moned, were clearly bob- white-like. Indeed it looked 

 very much as if the domestic chickens were not so far 

 removed after all from the behavior of their wild ancestors 

 before man came among them. 



In the other case, it may be first said that young 

 bob-whites are usually readily tamed; and these young 

 birds yielded without difficulty to the hen mother, went 

 abroad by themselves for food, and came at her call. 

 The hen was confined in the coop, so as not to be able 

 to lead nor to be led away. The young bob-whites 



