88 KRIDER'S SPORTING ANECDOTES. 



of the young birds, will bring them far into May 

 before they are fully fledged. 



It is true that nests have been found in March, 

 and it is said even in February ; but these cases, 

 like the late broods in June, are merely excep- 

 tions to the general law, and are dependent upon 

 accidental circumstances. 



The idea of the hen turning over the tender 

 brood to the care of the male, while she proceeds 

 to incubate a second time, is not susceptible of 

 proof, is opposed to the belief of the best ornitho- 

 logists of the country, and even to the known in- 

 stinct of the bird. In our opinion, it is one of 

 those strokes of the pen intended to startle by its 

 boldness, when the author is really as much in 

 the dark on the subject as his readers. 



In the forests of Montgomery, Berks and 

 Northampton counties, we have repeatedly found 

 them feeding in detached broods two, three or 

 four young birds, fully fledged, in company with 

 the two old ones near the last of May, and in 

 the months of June and July, if the season be wet. 

 When you first approach these insulated, marshy 

 spots, the birds lie close, and if you are so disposed, 

 as the woods are pretty open and free from brush, 

 you may easily make a double shot when they 

 spring. After that it is useless to mark down 



