328 BRITISH BIRDS. 



he lays hold with his beak, and strikes with 

 the feet and wing's. When surrounded by his 

 females, his whole aspect is full of animation; he 

 allows of no competitor, but, on the approach of a 

 rival, rushes forward to instant combat, and either 

 drives him from the field, or perishes in the 

 attempt. The Cock is very attentive to his females, 

 hardly ever losing sight of them ; he leads, defends,, 

 and cherishes them, collects them together when 

 they straggle, and seems to eat unwillingly till he 

 sees them feeding around him : when he loses 

 them he utters his griefs, and from the different in- 

 flections of his voice, and the various significant 

 gestures which he makes, one would be led to con- 

 clude that it is a species of language which serves 

 to communicate his sentiments. The fecundity of 

 the hen is great : she lays generally two eggs in 

 three days, and continues to lay through the 

 greater part of the year, excepting the time of 

 moulting, which lasts about two months. After 

 having laid about ten or twelve eggs, she prepares 

 for the anxious task of incubation, and gives the 

 most certain indications of her wants by her cries, 

 duckings, and the violence of her emotions. 

 Should she be deprived of her own eggs, she will 

 cover those of any other kind, or even fictitious 

 ones of stone or chalk, by which means she wastes 

 herself in fruitless efforts. A sitting hen is a lively 

 emblem of the most affectionate solicitude ; she 

 covers her eggs with her wings and body, fosters 

 them with a genial warmth, and changes them 

 gently, that all parts may be properly heated; she 

 seems to perceive the importance of her employ- 

 ment, on which she is so intent, that she neglects,. 



