130 AMERICAN GAME BIRD SHOOTING 



been deposited, the hen, after laying an egg, and while 

 leaving the nest, will pick up straws, grass and leaves, 

 or whatever suitable material is at hand, and throw it 

 backward over her back as she leaves the nest, and by 

 the time the set is complete, quite a quantity of this 

 litter is collected about the nest. She will then sit on 

 her nest and reach out and gather in the nesting ma- 

 terial and place it about her, and, when completed, the 

 nest is very deep and nicely bordered with grass and 

 leaves. 



"So strong is the habit or instinct of throwing the 

 nesting materials over the back, that they will fre- 

 quently throw it away from the nest, instead of to- 

 ward it, as the hen will sometimes follow a trail of 

 material that will turn her right about, so that her 

 head is toward the nest, but all the time she will con- 

 tinue to throw what she picks up over her back. This, of 

 course, is throwing the material away from the nest. 

 Discovering her mistake, she will then right about 

 face and pick up the same material that an instant 

 before was being thrown away, and throw it over her 

 back again, toward the nest. 



"The way they will steal eggs from one another 

 would do credit to a London pickpocket. Two hens 

 had their nests near together, perhaps two feet apart, 

 and as each hen laid every other day, one nest would 

 be vacant while the other would be occupied. The 

 hen that laid last would not go away until she had 

 stolen the nest egg from the other nest and placed it 

 in her own. I once saw a hen attempt to steal an egg 



