1 78 AMERICAN GAME BIRD SHOOTING 



actions of the male are now redoubled, and woe be to 

 any bird of his kind which attempts to even cross his 

 chosen locality. Battles ensue which for fierceness are 

 seldom equaled by birds of larger size. 



"In the vicinity of Fort Chimo the nesting of this 

 species begins during the latter part of May. The 

 nest is usually placed in a dry spot among the swamps, 

 or on the hillsides where straggling bushes grow. 

 The nest is merely a depression in the mosses and 

 contains a few blades and stalks of grass, together with 

 a few feathers from the parent bird, which is now 

 in the height of the moulting from the winter to the 

 summer plumage. 



"The first eggs obtained were two on June I, 1884, 

 this being the earliest record at Fort Chimo. The 

 number laid for a set varies greatly in different locali- 

 ties. At Fort Chimo seven to nine is the usual num- 

 ber, although in exceptional instances as many as 

 eleven and rarely thirteen may be found. 



"While I was at St. Michael (Norton Sound, 

 Alaska) I frequently found nests containing as many 

 as fifteen, and several times found seventeen. I was 

 there informed that over twenty eggs had been taken 

 from a single nest. On neither side of the continent 

 did I hear that more than one female deposited eggs 

 in the same nest. I can affirm that a clutch of seven 

 eggs may be taken, and if the nest be not disturbed, 

 the female will deposit nearly the same number again. 

 These may again be taken, and not over three eggs 

 will be deposited, and if disturbed a third time she will 



