472 NORTH AMHIUCAN UIRDS. 



Liito in April or I'lirly in May tliuy coustrucl tlieir nests, alwiiy.s on llus 

 groiuul, usuiilly under tlie proti'ction of sonio cluster ol' iKislies, in u depres- 

 sion. It is often on the slope of a sniuU eniinenee. It is very simple, the 

 niatei'ials loosely ]>ut to^etlier, and wholly of (;oarse stul)l>li' or straw. All 

 that I have seen have Iteen arelied over at the toii, and with a partially 

 covered entrance ; lajt 1 am told that it is as often open as covered. The 

 ej,'gs are .spoken of in the hooks as from iifteen to twenty. 1 have never 

 found less than twenty-four, and from tliat numlier to thirty-two. 1 think 

 tliat each female lays but altout eijrht, and that severa' '"jmales make use of 

 the same nest, — never less than two, nor more than four. Hut this opinion is 

 conjectural rather than ascertained. Tiiey have two broods in a season, tiic 

 second in Au,i,'u.st, at Mhich time the male is enj,'a^'ed in leadin.L,' the first 

 brood, of which he takes charu;e when they are hardly half grown, lie is a 

 courageous, watchful, and devoted guardian. Once as I was rapidly descend- 

 ing a path on the side of a hill, among a low growth of scrub-oak f came 

 suddenly u])on a covcsy of young (jMiail, feeding on lilueberrii's, and directly 

 in the ])atii. They did not see me until I was close upon them, when the 

 old bird, a tine old male, tlew directly towards me and tumbled at my feet as 

 if in a dying condition, giving at the same time a shrill whistle, exjtressive of 

 intense alarm. I stooped and ])ut my hand upon his extended wings, and could 

 easily have caught him. Thi' young birds, at the cry of the 2»arent, ilew in all 

 directions; ami their dev(jted I'atliei' soon followed them, and began calling to 

 them in a low cluck, like the cry of the Urown Thresher. The young at 

 this time were hardly more than a week (jld, and seemed to lly perfectly 

 well to a short distance. The female was nowhere to be seen, but may 

 liave been previously killed, or may have been already in her second incuba- 

 tion at that early stage. The young run as soon as they are hatched, and 

 from the first aid their flight with their wings ; when pursued, I have never 

 known them to .scpuit in the manner of the Iiuffed Grouse, but rather to 

 hide themselves in thick bushes or tufts of grass, running from these if dis- 

 covered. 



The male bird has a loud, clear, and very distinctive whistle, whicii in 

 New P^ngland is interpreted as iV'o more wet, or, if his utterance is more 

 hurried and excited, as Mure -m-t ; and there are those who still attach to 

 these utterances a meteorological significance. Tn other parts of the country 

 this cry is su])posed to be Ah Boh-irkifr, or Boh-white, and the birds are not 

 unfrequently called Bob-Whites, a name suggested by Professor Baird as a 

 good specific designation. Their note wheii calling their young brood is very 

 different, and is a low twitter, suggestive of affection, caution, and gentle care. 

 It is soft and subdued, and would readily escape notice. 



They make a loud whirring sound when they take to flight, but they 

 rarely fly to any distance, even when nwst alarmed, as their flight is some- 

 what laborious. They often escape by running ou the ground, especially 

 when they are not suddenly startled. 



