260 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol. xv. 



the eggs but made no attempt to cover them, though he 

 stayed some time. He crossed the nest with a kind of two- 

 footed skip or jump and I shot him as he left it. A close 

 examination of the body by myself and IMr. W. Farren, to 

 whom I sent it, revealed no sign at all of his having shared 

 in incubation. Some stay much longer on the nests than 

 others, when they are drawn to it in such circumstances, but 

 none of the bodies I have examined of cocks killed during the 

 incubation period show any signs of their having shared it. 



As incubation advanced, and again after the young had 

 hatched, we removed more and more of the foliage round the 

 nest to let in light and get sun on to the nest during the hours 

 in which we were able to watch it. We also hoped that we 

 should get a thunderstorm or two, but those that visited the 

 neighbourhood passed us by. The only exception was just 

 the edge of one and the rain was so little that it did not drive 

 the hen on to the nest and hardly damped the down of the 

 young. Indeed, it seemed rather a welcome change to them 

 than otherwise, and no wonder. Nearly every day the sun 

 shone intensely on the nest and the sufferings of the old bird 

 (and the occupant of the hut) were considerable. 



During the first week, nothing new in the way of methods 

 of sheltering the young was observed. The description in 

 Vol. XIII., p. 120 and the photograph on page 121 apph' 

 exactly, the only difference being that in this case, instead of 

 being sideways, the bird was almost facing the camera. 

 However, as the young grew we could watch the development 

 of the position day by day. As they got bigger so the female's 

 shadow had to be made larger. To do this she opened her 

 wings more and more until finally they were at the widest 

 stretch she could manage. Sometimes she also curved the 

 end of one down. At the same time she used to spread her 

 tail until the feathers had no overlap at the tips. Unfor- 

 tunately, owing to the position of the hut with regard to the 

 nest, we could only get a photograph of her in this position 

 facing us or at any rate somewhat sideways. Frequently I 

 arrived at the nest when the sun was full on it and often she 

 returned and had to be scared away once or twice before I was 

 ready. As soon as she lit on the side of the nest one of the 

 young would hurl himself at her and cuddle against her. 

 She then, instead of puffing out her leathers to their widest 

 expanse as she would in ordinary circumstances, flattened 

 her plumage as tightly as possible against her body and edged 

 her way into the centre of the well of the nest, gradually 

 widening the distance between her feet until she straddled a 



