THE OOLOOIST 



103 



The Mother Grouse And Her Young 

 Brood. 



June 12th, 1910 found me making 

 my way across a field towards the 

 woods, on the edge of which grew 

 clumps of bushels ; and just inside was 

 a snake fence bordering the woods. 

 When quite near I spied a Brown 

 Thrasher that had just alighted on 

 top of the fence, making a sort of 

 kissing note. The female had left the 

 nest, and both birds flew furiously 

 about me. The nearer I was to the 

 nest the more angry they became. I 

 searched the bushes without avail, 

 and was about to leave them when I 

 discovered the nest imder a hawthorn 

 bush sunken in the ground, made of 

 rootlets and containing four young 

 featherless little birds. (I had expect- 

 ed to find the nest in a bush). 



Leaving them unmolested, I enter- 

 ed the woods, and kept walking along 

 a cow path until I came to a swamp, 

 on the edge of which grew spruce 

 hemlock, tamarac, etc. Here many 

 flowers bloomed in profusion, prin- 

 cipally the calopogon or grass pink, 

 swamp laurel and pitcher plant. 



While skirting the woods about 

 the swamp, a Whip-poor-will flew up 

 and away, further into the dark re- 

 cesses of the swamp. He had been 

 sitting lengthwise on a log under some 

 bushes. 



Nearby I heard a Partridge cluck- 

 ing to her young. Walking in that 

 direction I saw her, with belly close 

 to the ground and wings trailing, 

 running along in front of me, trying 

 to draw my attention away from her 

 little ones, who had disappeared 

 under the leaves, and uttering a 

 squealing sound (much like a rabbit 

 would make). 



I made no attempt to locate them, 

 but moved a short distance away and 

 concealed myself behind some bushes. 

 1 had waited but a few minutes when 



I saw her walking back, looking about 

 her with swift glances from side to 

 side. When near the place she flew 

 into a small birch, from where she be- 

 gan to call them together, and then 

 flew down to where they were. I hur- 

 ried over where she was and startled 

 her once again, she acting in the 

 same way she did before, but she 

 stayed quite near me this time. By 

 searching carefully among the leaves, I 

 found a cute little fellow covered with 

 brownish-yellow down, and supported 

 on pink feet. The mother Partridge 

 then rushes towards me, until about 

 ten feet away, making a low, whin- 

 ing cry, with feathers ruffled and tail 

 feather spread out like a fan. When 

 the little fellow was released from my 

 hand, he quickly scampered off and 

 hid among the leaves. 



The mother Patridge then moved 

 farther away, and stood on a log near- 

 by, with head slightly turned towards 

 me, but perfectly motionless, watch- 

 ing me. I quietly withdrew from the 

 place and made my way homeward. 



(Observations on the Ruffed Grouse, 

 often called the Patridge, were made 

 in Muskoko, Ontario. 



GEORGE E. GERALD, 



Toronto, Can. 



Double Hen's Eggs. 



Junius Henderson, Curator of the 

 Museum, of the University of Colo- 

 rado, advises us that reference to 

 double tame hen's eggs may be 

 found in the following publications: 



Science, vol. 23 n. s. Feb. 16, 1906, 

 pg. 262; The Oologist, May 1905, pg. 

 72; Puget Sound Mail, May 5, 1907. 



And he says that they have in the 

 collection of the University of Colo- 

 rado, two such eggs, neither as large 

 as the Puget Sound specimen which 

 is reported IVz x QVz inches. 



Of the known specimans of this kind 

 the Editor of THE OOLOGIST has 

 two. 



