232



Mr. T. H. Newman,



About this time the hen frequently cooed ; she would

run after another bird, then suddenly stop, fluffing out her

feathers, and throwing herself back would utter her rattling coo;

it seemed to be the same as that of the cock, but not so loud,

also she did not throw herself so far backwards; I have not seen

her arch her wings as the male generally does, before he coos.

When walking the cock usually carried his tail slightly pointing

downwards following the curve of the back; on the other hand,

the hen invariably had hers rather raised. The 29th was the

last night the young one spent in the nest with its mother.


October 30th, the young bird very active on its legs; the

feathers on the cheeks are now beginning to expand and show

paler, but the whitish patch is inconspicuous unless the neck is

stretched upwards ; when crouching on the ground the bird is

very difficult to see ; the female is very attentive to it, picks

about on the ground as if trying to teach it to feed itself, but I

expect she was only picking up stray grains which had fallen

when feeding the young one. She frequently gently arranged

the feathers on the back and head of her offspring; this night

was spent on the ground with the hen brooding it, which speaks

very highly for the mother’s devotion. I am quite sure the birds

never roost on the ground in the ordinary way.


31st. The young one spent the day on the ground, alter¬

nately brooded and fed by both its parents. The hen seemed

anxious to get it to go under a heap of brushwood in the corner

which is piled up so as to form a shelter, but it did not seem to

understand, though she stood at the entrance and nodded her

head to it as though she wanted to feed it. When the hen left

the young one the cock came and sat by ; it afterwards it followed

him behind some bushes, he cooed in the usual rattling way but

softer than usual, then he uttered several low single notes which

I had not before heard. I think this must be the note used when

wishing to feed the young, but I had not heard the hen use any

note when feeding it. The young bird seemed very small to

leave the nest; it was barely half as large as its parents, but, by

the way, it could fly it would be able to get away if danger

threatened. Whenever the male approached the female she

retired ; for some days past he had been chasing her with arched



