der to complete his triumph, will rush 

 forward at his best speed for two or 

 three rods through the midst of the love- 

 sick damsels, pouring- out as he goes a 

 booming noise, almost a hoarse roar, only 

 more subdued, which may be heard for 

 at least two miles in the still morning 

 air. This heavy booming sound is by 

 no means harsh or unpleasant; on the 

 contrary, it is soft and even harmonious. 

 When standing in the open prairie at 

 early dawn listening to hundreds of dif- 

 ferent voices, pitched on different keys, 

 coming from every direction and from 

 various distances, the listener is rather 

 soothed than excited. If this sound is 

 heavier than the deep key notes of a 

 large organ, it is much softer, though 

 vastly more powerful, and may be 

 heard at a much greater distance. 



"Every few minutes this display is re- 

 peated. I have seen not only one, but 

 more than twenty cocks going through 

 this funny operation at once, but then 

 they seem careful not to run against each 

 other, for they have not yet got to the 

 fighting point. After a little while the 

 lady birds begin to show an interest in 

 the proceedings by moving about quick- 

 ly a few yards at a time, and then stand- 

 ing still a short time. When these ac- 

 tions are continued by a large number of 

 birds at a time, it presents a funny sight, 

 and you can easily think they are moving 

 to the measure of music." 



Mr. Caton, continuing, states that this 

 party remains in session until the sun is 

 half an hour high, when the birds sep- 

 arate. They gather again the next 

 morning and go through the same cere- 

 mony. This they repeat each morning 

 for a week or more, or until all the 

 birds have been satisfactorily paired. "It 

 is toward the latter part of the love sea- 

 son that the fighting takes place among 

 the cocks, probably by two who have 

 fallen in love with the same sweetheart, 

 whose modesty prevents her from select- 

 in <j between them." 



When the mating of the , birds is set- 

 tled, nesting is immediately begun. The 

 nest is nearly always placed upon the 

 ground and is a mere depression exca- 

 vated by the female, who also performs 

 all the duties of incubation. The nest- 

 ing site may be in the tall grass, on the 



border of a marsh, in the weeds of a 

 fence corner, in cultivated fields or 

 grassy meadow, or on the prairie lands 

 in many cases where the grass is very 

 short. The nest may be thickly lined, 

 provided there is plenty of suitable mate- 

 rial close at hand, the hen being adverse 

 to bringing it from a distance. The nest 

 is sometimes lined with a few feathers 

 plucked from the breast of the sitting 

 bird. 



Excepting the bob-white, probably no 

 game bird is more prolific than the Prairie 

 Hen. Sets of from twenty to twenty- 

 two eggs have been repeatedly found, 

 though the average number is from ten 

 to fourteen. Were knot for the various 

 agents which destroy the eggs of these 

 prolific birds, it would seem that our 

 western prairies would soon be over- 

 stocked with Prairie Hens. One observ- 

 er states that in one acre of a burned field 

 he counted five nests which contained 

 seventy-eight eggs, and he estimated 

 that thousands were destroyed by fire 

 each season. In a few instances these 

 birds have been taught by experience to 

 build their nests above the ground. It is 

 seldom that any particular attempt is 

 made to conceal the nest, for the mother 

 bird sits so close and her colors harmon- 

 ize so well with her environment, that 

 she readily escapes observation. The 

 mother bird, upon whom devolves all the 

 care of the young, is a model and de- 

 voted parent, and cares for her young 

 brood in a most courageous and tactful 

 manner. The young leave the nest as 

 soon as they are hatched. "Their food 

 at first consists almost, if not entirely, 

 of insects, and when the grasshopers are 

 plenty, as they frequently are in the 

 northern parts of the breeding range, 

 they subsist almost exclusively on them. 

 Later they frequent the grain fields and 

 feed on the different cereals as well as 

 other small seeds and berries." 



It is late in summer when the male 

 parent again joins his family, and they, 

 with other families, unite in flocks which, 

 in regions where these birds are com- 

 mon, have been known to form packs 

 numbering fully five hundred individ- 

 uals. These flocks roam over the fields 

 and prairies, feeding upon grass seeds, 

 grains and berries. In the northern por- 



