CHAPTER V 



Propagation — Care of young — Different types of young birds — 

 Different modes of feather-development, as seen in young 

 Fowl, Pigeon, or Duck, for instance — ^Egg-coloration and its 

 meaning and variations — ^Prolificacy and otherwise — Incuba- 

 tion mounds — ^Periods of incubation. 



The' care of old birds for tlieir young has always 

 attracted the attention of humanity, and one of the 

 best known allusions to nature in the Bible is the 

 text that speaks of the fowl gathering her young 

 under her wings. As one would expect, it is gener- 

 ally the hen that has mist to do with the incubation 

 of the eggs and the nursing, so to speak, of the 

 young, while they are still so small and weak that 

 they need to resort to a parent for warmth, being 

 unable to keep up their temperature by themselves. 

 This performance on the part of the parent is 

 termed brooding or " hovering," and in the cases 

 where it can be watched, as in birds which brood 

 their active young on the ground, it will be seen 

 that the parent sits down on its heels, while the 

 young run under and are sheltered by the plumage 

 of the breast and sides. In the case of a young 

 Avocet that was hatched and reared at the Zoo some 

 years ago, it was interesting to see how the. little 

 8 "3 



