108 TEXAS NATURE OBSERVATIONS AND REMINISCENCES. 



birds were seen madly flying 

 against the snake and pricking 

 its body at each turn, also a 

 chapajral cock was seen close to 

 the brush, attentively viewing the 

 snake and the birds. When we 

 approached closer, the snake, of 

 the whip-snake variety, rapidly 

 glided down the tree and disap- 

 peared in the underbrush before 

 my son and I had a chance to give 

 it a lesson for "eggstealing" and 

 the chaparral cock also made its 

 exit. 



liberated in the hilly regions around 

 Bandera and Guadalupe county. 

 Til e result of same however, whether 

 they multiplied or were annihilated 

 by animals of prey, never came to 

 my notice, presumably they met 

 with the fate of extinction. 



Asalreadyreferredto,the chapa- 

 ral cock prepares its breeding nest, 

 about the size of a chicken nest, 

 in the midst of a wdll sheltered 

 thick brush, or on the lower 

 branches of a tree — in particular, 

 between the bifurcated branches 



Another Typical Nest and Eggs of Chaparral Cock 



During our coldest winter days 

 the chaparral cock remains with us, 

 conjointly with the mockingbird, 

 the field larks, quail, woodpecker, 

 the cactus weaver wren, the scissor 

 tail bird and other typical Texas 

 birds. 



Some years ago I was informed 

 that some enterprising San Antonio 

 sportsmen tried to acclimatize some 

 foreign species of the Silver Fasan. 

 and that large numbers had been 



of 6ome hackberry tree, the huisache 

 and persimmon-tree, and occasion- 

 ally in the midst of the Spanish 

 dagger plant. 



The nest usually contains six 

 to eight white eggs and are nearly 

 th« size of a chicken egg. The 

 young brood is a very greedy lot 

 and they grow up rapidly and 

 are fed by the old hen with all 

 sorts of insects and worms, small 

 lizards and snakes, mice and young 



