THE PARTRIDGE AS A POLYGAMIST. 177 



sion. Sometimes it is so placed as to be concealed by naturally over- 

 arching grasses, through which a regular tunnel, (sometimes several feet 

 long) conducts to the sanctum ; and at others it seems to be covered with 

 leaves and straws, rudely arranged by the birds. The nest is constructed 

 solely by the females of the family, and varies in dimensions according 

 to the number of quailesses — if I may use the expression — that anticipate 

 using it; the male bird meanwhile going abroad in quest of food, or sit- 

 ting on a low twig close by, constantly cheering his wives by his char- 

 acteristic note, and very faithfully warning them of the approach of 

 danger. 



The work is prosecuted with zeal, and three days at farthest suffice to 

 make the nest ready for an egg, the first of which is immediately laid, 

 and is followed, one each consecutive day, till seven or eight have been 

 deposited, as a rule; it is on record, however, that as many as thirty 

 eggs are sometimes found in one nest. This is due to the polygamy of 

 the male, which was noticed by the earliest sportsmen and ornithologists. 

 Mr. Thomas Gentry tells us that in Pennsylvania commonly two, and 

 often three and four females, are taken by one male, and that two will 

 lay in the same nest simultaneously — besides which different families 

 occasionally lay eggs in each other's nests. "When a pair has established 

 itself in a locality from the first," he says, "and has been successful in 

 rearing a family of young during the ensuing spring, if the females are 

 in the majority the unprovided ones still continue, as a general thing, to 

 linger with the parents after their more specially favored companions 

 have mated and moved elsewhere. This is particularly noticeable iu a 

 new locality, where the covey consists entirely of members of a single 

 family. In cases where several families congregate in the fall, the 

 chances are greatly in favor of monogamy. Small flocks are more de- 

 cidedly polygamous than larger ones. We have never observed the con- 

 verse — that is, more than one male to a female — but where several pairs 

 are found in the same field, at slight distances from each other, there is 

 sometimes a noticeable tendency to associate." 



The eggs of the quail are crystal- white, occasionally faintly tinged 

 with yellow, and pyriform in shape. The eggs are sat upon about eigh- 

 teen days. Where the father is not fortunate enough to possess a harem 

 a large part of the work falls upon him, while the mother seeks rest and 

 food ; but where there are several females the male takes no part in the 

 labor of incubation, which the females divide very amicably among them- 

 selves, each sitting about half a day at a stretch, then calling her relief 

 with a low note, if there be only two ; while, if the family be larger, two 



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