36 UPLAND SHOOTISrO. 



surroundings are such tliat there is nothing to distinguish 

 it. In this nest, built among a few loose twigs and 

 leaves, or, perhaps, in a slight depression amid a bunch 

 of withered grass, the eggs are laid. They are four in 

 number, quite round in form, of a dull clay-color, covered 

 with brownish spots, and in size corresponding to those 

 of the pigeon. 



The male bird, no doubt, assists his mate in incubation, 

 since they are such voracious feeders that a great deal of 

 time must be consumed in obtaining food; and as they 

 feed in the cool of the early evening and morning, the 

 eggs would soon become chilled unless protected. 



During this period, which is about three weeks, the 

 sitting bird is quite easy to approach, as she seems to 

 know that silence is her best protection, and indeed it is, 

 for the coloring of her plumage so blends with the sur- 

 roundings that he must have sharp eyes to find the nest 

 which she so silently x^rotects. 



The young being hatched, a transformation scene takes 

 place, for then, especially at eventide and early morning, 

 all is bustle and activity, the parent birds having a busy 

 time in caring for their little family, which is more help- 

 less than that of the grouse or the quail, and sometimes, 

 before the fledgelings are able to fly, have to be carried 

 from one feeding-ground to another. 



It is stated by some authorities that the young are 

 carried upon the back of the parent bird, clinging there 

 with bill and toes; again, that they are carried between 

 the thighs, being held there partly by the aid of the bill 

 and the tail; the position of the bill, pointed downward 

 during flight, unless distinctly seen, would tend to con- 

 vey this idea. I have never seen the young carried in 

 either of these ways, but have seen them transported 

 from place to place, grasped by the long, slender toes of 

 the old bird and drawn up closely to the body. 



