164 The Grouse Family 



son. These lone males are termed by the plains- 

 men "old solitaries," and they are apt to prove 

 wary and afford long-range single chances when 

 the shooting season comes. It is to be hoped 

 that they " get into the game again " the following 

 spring, but naturally this is a difficult matter to 

 prove, with the probabilities in favor of another 

 attempt. 



Once mated, the pairs scatter far and wide, 

 nesting wherever they find suitable sites, such as 

 a thick clump of grass or weeds. The nest is 

 merely a slight depression lined with grass and a 

 few feathers. The eggs vary considerably both 

 in ground, color, and markings, the usual type 

 being pale brown freckled with reddish brown. 

 They are hatched in about twenty-five days, the 

 period of incubation being irregular, perhaps 

 slightly influenced by the weather. The number 

 of eggs varies greatly, as many as twenty having 

 been found, although the average would appear 

 to be about a dozen. Should a nest be destroyed, 

 especially before the completion of the laying, the 

 hen will build anew and proceed to business. In 

 such cases the number of eggs is apt to be some- 

 what below the average. So soon as the hen 

 begins to brood, the male takes himself off, as 

 though " the subsequent proceedings interested 

 him no more." 



The young run as soon as they are dry, and the 



