. Birds that hunt and are hunted; life histories of one hundred and seventy birds of prey, game birds and water fowls . nk, pink, he again calls, to make sure his efforts arenot lost upon the object of his affection, and before he canfairly have recovered his breath, off he goes on another series ofgyrations accompanied by wing music. Or, he may dancejigs when in the actual presence of the loved one. Cranes,plovers, owls, and flickers, among others, go through clownishperformances to win their mates, in some instances the femalesjoining in; but the woodhen, as the proper-nice people say,remain
. Birds that hunt and are hunted; life histories of one hundred and seventy birds of prey, game birds and water fowls . nk, pink, he again calls, to make sure his efforts arenot lost upon the object of his affection, and before he canfairly have recovered his breath, off he goes on another series ofgyrations accompanied by wing music. Or, he may dancejigs when in the actual presence of the loved one. Cranes,plovers, owls, and flickers, among others, go through clownishperformances to win their mates, in some instances the femalesjoining in; but the woodhen, as the proper-nice people say,remains coy and apparently coldly indifferent to the madnessof her lover. He will sometimes stand motionless, as if medi-tating on some new method of winning her, his head drawnin, his bill pressing against his breast. Then, with his shorttail raised and outstretched like a grouses, and with droppedwings trailing beside him, he will strut about with a high step—a comical picture of dignity and importance. Little time need be taken from the honeymoon to make anest. This consists of a few dry leaves on the ground in the. Snipe, Sandpipers, etc. woods, usually near a stump, where the four buffy eggs, spottedover with reddish brown, are laid, often before the snow hasmelted, in April. A dry place being chosen for the nesting site,it sometimes becomes necessary to transport the funny littlefluffy, long-billed chicks to muddy hunting grounds, and themother has been detected in the act of flying with one of herbrood held between her thighs. But the chicks are by no meanshelpless, even from the instant they leave the shell. It is a prettysight to see a little family poking about at twilight for larvje,worms, and small insects, among the decayed leaves, the fallenlogs, and the ferns and skunk cabbages. Peep, peep, they call,quite like barnyard chicks. By the first of August the woodcocks, deserting the low,wet lands, scatter themselves over the country in corn fields,grassy meadows, birch c
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Keywords: ., book, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectuplandgamebirds
