. Bird lore . was also elliptical in shape and the bird always sat facing theeast. A number of dead willow twigs and grass had evidently been carriedtogether by the bird herself to make this nest. Unlike the other two Ihave seen with bird on nest, this bird was not so well concealed by her surroundings and, as shown inthe accompanying photographs,was plainly visible. Altogether I have seen threenests containing bird and eggsand four complete sets of eggs,besides over twenty old nests con-taining only the last years egg-shells and a few feathers; andwhile I must confess but littleknowledge of t
. Bird lore . was also elliptical in shape and the bird always sat facing theeast. A number of dead willow twigs and grass had evidently been carriedtogether by the bird herself to make this nest. Unlike the other two Ihave seen with bird on nest, this bird was not so well concealed by her surroundings and, as shown inthe accompanying photographs,was plainly visible. Altogether I have seen threenests containing bird and eggsand four complete sets of eggs,besides over twenty old nests con-taining only the last years egg-shells and a few feathers; andwhile I must confess but littleknowledge of their nesting habits,this much I claim — that theynever nest in the willows but inthe open, depending on theircolor for protection ; that they remain sitting till nearly or actually touchedby the human foot or hand ; that they place their nest differently in differ-ent seasons owing to the amount of snow, and that different individualsvarv in the season of nesting, as I have seen young birds full-grown and on. A PTARMIGAN CHICK The Nesting Habits of the White-tailed Ptarmigan 121 same day (August 5, 1900) I saw chicks half-grown and others apparentlyjust hatched. The photograph of the chick was one of those seen thatdate. This chick was held on the hand till the camera was focused andexposure made. It went about three feet toward the old one and thenstopped to feed before going farther. The old bird showed more fightafter the young one had safely returned to her than while we were hold-ing and photographing it. The conduct of both adult and young, unlessalarmed, is about the same in the presence of men as that of ordinary do-mestic fowls. Their food in summer-time is insects and young grass orclover, in winter-time willow or birch buds. During the molt of Augustand September some birds are too weak to Ry and can be caught, and theymust often become the prey of foxes and coyotes at that season.
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectbirds, booksubjectorn
