Identifier: newsfrombirds00key (find matches)
Title: News from the birds
Year: 1898 (1890s)
Authors: Keyser, Leander Sylvester, 1856-
Subjects: Birds
Publisher: New York, D. Appleton and company
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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y as twenty eggs are sometimes foundin a nest, though a dozen is more likely to bethe quota. jSuch a nest, its bottom lined withpearly treasures, is a beautiful sight, worthy ofthe brush of the artist. If the eggs can befound fresh, they are excellent for food—atleast, such is the opinion of those who havethe conscience to rob the nest of the quail. Like, the grouse and some other birds, theyoung quails are ready to leave the nest almostas soon as they are out of the shell, being veryactive and shy. Indeed, I have heard old har-vesters say that they have seen them scuttlingthrough the wheat stubbles with a part of theirshell still clinging to their backs. Sometimesin my rambles I stumble upon a brood of littleones with their mamma. How the old birdcalls and rushes about and trails and fluffs herfeathers until she lias warned her little ones oftheir danger! And how they scud about andcreep into the grass and bushes, sitting so closethat it is next to impossible to find them ! Only 15
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Bobwhite. THE AMERICAN QUAIL. 203 a quick glimpse of the little birds is enough toconvince you that they are as pretty and inno-cent as baby birds can be. No wonder the quails are so wary. Fullwell do they know how fatal is the sportsmansgun with its charge of scattering shot that makesescape almost impossible. So many of their com-panions have been killed in this way that thosewhich remain have learned to distrust mankind,and so they seek the most out-of-the-way nooks,and conceal themselves at the first approach ofa human being. Poor things! they must beconstantly on their guard, and I do not seehow their lives can be happy when they mustalways be in dread of the gunners fatal lead. Audubon describes a most interesting habitof these birds. He says they often roost onthe ground in the grass or beneath a bent log,and this is the way they go to bed: Theyarrange themselves in a circle, with their headsextending outward, and then they move back-ward, making the circle smaller, until their

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