Egg-stealing Hens

In Capt. Bendire's "Life Histories of North American Birds" the hen of the Canada grouse is reported as a confirmed egg-thief. A number of these birds were observed in captivity to rob one another's nests frequently. Two hens had their nests near together, about two f e et apart, and as each laid every other day, one nest would be vacant while the other was occupied. The hen that laid last would not go away until she had stolen the nest-egg from the other nest and placed it in her own. A hen was once seen to attempt to steal an egg from another nest twenty feet distant. She worked for half an hour or so, but did not succeed in moving the coveted egg more than eight feet - the way being uphill. The egg escaped her and rolled back a foot or two,so of ten that she gave up the task in disgust. One evening the observer found one hen on the nest, and knew that she was bezinning1 to set, as all the other hens had gono to roost. Slipping his hand under her he found three eggs, the nest-egg, an egg she had just laid, and one stolen from a neighboring nest. 11e took two out and held them bef ore lier, when she placed her bill over one and tried to pull it out of his hand. As he refused to let her have it, she placed her bill over the remaining egg and pushed it back out of sight, as much as to say: "You have two, and that isall you can have." She pleaded so hard for the other eggs that he took them away with much reluctance.