Hen (bird)

“ We read:—"Honey-eaters vary much in colour, but the males and females do not, as a rule, vary much in markings, but by far the larger majority of hen birds have greenish or dull-coloured backs. Their nests are mostly hanging, and built in varying situations, according to the colour of the bird, and you can generally make a good guess at the shade of the owner's back by the place it builds its nest in: if among green leaves at the end of a branch, the bird will probably be greenish, as, for instance, Ptilotis pencillata (White-plumed Honey-eater) ”

“ Thus, every hen is in her turn the virago of the yard, in proportion to the helplessness of her brood; and will fly in the face of a dog or sow in defence of those chickens, which, in a few weeks, she will drive before her with relentless cruelty. This affection sublimes the passions, quickens the invention, and sharpens the sagacity, of the brute creation. Thus, a hen, just become a mother, is no longer that placid bird she used to be, but, with feathers standing on end, wings hovering, and clucking note, she runs about like one possessed. ”

“ The Grey Hen constructs a rude nest of withered grass and a few twigs in the shelter of some low bush, and lays from five to ten eggs. The male bird takes no part in the bringing up of the brood, but leaves the duties of incubation and attention to the wants of his family to the hen, who devotes herself wholly to the careful nurture of her little ones. ”

“ Its wariness, however, is very marvellous, and even at the breeding-season, when most birds throw off their shyness, it is not easily approached within ordinary gunshot distance. The hen-bird commonly lays three clay-coloured eggs, blotched with black, in a very slight hollow on the ground not far from the sea. ”

“ Nearer by, a tyrant king-bird is poised on the topmost branch of a veteran pear-tree, and now and then dashes down, assassin-like, upon some homebound, honey-laden bee, and then with a smack of his bill resumes his predatory watch.
A chicken or two lie in the sun, with a wing and a leg stretched out,—lazily picking at the gravel, or relieving their ennui from time to time with a spasmodic rustle of their feathers. An old, matronly hen stalks about the yard with a sedate step, and with quiet self-assurance she utters an occasional series of hoarse and heated clucks. ”

“ The hen bird alone sits, the male keeping watch, and, when the covey are hatched, assisting to feed and protect them from their numerous foes. The chicks run directly they are out of the shell, frequently with portions of it sticking to them; they are very lively and nimble, and so escape many dangers. But one brood is reared in the year, unless the first eggs are taken, in which case others will be laid, and the work of incubation recommenced, although the eggs will be less in number, and the young, it is said, weaker. ”

“ The hen manifests the desire of incubation in a manner different from that of any other known bird. Nature having been sufficiently tasked in one direction, she becomes feverish, and loses flesh; her comb is livid; her eyes are dull; she bristles her feathers to intimidate an imaginary enemy; and, as if her chickens were already around her, utters the maternal “cluck.”
When the determination to sit becomes fixed—it is not necessary to immediately gratify the first faint inclinations—the nest which she has selected should be well cleaned, and filled with fresh straw. ”

“ I once saw a hen-bird who would not quit the space near her nest, but kept walking around it, ruffling her feathers, and dragging her wings on the ground, in the same way as our domestic hen does when defending her young. ”

“ J. Well, aunt Betsey, I observe that the old hen seems to talk to her chickens. If a wren or a sparrow, or any other little harmless bird flies by, the old hen says, “curr-r-r-r-r,” in a moderate tone, as much as to say “look out,” and so all the chicks just cast their eyes around and seem to take no notice of what has happened. But if a hawk appear in the air, and near by, the “curr-r-r-r-r” is uttered in a wilder key. The old hen steps high, and seeks a shelter, and the little chickens run to her as if frightened out of their little wits. ”

“ The pairing, then, of these birds takes place on the nest, which, it would now seem, is not completed; nor can I think, under these circumstances, that the eggs are yet laid, or even that the hen is sitting to lay them. It would appear, that however the nest may be built during its initial stages, the hen bird at one period sits on a mass of weed whilst the male brings fresh weeds to it. ”

“ It is cosily lined with cotton or other soft material. The hen, who alone builds the nest and incubates the eggs, enters and leaves the chamber by a hole at one side. This is protected by a little penthouse. The door serves also as window. The hen rests her chin on the lower part of this while she is incubating her eggs, and thus is able, as she sits, to see what is going on in the great world without. She displays little fear of man and takes no pains to conceal her nest, which is often built in the verandah of an inhabited bungalow. ”

“ These Grouse place the nest in a tuft of grass or under a low, stunted bush. A hollow in the ground is worked out to fit the body and lined with a few blades of grass arranged in a circular form. The hens attend wholly to the hatching and rearing of the young and are attentive and watchful mothers.
The flesh of the Sharp-tail is lighter in color and more highly esteemed than that of the Prairie Hen, and the bird is therefore hunted more industriously. ”

“ The ideal is a healthy bird, not one with pallid comb or inclined to mope; she must be of medium size and of light weight, with short legs, small feet, and a wealth of downy feathers. Above all, she must be quiet in demeanour. The fidgety, fussy hen may have excellent intentions, but is likely to cause disaster to her eggs and chicks. A big hen with the sprawliest feet, but of gentle disposition, and slow to anger, will often prove a better foster-mother than one a model in form, feather, and feet, but in temperament a spitfire. ”

“ But at the same time the hen, that has all this seeming ingenuity (which is indeed absolutely necessary for the propagation of the species) considered in other respects, is without the least glimmerings of thought or common sense. She mistakes a piece of chalk for an egg, and sits upon it in the same manner: she is insensible of any increase or diminution in the number of those she lays: she does not distinguish between her own and those off another species; and when the birth appears of ever so different a bird, will cherish it for her own. ”

“ Its plumage is so elastic, so compact, and so firmly imbricated, that buckshot, striking on the wings or the breast of the bird at a certain angle, glance off, or fail to penetrate to vital parts. The fully-grown hen measures about three feet from its crest to the base of the tail, and from six to seven feet from tip to tip of the outstretched wings. ”

“ The hen bird therefore scrapes together a pile of earth, on the top of which she lays her eggs, and then places herself astride to keep them warm. The boys had an argument whether they should take away two nests entire, or whether they should take a few eggs from each nest; but they decided upon the former plan, in order that each of the young broods might be hatched simultaneously. Upon the boys reaching home with their treasure their sisters' delight was unbounded, and the hens were soon placed upon their new charges, and, both being good sitters, took to them without much difficulty. ”

“ Those who live near prairies and brushy grasslands have a chance to become acquainted with this brown hen-like bird which formerly ranged over much of the middle west. Cultivation and hunters have reduced the numbers until they no longer are common. The large size, the short, dark, rounded tail, the heavily barred underparts, the rounded wings, all are descriptive of this bird. In flight he reminds you of king-size Meadow Larks, flapping then sailing, as he journeys to and from favorite feeding grounds. ”

“ Birds are never more charming to watch than when they are building their nests, and, of all our British nest-builders, few, perhaps, build more charmingly than the blackbird. It is the hen alone that collects and shapes the materials, but the male bird accompanies her in every excursion either to or from the nest. When she is busied in its construction he sits in a tree or a bush near by, and, on her leaving it for fresh leaves or moss, follows her in a series of flights from tree to tree, and, finally, down on to the ground, where the two hop about, closely in each other's company. ”

“ It is seldom that the hen flies at once to where she means to collect her materials, though time after time it may be at the same place. Usually she flies past the tree—all beautiful in spring and early morning—where the cock sits, and perches in another at some little distance beyond it. There you may lose sight of her, but as soon as you see her handsome gold-billed mate leave his bower and fly to hers, you know that she has flown on, and is now perched somewhere else. ”

“ The first stage consists in the pursuit of a hen by a male bird. Directly he stops feeding and runs after her, she runs away. Never in a straight line for any distance, but in a series of curves, often doubling back and sometimes describing a circle or even a figure of eight, while the cock follows her line a few yards behind. The cock's head is held sideways at an angle of quite 20 degrees with the line of his body in order to keep the hen in view, and his neck is stiffly stretched out. His pure white tail is expanded so that half is visible on each side of his folded wings. ”

“ Coming to the collecting ground—for there is usually some spot more liked by the birds than any other—the hen flies down and begins to hop about, making, at intervals, little dives forward with her bill, till she has collected some moss, dry grass, or quite a little bundle of dead brown leaves. The male bird follows her all about, hopping where she hops, prying where she pries, and seeming to make a point of doing all that she does except actually collect material for the nest, and this, in my experience, he never does do. ”

“ The hen is dark grey, with brown abdomen and a different distribution of white. This shy, active bird has the graceful movements of a Flycatcher, with a habit of jerking the tail; the song is plaintive or whistling; the food consists of insects and fruit. The flat nest, of fibres, grass, and down, contains from two to five greyish eggs, speckled with brownish-black and neutral tints: Ptilogenys cinereus, of the highlands of Central America, is plumbeous, with black remiges, black and white rectrices, loose broad lavender crest-plumes, and yellow under tail-coverts and flanks ”

“ A chorus of disapproval from all present supported this remark. "Studies that interfere with a young hen's appearance should not be permitted," said one bird.
"What is the good of knowing all about insects, when we live on berries and fruit?" asked another.
"The sight of insects gives one the creeps!" said a third.
"I am thankful to say all my little hens care for nothing beyond playing at the Bower and preening their feathers," said an affectionate bower bird mother, "They get a deal of attention paid to them." ”

“ For, except in some special cases where the female is larger and handsomer than the male, the Darwinian theory does not suppose that the hen bird has been modified to please the taste of the cock, whose eagerness, it is assumed, has made this quite unnecessary. ”

“ Well–known, and common everywhere in gardens, woods, and hedgerows. Often found with a few scattered white feathers, and sometimes with white wings. The large and pretty nest reminds one of what women do for the world. The hen commences one and completes it. Meantime the male bird begins two or three in succession, a short distance from his mate’s, but never completes one of them. The materials are moss, feathers, hair, dead leaves, and dead fern. ”

“ The wild is larger than the domesticated bird, sometimes weighing over 30 lbs. dressed. The color of the male is generally a greenish brown, approaching to black, and of a rich, changeable, metallic lustre. The hen is marked somewhat like the cock, but with duller hues. Domestication through successive generations dims the brilliancy of their plumage, and lessens their size and hardiness. It also produces a variety of colors, though they are mostly of a black, buff, pure white, or speckled. ”

“ As the wild bird is not so prodigal, it can only be supposed that this fecundity in the matter of eggs is upon the part of the hen a proof of gratitude for the food she receives from man, a trait which, in itself, should place her high in man’s estimation.
While the cock is, above all things, a warrior, the hen is the type of the careful housewife and affectionate mother. Nothing can exceed the care and attention she bestows upon her young—feeding them, guarding them, and teaching them with constant attention, and with occasional chidings when disposed to wander from her. ”

“ Woodpeckers are not the only good bird parents. You can see how kind and careful mother-birds are, if you watch the hens in the farm-yard. Do you see [Pg 205] them lead their little chicks out? They scratch the earth, and call the chicks to come and pick up food. When a hawk appears, the hen cries out, and spreads her wings wide, to shelter her chicks.
When it rains, or when the little ones are tired, or at night, the hen calls them to rest under her wide, warm wings. ”