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A Martin house placed upon the top of our barn is occupied buy two pairs of martins. My brother a few minuites since climbed to the roof of a neighbouring out house where he was quickly attacked by a cock martin who would repeatedly fly at him striking him on the head as it passed. At length becoming apparently more & more enraged the bird struck him with so much violence that it fell stunned to the ground. We feared it was dead but it finally recovered & flew away – we have resolved never to tease such "plucky" little customers any more.
Mr Wood A neighbor who is a reliable man told me that a few days since while going through his field he heard a hen quail making great ado. Upon going to the spot he found her with a chicken (common barn yard fowl) a few days old. She was calling it & seemed to treat it as she would her young. Mr Wood took the chicken with him to a neighbouring house & as he came back past the spot where he had found it he placed it on the ground & retiring to a little distance hid himself. The Chicken began to "peep" and in a few minuites the old quail made her appearence and commenced calling it when the chicken ran to her apparently feeling quite safe under her protection Mr Wood again caught it and taking it with him to his house a little ways off placed it with a hen who had a young brood of chickens. But the next day it was gone. He thought the quail had probably found it & taken it off. Now how did the quail first get the chicken? & would it not be fun to watch the developing of this interesting family - I have perfect confidence in the truth of the story
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7 July 6th
Last night we caught a young king rail (Ballus elegans) It is in the down & apprently two or three weeks old. It is seven inches long 4 3/4 inches from tip of one wing joint to the other with the body about the size of a newly hatched turkey. The legs & feet are black. bill black with a point white & a white spot around the nostril The entire surface of the body neck head & wings are covered with soft down of an intense black with greenish reflection. It utters a sound very much like the "peeping" of a domestic chicken - The young
I will try to preserve the specimen
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Letter from Robt. Kennicott on the [arrow down]
Prairie Cock.