Martha - Most of our peahens sat very well, although often in secret (away
from the house and well camouflaged in bracken and brushwood); one, rather
exposed, let me build a temporary aviary around her. Another turned up
after a lengthy absence, rather nervous and minus tail-feathers, I suppose
having just escaped a fox; sadly, also minus chicks. However, we had to
put eggs under a chicken on one occasion; she was most indignant when the
chicks (being precocial) wouldn't roost quietly under her but insisted on
climbing a couple of feet above her.
(Even more off topic) We had a similar bedtime experience once, when we
heard a tapping at the bedroom window. I opened it and a magpie calmly
hopped in, looked around, flew up to the top of the wardrobe and settled
down for the night. In the morning, it flew down and waited at the window;
I opened it again (closed during the night because we overlook a sometimes
noisy road) and it flew away without a word. Obviously, must have been
tame. Tony N-S.
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