248 GENERAL HABITS 



Speeds approaching 50 miles per hour have been recorded, although the average of bird? 

 flushed in the woods is about 40 miles per hour. (p. 254). 



It is not migratory although young birds may travel several miles during crazy flight or spring 

 shuffle, (p. 254). 



"Crazy flight" is a fall phenomenon. It is primarily a trait of first year birds and seems to be 

 Nature's way of dispersing them before they choose a territory and settle down. (p. 255). 



In general, adult grouse, year in and year out, tend to live in a relatively small area, referred 

 to as their "territory", usually in the vicinity of and including the covert in which they 

 spent their first breeding season, (p. 257). 



Adults rarely form flocks, although loose groups often occupy the same patch of winter shel- 

 ter, (p. 259). 



Originally surprisingly tame, the partridge has developed traits of caution and wariness which 

 now rank it as one of our most prized game species, (p. 260) . 



Although primarily a ground feeder, it readily perches in shrubs and trees when seeking fruits 

 and buds. (p. 264). 



While polygamy is the usual mating relationship, they are not averse to promiscuity if the 

 occasion demands, (p. 267). Hybrids are very rare. (p. 268). 



Grouse of all ages are subject to pronounced superiority and inferiority complexes, (p. 268). 



Fighting is most common but not entirely confined to the breeding season and to the fall shuffle 

 of the young birds, (p. 269). 



During periods of low temperature, grouse frequently dive or burrow into the snow for pro- 

 tection if it is soft and sufficiently deep. ( p. 270) . 



Drumming is an attribute of the males only. It is primarily associated with courtship but has 

 been heard during every month of the year. The sound is produced by the bird's wings 

 beating against the air. (p. 274). 



The male neither assists in incubation nor aids in rearing the brood, (p. 284). 



A ground nester, the female incubates her usual clutch of about 1 1 eggs for between 23 and 

 24 days, the normal hatching date in New York State being about June 1. (p. 285, 288). 



Individual females do not rear more than one brood during any one season, but a bird whose 

 first nest is destroyed frequently lays a second clutch, (p. 291). 



The female exhibits remarkable courage in striving to safeguard her brood from danger, espec- 

 ially during its early life. (p. 291). 



Grouse chicks are precocial and leave the nest under the guidance of the hen within a few 

 hours after hatching. From then until the brood breaks up, beginning in mid-September, 

 they range as a unit, generally remaining within an area of 40 to 100 acres, (p. 294). 





"^r-^^ 



