284 GENERAL HABITS 



same time he frequently shakes his head and neck sliphtly from side to side. This aetion is in 

 no wise violent as is that whiih accompanies strutting. Rather the head, which is held some- 

 what back toward the shoulders, is twitched with a rotating motion as though it hung on an 

 inclined pivot running through the base of the skull. 



Relation to Nest 



The Investigation has been unable to discover any relationship between the male and the 

 nesting site of the female*. Birds judged to be male grouse have now and then been flushed 

 near a nest but there is nothing to indicate that such occurrences are other than coincidental. 



Among birds held in captivity under natural cover conditions at the Research Center, how- 

 ever, several males have exhibited a tendency to sit on the eggs. One individual aclualK in- 

 cubated a clutch until it hatched and then undertook to brood the chicks. A similar incident 

 was observed at a farm operated by the American Game Protective Association"', and a third 

 has been reported by Allen'". 



Relation to Brood 



Similarly, it has been impossible to discover any consistent relationship between the male 

 bird and the brood. Nearly every summer, however, there have been a few occasions when a 

 bird judged to be a male has been flushed very near or even directly with a female and her 

 chicks. Most of these observations have occurred during the first month following hatching 

 and the circumstance has never been recorded twice for the same brood. 



In one instance, the second adult clucked and strutted about while the female attempted to 

 lead the intruder awav. Several other observers have reported similar experiences^- ""• "". 

 Loveland^" states the male even went so far as to fly at him. 



Again, after a brood has been flushed, it has sometimes been noted that an adult, other than 

 the brood female, will fly in and attempt to silence chicks which commence to peep. Whether 

 such individuals were male or female could not be determined. 



It seems doubtful if occurrences of this kind are other than accidental or possibly, in some 

 cases, representative of unusual individual variation. On the other hand, the second bird may 

 have been another female which had either lost her brood or merged it with that of the first. 



CHARACTKRISTIC OF THE FEMALE 



As with her mate, the female also indulges in a number of acli\itics clKuactcrislic oidy of 

 her sex and they are. likewise, chieflv associated with the r<'produ<li\c season, neginning with 

 nesting, they extend through the brood period. 



Nesting Hates 



\\ ith the coming of the breeding season each spring, most female grou,-c soon undertake to 

 establish a nest. Little is known of the relationship between this activity and the actual com- 

 mencement of egg laying. In one instance, however, a jjerfecllv formed nest was found .April 

 16 in which the first egg was not deposited until April 2^. 



First clutches are most frequently begun in New York alioiit llic cikI of llic third week in 

 April, except at higher elevations in the Adirondacks where the season is usually about a week 

 later. Nevertheless, the average date often varies somewhat from year to year. Thus, in 1932. 

 it was about a week later than normal and. in l^.'i'J and 19 K). lesser variations in the same di- 



* Spe diacuitioii tiiHlrr Mating llilliil". )>. '2M). 



