42 The Ruffed Grouse 



taking dust baths. Following their mother's example, each chick 

 would wiggle and scratch a little hollow in the dry dust of an open 

 spot or rotted wood of an old log, whichever was most convenient 

 at the time ( see Plate 2C ) . They would lie in their bath, first on the 

 belly, then one side, then the other, all the while scratching and rub- 

 bing dust with the feathers. Among them all, they kicked up quite 

 a smoke screen. 



Dusting was a regular and necessary event. When handy they 

 would use the same baths over again. It serves primarily to stimu- 

 late proper growth of the feathers, although it may help to get rid of 

 external parasites too. 



The little grouse grew rapidly. At three weeks they had become 

 proficient flyers; at four weeks the feather coat was well enough de- 

 veloped to make hovering by the mother no longer necessary under 

 average conditions. By six weeks the full juvenile plumage was at- 

 tained, and the young grouse looked very much like miniature repli- 

 cas of the adult. By this time the family was spending its nights roost- 

 ing in trees, usually hemlocks or other evergreens. It had experienced 

 many critical moments when natural enemies or the elements had 

 threatened, but no additional casualties had resulted. Every one of 

 the five remaining youngsters was now very proficient in making its 

 escape from running or flying predators, and had grown hardy to 

 the vicissitudes of the weather. But they still depended very much 

 on the mother for leadership and warnings of danger. 



Revolt in the Ranks. Almost as soon as the youngsters had left the 

 nest, family squabbles began. The assertion of physical superiority, 

 or at least equality, is a prime essential for successful survival in a 

 grouse family or group. Often the affirmation of strength led to 

 fights, but more often a chick would satisfy his ego by strutting to 

 amuse or antagonize his brethren. Always the mother bird main- 

 tained control over these trivialities, though this control became 

 more difficult as the chicks grew older. As the summer progressed 

 to the dog days of late July and August, a surging of insubordination 

 was noticeable on the part of the chicks. They were now half grown 

 and were beginning to feel a need for freedom, and resented parental 

 control. They would stray quite far apart in foraging for raspber- 

 ries and the other summer fruits which now furnished a good pro- 

 portion of their diet. They would fly off, chasing each other as their 



