Shelter 75 



The setting bird always faces outward with her tail raised against 

 the tree. From this attitude she can view her surroundings in all 

 directions except the rear, where the tree gives protection. Usually 

 she chooses a tree or stump that has few, if any, bushes or saplings 

 immediately in front for several feet— thus giving an open front yard 

 —but often a very small sprig of living or dead brush will protrude 

 a few inches above and in front of the nest to assist in obscuring her 

 position. The desire for sunlight results in many nests placed along 

 old woods roads, beside stumps where the canopy has been broken 

 by the removal of a large tree, at the base of dead trees (notably 

 chestnut), and in similar spots where the advantages of the wood- 

 land are combined with more than ordinary exposure to the sun. 



Most grouse habitat is quite free from evidences of man's civiliza- 

 tion. However, if its cover requirements are met, the grouse pays 

 little attention to such intrusions. Sights, sounds, or movement of 

 mechanical objects, as long as they are regular, cause no fear. Sev- 

 eral grouse nests I have observed bear witness to this fact. One was 

 located on the bank of a railroad right of way, protected only by a 

 bracken fem, and within a few feet of the track. The nest was dis- 

 covered by a keen-eyed railroad man who spotted the bird on the 

 nest from the train. Another nest, in the oil well region of southwest- 

 em New York, was situated beneath the iron drive-rod that connects 

 the powerhouse with the well. This rod, supported every little ways 

 with tripods, was only about three inches above the bird's head. 

 About four hours each day, when the wells were being pumped, this 

 rod squeaked back and forth without causing the bird concern. 

 Nests are occasionally found on the borders of public highways. 

 The passing of speeding automobiles a few yards away does not 

 seem to worry a grouse hen. 



In selecting a nest site, the bird usually chooses one with a very 

 open undergrowth, as has already been noted. The crown density 

 of the nest sites observed also appears to average a little on the open 

 side but generally about in proportion to what the woods contains. 

 A very large majority of the nests I have seen were within a hundred 

 feet of a coniferous type, or a clump of conifers, in spite of the rela- 

 tive unimportance of conifers to nesting. The presence of a significant 

 amount of evergreen cover in the vicinity seems desirable for pro- 

 tection from the weather even though coniferous cover is little used 

 for nesting and a thick growth of conifers around the nest is avoided. 



