242 OUT WITH THE BIRDS 



from the tree-tops, during the day; the fierce 

 goshawk, with his great speed, strikes him down 

 on the wing when he can scare him suddenly 

 from the shelter of the thicket ; and in the well- 

 settled districts, wire fences, also telephone and 

 telegraph wires knock him down with fatal re- 

 sults. And all this havoc must be wrought upon 

 the survivors of the gunning season — a period of 

 from two weeks to as many months, varying in 

 the different sections of his range. 



That the odds against the grouse in the winter 

 are greater than in the summer is undoubted. 

 This statement, of course, applies to the adult 

 birds and not to the fledglings which in their 

 peeper days are prey not only for the same foes 

 of the winter, but also the crows and most of the 

 large hawks as well. The adult birds are pos- 

 sessed of a wonderfully protective coat which 

 aids them in hiding in the scantiest cover ; so that 

 the thick foliage and grass of the summer gives 

 them ample protection. In the winter, however, 

 this means of concealment is largely lacking, and 

 the bird has to face the problem of hiding his 

 brown body on the white snow. This is his one 

 big winter problem. It is far more important 

 than his food supply ; and he has learned to solve 



