THE WILDERNESS IN JUNE ' 259 



sharply for a time to satisfy their curiosity, 

 went on with their feeding, gradually working 

 away. What a contrast to the habits of the 

 Grouse in the second-growth woods about my 

 home! There they are so wild that often one 

 does not see them at all, their presence being 

 known only by a booming of wings as they go 

 hurtling through the trees to some distant place of 

 safety. We have no better example of the change 

 that takes place in birds that have been pursued 

 for generations by the man with dog and gun. 



So beset with constant danger are these 

 sturdy denizens that the wonder is they have not 

 been completely exterminated. The hunter is 

 but one of their many menaces. As they are in 

 the main ground dwellers, they are fair game for 

 fox, mink, weasel, black cat and other prowlers 

 of the dark that are as fond of the delicate 

 flavor of Grouse breast as are the gun-bearing 

 epicures. Nor are Owls and Hawks wholly de- 

 void of a taste for this delectable creature. 

 And this is not all. Probably the greatest danger 

 Grouse face is from an entirely different source. 

 During the long winter, when the snows are 

 deep and soft, they often seek shelter from 

 the terrible cold by plunging deep into the 

 feathery mass, which, closing over them, pro- 

 tects them from the biting blast. It often hap- 

 pens that while thus imprisoned, a sudden 

 change of temperature is followed by rain which 

 softens the snow. Freezing weather then sets 

 in, forming a hard crust which renders escape 

 for the poor bird impossible. From this cause 

 alone, many perish every year. 



