260 BIRDS OF FIELD, FOREST AND PARK 



The Grouse are the drummers of the bird 

 orchestra. To my ears one of the most fascinat- 

 ing of spring sounds is the muffled roll of the 

 Cock, to be compared in interest with the frog 

 chorus and the song of the first Robin. Begin- 

 ning slowly and deliberately, it increases in 

 rapidity until it is almost a continuous sound, a 

 mellow, reverberating reveille, heard at all hours 

 of the day and night during the months of 

 spring. A pleasant boyhood memory is of the 

 Ruffed Grouses' roll during the midnight hours, 

 booming across the river from the dark forest 

 that then clothed Sailor's Island. To my youth- 

 ful imagination it called up many fanciful pic- 

 tures of wood nymphs and fairies, always, how- 

 ever, of a pleasant nature. 



Formerly there were many theories about the 

 manner in which these drum beats are produced. 

 The most common explanation was that the 

 cock bird stood on a hollow log which he beat 

 with his wings with varying rapidity. It is now 

 definitely known that standing on any object 

 that will render him most conspicuous, stump, 

 log, rock or mound of earth, he beats the air 

 with great vigor. The purpose of this is to at- 

 tract the female bird, as the Woodpecker drums 

 up his mate by beating a lively tattoo on some 

 resonant limb, and the songster by his vocal 

 utterances. The Grouse, possessing no vocal 

 powers, resorts to this unique but no less effec- 

 tive method. 



Spruce Grouse. The Canadian Spruce 

 Grouse, or Spruce Partridge as it is sometimes 

 called, is a resident of the deep black forests, 



