SAGE HEN 303 



Nesting. — Major Bendire (1892) says: 



The nest is always placed on the ground, in a slight depression, usually 

 under the shelter of a small sage bush. I have found several, however, some 

 little distance from sage brush flats, alongside and sheltered by a bunch of 

 tall rye grass (Elymus condensates?) , near the borders of small creeks. The 

 nest is usually very poorly lined, and in fact the eggs frequently lay on the 

 bare ground without any lining whatever, and are often found in quite exposed 

 situations. I found such a one on May 11, 1875. My notes read as follows: 

 " I stumbled accidentally on this nest. It was placed within a yard of a 

 much-used Indian trail, in a very exposed position, so much so that I saw 

 the eggs while still 5 yards off. There really was no nest, simply a mere 

 depression scratched out by the bird on the south side of a very small sage 

 bush, which afforded no concealment or protection from rain whatever. The 

 bush itself was not over a foot and a half high, growing on a rocky plateau 

 about 3 miles east of Camp Harney. A few feathers were scattered among 

 the eggs which laid on the bare ground, and were separated from each other 

 by bits of grass and dry leaves of the sage. One of the eggs was nearly 

 covered with dirt and almost buried out of sight. The set contained eight 

 eggs, and these were nearly hatched. They were cold when found, and the 

 nest had evidently been abandoned for some days. 



Illustrating the concealing colorations of the close-sitting bird, 

 Bendire quotes Capt. William L. Carpenter as follows : 



I found a nest at Fort Bridger, Wyoming, where this species is numerous, June 

 1, with nine fresh eggs. I was standing alongside a sage bush watching butter- 

 flies ; several times looking down carelessly without seeing any thing unusual, 

 when happening again to glance at the foot of the bush, in the very place 

 before observed, I saw the winking of an eye. Looking more intently a 

 grayish mass was discerned blending perfectly with the color of the bush, 

 which outlined itself into the form of a Sage Hen not 2 feet from my foot. 

 She certainly would have been overlooked had not the movement of her eye- 

 lids attracted my attention. I stood there fully five minutes admiring the 

 beautiful bird, which could have been caught in my butterfly net, then walked 

 back and forth, and finally passed around the bush to observe it from behind. 

 Not until then did it become frightened and fly away with a loud cackling. 

 The nest was a depression at the foot of a sage bush, lined with dead grass 

 and sage leaves. The spot was marked and visited several times, always 

 passing within a few feet without alarming the bird. 



D. E. Brown tells me of a nest found by a sheep herder. The 

 bird did not flush from the nest until the sheep were all around 

 her; she then flushed with a great noise, scattering the sheep in all 

 directions. This habit may often prove very useful in preventing 

 cattle from trampling on the eggs. 



Eggs. — The number of eggs laid by the sage grouse usually varies 

 from 7 to 9, in some localities from 10 to 13 ; as many as 15, or even 

 17, have been found in a nest. Bendire (1892) found but one set of 

 10, and found more sets of 8 than any other number. They vary 

 in shape from ovate to elongate ovate, and the shell is smooth with 

 little or no gloss. The ground colors vary from pale " ecru-olive " 

 or " deep olive-buff " to " yellowish glaucous," " olive-buff," or " green- 



