PIGEONS, QUAILS, GROUSE. Ruifed Grouse 



Ruffed Grouse : Bonasa u^nbellus. 



Partridge {New England), Pheasant (Middle and Southern 



States). 



Plate 63. 



Length: 16-18 inches. 



Male and Female : Slightly crested head ; yellow eye stripe ; neck 

 mottled with reddish and dusky brown. Back variegated chest- 

 nut ; lower parts lighter, buff or whitish, with dark bars. Long 

 tail, which spreads fan-like, reddish gray, beautifully barred. 

 Neck ruff of dark feathers, with iridescent green and purple 

 tints, which, in the female, is dull. Claws not feathered. 



Kote : A Hen-like cluck. 



.Breeds : In woodlands, through range. 



.Nest : On the ground, among dry leaves ; frequently a bunch of leaves 

 between the roots of a chestnut. 



Eggs : 10-15, rich buff, usually plain, sometimes specked with brown. 



Bange: Eastern United States, south to North Carolina, Georgia, 

 Mississippi, and Arkansas. 



The Ruffed Grouse, whicli is called tlie Partridge in New 

 "England, is a case where incorrect local nomenclature has 

 created permanent confusion. It is a true Grouse, and the real 

 Partridge is the Bob-white. The term Partridge seems, how- 

 ever, to be a fixture in literature as well as in the markets. 



The Ruffed Grouse is familiar to those who have been 

 in the habit of walking in the New England woods or 

 remote lanes in the spring or autumn ; it is a resident, but 

 is more apt to be seen at these two seasons. In woods 

 where the underbrush has been thinned out, and not wholly 

 cut away, and where shooting is forbidden, this Grouse 

 shows, in spring, almost the tameness of the domestic 

 fowl; but in autumn it is more shy, for, if protected in 

 some places, it is harried in others and become suspicious. 



The Grouse mates in late April; and when the chicks 

 are hatched, they immediately leave the nest and follow 

 their mother. They obey her authority as quickly as chick- 

 ens do the Hen, except that when they hear the warning 

 note, they dive under leaves and bushes, while she leads the 

 pursuer off in an opposite direction. The female attends 



229 



