572 



TliK SUUTV (.UvCJLSE. 



THIS, the largest of the wood grouse ami. in imiiit of imnihers at least, 

 the leading game hird of Washington, is found \vliere\er there is coniferous 

 linihcr. Indeed, the l!lne ('.rouse and ihc 1 )ouglas fir are nearly inseparable, 

 in the shehering branches of this tree the l)ird takes refuge in time of danger: 

 from its commanding elevation he most fretjuently sends forth the challenges 

 of springtime; and in its somber depths he hides himself thruout the winter 

 season. So great is this devotion on the part of the bird that it is found indif- 

 ferently at sea le\'el or at the timber line of the highest mountains; and it will 



'J\ihcjt ticof Sf-oLiiiii: 



Photo by ir. H. Ill 



SOOTY CROUSK ON NEST. 



COVER CUT AWAY ON FORMER VISIT. NOTE THE VERY NARROW TERMINAL BAND OF WHITE ON TAII. INDICATING 



APPROACH TO D. (>. RICHARDSONIl TYPE. 



not willingly (|uil a fa\drite piece of \\o(i<lland e\en tho the supporting forests 

 be cut away on every side. Only last summer, well within the city limits of 

 Seattle, I frightened a com]^anv of Sootv Grouse, wild ones, that were pastur- 

 ing on ground worth, modestly, $15,000 per acre; and the\- buried tliemseh'es 

 in fir trees hard bv, so eftectualh' thai not all the "plain clothes men" on the 

 Seattle force might have found them. 



The CtTousc's year begins in March, when the male begins to hoot. This 

 operation is conducted chiefly in the trees, but as the season advances and love- 

 making becomes more earnest, the birds resort to the ground or choose stations 



