THE CANADIAN RUFFED GROUSE. 



585 



"Hearest thou that bird? 

 I listened, and from "midst the depth ol woods 

 Heard the love signal of the Grouse that wears 

 A sable ruff around his mottled neck : 

 Partridge they call him bv our nnrthern streams 

 And Pheasant by the Delaware. He beats 

 'Gainst his barred sides his speckled wings, and makes 

 ike distant thun- 



A soun( 



der : slow the strokes 

 At first, then fast and faster, 



till at length 

 They pass into a murmur. 



and are still." 

 The main purpose of this 

 extraordinary music is well 

 known ; it is to attract the 

 female and guide her to the 

 tryst. It is not. however, 

 certainly known whether the 

 bird is monogamous. Ben- 

 dire thinks he is. On the 

 other hand, an observer once 

 saw seven hen birds grouped 

 about a strutting male. "And 

 seven women shall take hold 

 of one man in that day. say- 

 ■ ing, We will eat our own 

 bread and wear our own ap- 

 parel : only let us be called 

 by thy name ; take thou away 

 our reproach." 



Various theories have been 

 advanced as to the real 

 method of sc^und production 

 in drumming. The rever- 

 berating sounds were long 

 supposed to be due to the 

 impact of the wings upon the 

 breast. A \ery creditable 

 imitation may be produced 

 by a sound-winded man who 

 pounds upon his lungs with 



Taken in eastern Oregon. Flwto by A If". .Anthony. 



NEST -\ND EGGS OF C.\X.'\DI.-\N RUFFED GROUSE. 



