588 THE OREGON RUFFED GROUSE. 



"partricl'^f." ll seldom allows the dog to come to a correct pMini. usually 

 (lushing into the nearest small tree, where it sits peeping and jjerking like 

 an overgrown chicken, regarding now the dog and now the hunter. Pot- 

 shooting the birds under these circumstances can hardly he called spurt, hut 

 their fondness for dense thickets often makes it the only wa}- in which tliey 

 can be obtained. 



In the latter part of Februar\- the mating season cummences, and from 

 that time until well into Alay the rolling drum-call of the cocks may be heard 

 at anv hour of the dav and sometimes far into the night. E\'ery cock has 

 some particular fallen tree which he lias clmsen fur his pri\-ate drumming 

 ground, and he \-ery rarely resorts to another situation. A fa\ririte log 

 becomes worn in the course of a season, so that an experienced hunter may 

 locate the trysting ])lace in its owner's absence. 



The motive of this singular performance is, of course, primarily sex- 

 ual. It is the wooing call such as every male grouse indulges in one 

 fashion or another; liut there seems to be in this also a more poetic element. 

 Its exhiliition is not confined to springtime, but the desire seizes the bird 

 at intervals thruout the year, and especially in the fall. The grouse 

 drums for the same reason that other birds sing, sim]>Iy to express iiis joy 

 of life. 



In executing tliis maneuver the liird stands to its full height and beats 

 its wings swiftlv downward towards its sides, in tliis manner rendering 

 sounds which closelv resemble the syllables biiiii/^ - hump - hitiup, hinnpcni-rrr. 

 The wing-beats commence slowly but end in a rapid whirr, which not 

 even the most speedv lens may exactly define. The sound carries to the 

 distance of half a mile or more, but so sulitle, or i.)rofound, is its char- 

 acter, that the ear can scarcely distinguish as between twenty yards and 

 fifty. 



It is onlv a lucky chance which discovers the female near the drumming 

 log, altho this is the appointed meeting place. On the occasion of her near 

 presence the male occupies the intervals of drumming by strutting up and 

 down with extended plumage, and tail held turkey-wise. We cannot blame 

 the admiration of the female, and no one begrudges a mortal the right to 

 strut a little before one. 



It is a moot point whellier Robin Goodfeliow is as faithful as he ought 

 to be. The fact seems to be, however, that behavior varies greatly with 

 individuals. Ordinarily the Iiird appears to mate but once in a season. Dur- 

 ing the period of inculiation, the hen is left pretty much to her own devices, 

 but even then the cock is not unlikely to he somewhere in the vicinity. When 

 the chicks are out, it is the mother who has the care and training of them, 

 but instances are on record where the male has appeared u])on tlie scene in 

 time of danger to make gallant defense of his offspring. 



