598 THE CCJLUAIBIAN SHARP-TAILED GROUSE. 



& 



TIk' L'iiluiiil)i;in Sharp-tail is — or was — a line gaiiK'-hinl. U lies well to 

 a dog, and moves off at a pace which is a fair lest of marksuianship. More- 

 over, its llesh is excellent eating, jnicy and tender and in the best of condition 

 just when the frosts are beginning to nip. Stringent protection for a term of 

 vears, followed bv sane treatment in the annual shooting of the increase only, 

 woukl assure to us the presence of a sturdy and valuable game bird for 

 generations to come. 



The economv and general appearance of the Sharp-tailed Grouse is much 

 that of the Prairie Hen (Tyiiipaiutchus aiiiericaiiiis ) . or "chicken," of the 

 East, after which it was prmnplly named by the early settlers. Jn the early 

 days it was partially migratory in haliit, spreading out upon the sage-brush 

 stretches and rve-grass plains in spring and summer, but resorting to the asjjen 

 groves and timbered draws in winter. .\s soon, however, as cullixation 

 assured supjiort in winter, the l>irds began to maintain their i)lace in the 

 open wheat-lields or visited the haystacks and the farm-yards. Tho chietly 

 terrestrial in hal)it, al the advent of cold weather tliese Grouse alight freely 

 in trees and bushes, browsing upon the tender shoots or gleaning unfallen 

 fruit, being especially ])artial to the rose-hips. In the Yakima country twenty- 

 five vears ago it was no uncommon sight to see a llock of these ('.rouse walk- 

 ing and fluttering about the barn and out-buildings, nor even to be aroused at 

 early morning bv the jiatter and scratch of ])ectinated feet upon the house-top. 

 Of cour.se this was the pn >mpt signal for resurrecting the olil musket, — so 

 gracious is human hospitality. 



Sharp-tailed Grouse have se\eral cackling and calling notes, none more 

 characteristic than the rattling, grunting cry with which lhe\ take to wing. 

 When getting under way the boily is rocked violently, as tho liy alternating 

 wing strokes. A series of such na])s is followed, if the way is clear, by a 

 long sail on stilTened wings; and so ])owerful is the bird in flight that it will 

 not infrec|uentlv distance a hawk or an unsophisticated owl. I have seen a 

 Marsh Hawk dash repeatedly into a jKissing Hock of Grouse, Init never saw 

 him catch one yet. 



These Grouse are doubtfully monogamous, but their nesting is i)re])ared 

 for by an elaborate social function, which is thus described by ?klr. Ernest E. 

 Thompson-'': "After the disappearance of snow and the coming of warmer 

 weather, the chickens meet every morning at gray dawn in companies of from 

 six to twentv on some selected hilk'ck or knoll and indulge in what is called 

 'the dance.' This performance I ha\e often watched. At first, the birds may 

 be seen standing about in ordinary attitudes, when suddenly one of them 

 lowers its head, spreads out its wings nearly horizontally and its tail perpen- 

 dicularly, distends its air sacs and erects its feathers, then rushes across the 



a. Speaking of a closely allied form, P. f. caml^fsl lis— 'i'he Uirtis of Manitoba, Proc. U. S. Nat'! 

 Museum, \'o]. XIII. ("1890), p. 519. 



