198 WOOD NOTES WILD. 



Ruffed Grouse. — Contin. 



this rapid vibration causing the rolling noise with which the sound termi- 

 nates. The movements of the wings, and the rumbling thereby produced, 

 are entirely analogous to those produced by the humming-bird, when 

 hovering over a flower. This I believe to be the true description of the 

 manner of drumming, and I am happy to add that my father, who has 

 often crawled up to within twenty feet of the bird at such times, corrobo- 

 rates it in every particular. There are, doubtless, among those who read 

 the ' Sportsman,' many who have had opportunities to watch the operations 

 of the ruffed grouse when engaged in drumming, and the experience of 

 each one would be a very acceptable contribution to our knowledge of the 

 habits of this very interesting species. 



" ' The fact that the dramming of the ruffed grouse is heard as often in 

 autumn as in spring has raised the question of why this sound is produced. 

 In regard to this, Nuttall is probably correct in saying that it is often ' an 

 instinctive expression of hilarity and vigor,' as well as the call-note of the 

 male during the breeding season.' 

 " To this article Mr. J. H. Batty replies in the following terms : — 

 " ' In No. 21 of the ' Sportsman ' I find an article of my friend, Mr. Ridg- 

 way, ' Why and how does the ruffed grouse drum ? ' I solved tho 

 mystery, to my own satisfaction, some five years ago, when living at 

 Springfield, Mass. The peculiar noise made by the ruffed grouse is 

 caused by the backs or exterior sides of the wings strikitig each other as 

 they are forcibly raised over the back of the bird. I have seen the grouse 

 drum, within a few yards of me, a number of times. On one occasion I 

 was sitting on a log in the woods, by a stone wall, eating my lunch. 

 "While thus engaged, a ruffed grouse mounted the wall, about fifty yards 

 from my position, and commenced walking on it directly toward me. I 

 immediately lay down behind the log on which I had been sitting, and 

 awaited the approach of the bird. When it had reached a point opposite 

 me it mounted a large elevated stone on the top of the wall and com- 

 menced drumming, after a series of struttings backward and forward on 

 the wall, as described by Audubon, Wilson, and others. When the bird 

 was drumming, its back was toward me, and I had an unobstructed view 

 of it against the sky. The grouse first struck its wings together slowly 

 and strongly, then gradually increased these strokes until the single strokes 

 could not be detected. During the more rapid beating of the Mings the 

 'semi-circular haze' caused by the wings was observable, as stated by Mr. 

 Henshaw. The wings of the grouse were stiffened, and the strokes given 

 from the shoulder (if I may so speak) ; and the wings did not appear to 

 touch the bird's sides. 



