THE OSPREY 



All I 1 1 1 1 ^trfjteri .VI fci ^fci Pi i n e of F'opitlar Droithology 



Published Ivlonttily except in July and A-xagiast. 



Volume 2. 



OCTOBER, 1897. 



Number 2. 



THH SAGE GROUSE. 



IJWKiHT W. HUNTINGTON, CINCINNATI, DHIO. 



^J^^^^y-g!^^ 



S ue approach the Rocky 

 Mountains an occasional 

 tuft of wild sage, the .h- 

 li-iiiisiii. makes its appear- 

 ance in the grass, the soil 

 becomes less fertile, the 

 .. "v ?v ^ water in the ponds is alka- 



>^ ^^g<f,-,,, •/ / V line, the grasses of the 



«>&?^^SsH>&i35>-?>^$ plain gradually disappear 

 altogether, and we enter the American Desert — a vast 

 plain of alkaline soil, white and dusty, and dotted all 

 over with the gray -green shrubs of wild sage. 



Here dwells the largest American grouse — the Sage 

 Cock, or Cock of the Plains. This handsome bird is 

 twice as large as the Sharp-tail or Prairie Chicken, 

 and weighs from four to seven pounds. The general 

 color of the Sage Grouse is dusky-gray, harmonizing 

 well with the alkaline soil and sage-brush ; and this 

 enables it, although nearly as large as a Wild Turkey, 

 to conceal itself as completely as does the Quail in 

 the stubble. 



At the edge of the desert the Sage Cock and Sharp- 

 tail may often be found and shot together ; but as the 

 favorite food of the former is the leaves of the wild 

 sage, he does not wander far from the desert The 

 Sage Cock is a handsome bird of trim outline and 

 thoroughly game appearance. His head and neck 

 are handsomely marked with black. He has a black 

 belly and a long tail of twenty feathers. There is a 

 white tuft at the shoulder oftentimes, and I wrote to 

 Mr. Allen of Mandan, North Dakota asking him as 

 to this. He replied: "The white at or just above 

 the butt of the wings, to which you refer, seems to be 

 made more conspicuous on account of the shafts of 

 the feathers at this point breaking off, which allows 

 the under-feathers, or smaller part of the feathers, to 

 show. All the birds I ever shot, in fact all I have 

 ever handled [Mr. Allen is a taxidermist] where the 

 plumage had attained its growth, have had these long 

 feathers on the neck worn or broken off : only a few. 

 generally low down and well back, on each side re- 

 maining perfect." I confess my ignorance as to the 

 cause. It may be that the feathers are worn off by 

 the sharp sage through which the birds run, but. 



whatever the cause, it does not detract from but 

 rather adds to the appearance of the bird. 



The Sage Cock, like other grouse, rises with a loud 

 whirr — making, in fact, a tremendous noise which 

 has been compared to a burst of thunder. Their 

 flight is similar to that of the Sharp-tail and Prairie- 

 fowl : alternately whirring along at a rapid pace, and 

 sailing with wings extended. As they fly from the 

 ground they often utter what seems to be a scolding 

 ' iliiik-cltiik!' — which sounds something like ' tuk-a 

 Ink,' repeated rapidly. 



There is much diversity of opinion as to the table 

 qualities of the Sage Grouse. He feeds largely upon 

 the leaves of the wild sage, which impart a peculiar 

 flavor to his flesh. Baird, Townsend, Doctor Cooper 

 and others are arrayed against him. The latter says 

 that "the flesh tastes so strongly of the Arteviisia 

 Iridiiitdld as to be unpalatable." Mr. Roosevelt, 

 however, says: "Although it is commonly believed 

 that the flesh of the Sage Grouse is uneatable, this is 

 very far from being the truth ; and, on the contrary, 

 it is excellent in .\ugust and September, when grass- 

 hoppers constitute their chief food." The birds killed 

 by Mr. Roosevelt were shot in the neighborhood of 

 his ranche on the Little Missouri, just east of the lo- 

 calitv where I last shot Sage Grouse. 



I first cooked and ate some of these birds many 

 years ago when with the Yale Scientific (Marsh's) 

 Expedition in the Green River country, and we found 

 the young ones tender and palatable, and the older 

 birds good when drawn as soon as shot. I have shot 

 them in Utah and Wyoming, and in Montana, and 

 am inclined to agree with Roosevelt's "they are ex- 

 cellent." The soldiers of our escort were always 

 glad, I observed, to get them as an agreeable change 

 from venison. 



One of the most delightful places to shoot the Sage 

 Grouse is the Crow Countrj- — the large Indian reser- 

 vation to the south of the Yellowstone and east of the 

 Park. The sage is not so abundant as it is in some 

 localities, but the Sharp-tail are plentiful, and there 

 are deer in the neighboring mountains. There are 

 acres of wild roses and sunflowers in the valleys 

 (which add color to the landscape,) and wild goose- 



