THE OOLOGIST. 



135 



light slate; bill, black; comb, orange; 

 over eye, general color, dark, speckled 

 with gray ai)d rusty brown. 



They are found along the Pacific coast 

 from CalifomiM to Sitka, being a com- 

 mon bird in ih<^ Willenjette valley, still 

 more numerous in the surrounding foot 

 hills and mountains. 



In the fall, ofennrally during October, 

 they go up in the large fir trees, where 

 they spend thu vvinter, although I have 

 seen them on the ground a few times in 

 winter. 



January 7. 1894, while passing from 

 Da.yton to Newberg, I saw a Sooty 

 Grouse on the ground, in the timber, 

 where the snow was gone and it seemed 

 to be feeding There was several in- 

 ches of snow on the ground at this 

 time. 



I again saw one on the ground, in the 

 timber, January 4, 1895. There was 

 also snow on the ground at this date. 

 February 2i, 1895, I .--aw two on the 

 ground in a stubble field, where they 

 were feeding 



The males commence hooting about 

 the last of February or the first of 

 March. I have kept the date of the 

 first I heard for the past two years. In 

 1894 I first heard one hooting on March 

 2d and in 1895 on February 26th. 



At this time of year they come lower 

 down in the tree, and are rarely seen 

 both hooting and strutting on the 

 ground or on old logs. 



They are very good ventriloquists, 

 but one accustomed to their habits can 

 readily locate them. 



While hooting their necks are very 

 much distended, so much so, that they 

 can neither see nor hear. 



Although their hooting is mostly done 

 in early spring, I have sometimes heard 

 them as late as July and August. 



The earliest date at which I have seen 

 females on the ground was April 8, 1895, 

 at which lime I saw four feeding. 



Nests may be found in April, May 

 and June. April 14, 1894, I found a 



nest with one egg, which I left until 

 April 22d, when I went back expecting 

 to secure a full set, but could hardly 

 locate the spot; saw the shells of two 

 eggs laying a few feet away and after 

 scratching around in the leaves a while 

 1 found the nest with five nice eggs in 

 it, which I took. They had been entire- 

 ly covered up with leaves, either by the 

 owner or the robber, I do not know 

 which. 



April 22, 1895, a set of eight fresh eggs 

 collected. 



April 29, 1894, a set of seven eggs col- 

 lected, incubation begun, and on May 

 5, 1895, I found a nest of eight eggs, 

 which were far advanced in incubation, 

 but I saved them with time and hard 

 work 



Nests are placed on the ground in a 

 hollow, which is made by the bird and 

 lined with leaves or dead grasses. 



They are generally found in partially 

 cleared land, under some small pole, 

 bush or fallen tree top; although they 

 may often bn found in cleared land and 

 also iu the thick timber. 



I have found several nests in grain 

 fields, under some small bush or bunch 

 of brier vines. 



1 have also found them in the thick 

 timber, at the root of a tree or under a 

 fallen tree top. 



The eggs are creamery buff, speckled 

 with reddish brown. 



The markings are mostly at the larger 

 end of the eggs, but I had one set of six, 

 which bad a wreath around the smaller 

 end. 



From 5 to 10 eggs are layed, common- 

 ly 7 or 8; avei-age size is 1.84 x 1.34. 



It takes them about 24 days to hatch. 

 The female does all the incubating, 

 while the male stays up in the fir trees, 

 hooting, and coming down at times to 

 procure food. 



As soon as the young are hatched, 

 they leave the nest with the old bird. 



While young they live almost entirely 

 on insects andlarva;after a while the old 

 bird takes them to the grain fields. 



