272 ANIMAL LIFE IN THE YO SEMITE 



When disturbed while fora^ng, Valley Quail usually depend for safety 

 first upon their wings. A flock seen on Rancheria Flat near El Portal in 

 December, 1914, all flew off in one direction. Then the birds took shelter 

 in some golden oaks whence, when followed up, they scattered out. For 

 the most part they remained in the trees and kept quiet ; only one individual 

 sought refuge on the ground. In other places the quail have been found 

 to make use of their legs after the first flight, running rapidly off, then, 

 beneath the shelter of the brush. 



Mr. J. B. Varain said that quail are now (1915) relatively scarce 

 compared with their abundance when he first came to Pleasant Valley, 

 in 1867. 



Sierra Grouse. Dendragapus obscurus sierrae Chapman 



Field characters. — Fowl -like in appearance; size large (fully five times bulk of Moun- 

 tain Quail); general effect of coloration dark bluish gray; tail almost square-ended, 

 with a light band across tip (often appearing almost white by contrast). Close view 

 shows the plumage to have a complex pattern of lighter markings. Flight direct, heavy, 

 with loudly whirring wings ; when descending, often sails with wings set. Voice : Of 

 male in breeding season a deep, wooden, far-carrying ventriloquial unt, wunt, wunt', 

 wunt', tu-wunt% wunt, wunt; of female with young, clucking notes; of both sexes, an 

 alarm note, M,k, Jcuk. 



Occurrence. — Fairly common resident, chiefly in Canadian Zone and locally in upper 

 Transition; ranges upward into Hudsonian Zone during late summer. Westernmost 

 station of occurrence, Merced Grove; easternmost, Williams Butte. Noted frequently 

 around rim of Yosemite Valley, as at Glacier Point, Artist Point, and in vicinity of 

 Yosemite Point. Lives in or near the heavier coniferous trees. 



Acquaintance with the Sierra Grouse may begin in several ways, but 

 rarely does it come in the conventional manner through which we learn 

 to know most birds. Upon entering the Jeffrey pine and red fir forests 

 of the Canadian Zone in spring and early summer, one may often hear 

 a very un-bird-like, dull sodden series of booming notes that have a 

 ventriloquial quality. These are the courting notes of the male grouse. 

 Less often, whatever the time of year, the introduction may come suddenly 

 and much more impressively when, close at hand, a heavy-bodied 'blue 

 grouse' rises quickly from the ground and makes off through the forest 

 on loudly whirring wings, and showing an expanse of square-ended gray- 

 banded tail. When a small flock of the birds get up, as they often do, in 

 rapid succession, or even simultaneously, the aggregate effect is bewilder- 

 ing, to say the least. 



The Sierra Grouse lives in the high country throughout the year, never 

 migrating to lower levels as does the Mountain Quail. The thick heavy 

 plumage and legs feathered clear down to the toes enable the grouse to 

 withstand the cold of the midwinter months ; while their ability to subsist 

 on pine and fir needles assures them at any season an abundance of food 

 to be easily obtained without seeking the ground. 



