RUFFED GROUSE. 77 
position, and puts the first tree between the gun and its 
body. Usually not many adult birds are found together, 
five or six perhaps, rarely more, and they never rise all 
at once, but two or possibly three together, followed by 
the others singly. As the danger to themselves ap- 
proaches nearer, occasionally a bird will lie so close that 
it will permit the sportsman to pass it, and then suddenly 
bursts away from behind him. I have never noticed any 
apparent retention of the scent by this bird after alight- 
ing, as is the case with Bob White, although I must 
acknowledge that there have been times when, after care- 
fully marking some spot where a Grouse was seen to 
alight, it was impossible to find the bird, even after the 
ground had been thoroughly gone over by good dogs. 
Where they go to on such occasions is a mystery 
which, however, only increases our admiration for their 
cleverness. 
The nest of the Ruffed Grouse is merely a hollow 
scratched in the ground, usually in well-concealed spots, 
beneath some bush or log, or in a dense thicket, along- 
side some overhanging rock, or in the tangled top of 
some fallen tree or underbrush that les matted together 
in a confused mass several feet deep. Again it is some- 
times placed in quite open situations without any attempt 
at concealment whatever, showing a trusting and confid- 
ing disposition rarely found in this bird unless in districts 
where it is fittle or never disturbed. The hollow is lined 
with grass, leaves, needles from the pine tree, and similar 
materials, distributed in a rather careless way, and, on 
an average, perhaps ten eggs are deposited, of varying 
shades of buff dotted with different sized spots of a pale 
reddish brown color. Incubation commences about the 
beginning of May and lasts, generally, from three to four 
weeks, the last being more nearly the correct time. The 
