CANADA GROUSE. 103 
ville, Nova Scotia, described a trait of this Grouse in nest- 
building which I have never witnessed myself. He 
states that the hen, when leaving her nest, will pick up 
sundry articles, like straws, grass, leaves, etc., and throw 
them over her back toward the nest, and sometimes, mis- 
led by the trail, she will throw these things in the wrong 
direction, but as soon as she discovers this, she faces 
about and throws them again over her back toward the 
nest. Then, while she is sitting, she reaches out and 
draws all these different articles lying near toward her, 
and arranges them in such a manner that before the 
young appear the nest is quite a deep affair and sur- 
rounded by a neat border. The number of eggs is 
about a dozen, sometimes a few less, or even more, with 
a ground color varying from a pale to a reddish buff, 
spotted and blotched with marks of various sizes, of a 
reddish brown or burnt umber color. Occasionally an 
unspotted egg may appear, and in a large series there is 
a very great variation in both color and markings. 
Only one brood is raised in a season, and the chicks are 
exceedingly pretty creatures, buffy yellow, with pale 
brown back and wings and sundry black marks on other 
parts of the body. The mother shows great courage in 
their defense, fluttering close to anyone who approaches 
her brood, and will almost permit herself to be touched 
with the hand as she crouches with ruffled feathers, or 
stumbles along in front of the intruder on her privacy. 
The flesh of this Grouse is dark, and in the winter be- 
comes at times very bitter, and is never as well flavored 
as that of the various Dusky or Ruffed Grouse. Still it 
is not to be despised and is often a welcome addition to 
the camp larder, when the bracing air of the woods and 
healthful exercise have produced an appetite that requires 
no sauce to make the food palatable. The young are 
