234 DAVENPORT ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



of the field, perhaps a quarter of a mile awaj', taking flight as 

 soon as he enters the field. 



While a certain number remain throughout the winter, large 

 flocks pa.ss .southward early in the winter, returning in March. 

 On a few occasions I have seen Chickens roosting in trees in the 

 winter time, but this is unusual. The}- frequentl}' burrow in 

 snow-banks for the night, and are often snowed under. On the 

 afternoon of February 9th, 1894, while wading through deep, soft 

 snow in a slough, two Chickens burst up through the thin crust 

 not ten feet away. Several other burrows were noticed in the 

 snow in the vicinity. In winter, I have heard many authentic 

 reports of Chickens being killed by flying against telegraph and 

 telephone wires. 



W. W. Cooke, in "Bird Migration in the Mississippi Valley, 

 1884-5," P- ic)4~6, sa3's: 



"The Prairie Chicken is commonh' said to be a resident bird, 

 and so it is in the larger part of its range; but in Iowa a regular 

 but local migration takes place. ... In November and Decem- 

 ber large flocks of Prairie Chickens come from northern Iowa and 

 .southern Minnesota to settle for the winter in northern Mi.ssouri 

 and southern Iowa. This migration varies in bulk with the 

 .severity of the winter. During an early cold snap immense flocks 

 come from the northern prairies to southern Iowa, while in mild, 

 open winters the migration is much less pronounced. During a 

 wet, cold spring the northward movement in March and April is 

 largely arrested on the arrival of the flocks in northern Iowa, but 

 an early spring, with fine weather, finds them abundant in the 

 .southern tier of counties in Minnesota, and many flocks pa.ss still 

 farther north. The most notable feature is found in the sex of 

 the migrants. It is the females that migrate, leaving the males 

 to bear the winter's cold." 



In the spring of 1897 I ^^^<^^ ^ good opportunity to study the 

 "booming" or so-called courtship antics of the male birds, in 

 Winnebago county. A certain number of males resort to the 

 same spot every morning and evening for a period of about two 

 months in the spring. 



March 24 — Saw about a dozen Chickens "l^ooming" for the 

 first time this spring, upon a low, flat-topped hill, nearly sur- 

 rounded by a .slough. The sound is very deceptive; when close 

 it appears far away, and when a mile away may seem very neajf-. 

 April 6 — Built a "blind" on same hill, covering it wi,tu hay. 



