GROUSE, BOB-WHITES, ETC. ISl 



barred with blackish or dark grayish brown, the bars indistinct on the breast 

 and belly, stronger on the sides. Ad. 9 . — Similar, but with the neck tufts 

 very small. L., 17-00 ; W., 7-25 ; T., 6-25 ; B. from N., -52. 



Range. — Eastern United States, from Vermont to Virginia, and along the 

 Alleghanies to northern Georgia. 



Washington, not common P. R. Sing Sing, common P. K. Cambridge, 

 common P. E. 



I^est., on the ground, at the base of a stump or tree, or beneath brush. 

 Eggs., eight to fourteen, pale ochraceous-butf, 1-52 x 1-13. 



Of all the characteristics of this superb game bird, its habit of 

 drumming is perhaps the most remarkable. This loud tattoo begins 

 with the measured thump of the big drum, then gradually changes 

 and dies away in the rumble of the kettle-drum. It may be briefly rep- 

 resented thus : Thump thump thump) — thump, thump ; thump, 



thump-rup rup rup rup r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r. The sound is produced by 

 the male bird beating the air with his wings as he stands firmly braced 

 on some favorite low perch ; and it is now quite well known to be the 

 call of the male to the female ; an announcement that he is at the old 

 rendezvous — a rendezvous that has perhaps served them for more than 

 one season, and a place that in time becomes so fraught with delight- 

 ful associations that even in autumn or winter the male, when he finds 

 himself in the vicinity, can not resist the temptation to mount his 

 wonted perch and vent his feelings in the rolling drum-beat that was 

 in springtime his song of love. But now, alas ! there is no lady Grouse 

 to come, shy but responsive, at the sound of his reverberating sum- 

 mons. 



There is good reason for supposing that the Ruffed Grouse is po- 

 lygamous, and that the male, if he drums in vain at one place, will 

 fly to another retreat and there seek the society of some more compli- 

 ant female. 



The young Grouse can run about as soon as they are hatched, and 

 can fly well when about a week old. Their mother is celebrated for the 

 variety of expedients she puts in practice to save her brood from threat- 

 ened danger, and their father has frequently been known to divide the 

 charge with her. The young usually continue with their parents till 

 the following spring, though it is rare at this time to see more than 

 three or four surviving out of the original twelve or fourteen. 



The food of this Grouse is largely insects and berries during the 

 summer; in the autumn it adds seeds to the list, and when the ground 

 is covered with snow the staples are catkins, leaves, and buds. 



Its toes are provided during the winter with a curious fringe of 

 strong, horny points which act as snowshoes. In the northern part 

 of its range this bird commonly burrows into a snowdrift to pass the 

 night during the season of intense cold ; but in the summer and in 



