THE PINNATED GROUSE. 383 
open brush is preferred to high shrubbery and thickets. Into these 
latter places they fly for refuge when closely pressed by the hunt- 
ers; and here, under a stiff and impenetrable cover, they escape 
the pursuit of dogs and men. Water is so seldom met with on the 
true Grouse ground, that it is necessary to carry it along for the 
pointers to drink. The flights of Grouse are short but sudden, 
rapid, and whirring. I have not heard of any success in taming 
them. They seem to resist all attempts at domestication. In this, 
as well as in many other respects, they resemble the Quail of New 
York or the Partridge of Pennsylvania. 
“ Manners. — During the period of mating, and while the 
females are occupied in incubation, the males have a practice of 
assembling, principally by themselves. To some select and central 
spot, where there is very little underwood, they repair from the 
adjoining district. From the exercise performed there, this is called 
a scratching-place. The time of meeting is the break of day. 
As soon as the light appears, the company assembles from every 
side, sometimes to the number of forty or fifty. When the dawn 
is past, the ceremony begins by a low tooting from one of the 
cocks. ‘This is answered by another. They then come forth one 
by one from the bushes, and strut about with all the pride and 
ostentation they can display. Their necks are incurvated;. the 
feathers on them are erected into a sort of ruff; the plumes of their 
tails are expanded like fans; they strut about in a style resembling, 
as nearly as small may be illustrated by great, the pomp of the Tur- 
key-cock. They seem to vie with each other in stateliness ; and, as 
they pass each other, frequently cast looks of insult, and utter notes 
of defiance. These are the signals for battles. They engage with 
wonderful spirit and fierceness. During these contests, they leap a 
foot or two from the ground, and utter a cackling, screaming, and 
discordant cry. 
“They have been found in these places of resort even earlier 
than the appearance of light in the east. This fact has led to the 
belief that a part of them assemble over night. The rest join them 
in the morning. This leads to the further belief that they roost on 
the ground; and the opinion is confirmed by the discovery of little 
rings of dung, apparently deposited by a flock which had passed 
the night together. After the appearance of the sun, they disperse. 
