242 Birds Every Child Should Know 



often hear grouse drumming at the old stand, 

 merely from excess of vigour and not because 

 they take the slightest interest then in a mate. 

 After the mating season is over, they have less 

 chivalry than barnyard roosters. 



Shy, wary birds of wooded, hilly country, 

 grouse are rarely thought of as possible pets, 

 but the gentle little girl in the picture won the 

 heart of a drummer and subdued his wildness, 

 as you see. Some people are trying to domes- 

 ticate grouse in wire-enclosed poultry yards. 



Sometimes when, like "the cat that walked 

 by himself ' ' you wander " in the wild wet woods, ' ' 

 perhaps you will be suddenly startled by the 

 loud whirring roar of a big brown grouse that 

 suddenly hurls itself from the ground near your 

 feet. If it were shot from the mouth of a can- 

 non it could surprise you no less. Then it sails 

 away, dodging the trees and disappears. Gun- 

 ners have ''educated" the intelligent bird into 

 being, perhaps, the most wily, difficult game 

 in the woods. 



Like the meadowlark, flicker, sparrows and 

 other birds that spend much time on the ground, 

 the bob-white and ruffed grouse wear brown 

 feathers, streaked and barred, to harmonise 

 perfectly with their surroundings. "To find 

 a hen grouse with young is a memorable 

 experience, " says Frank M. Chapman. " While 

 the parent is giving us a lesson in mother love 



