RUFFED GROUSE—PARTRIDGE 161 
ground twenty yards from us, escaping untouched, not- 
withstanding the fact that three shots were fired at it. 
The grouse sometimes takes refuge in the snow in 
cold weather, and is credited with diving into drifts at 
nightfall and passing the night there. A friend walk- 
ing through the deep snow along a little swale, through 
which passed a brook, saw sticking up out of the snow 
what he supposed was an odd-looking stick. He de- 
clared to himself that it looked just like a partridge’s 
head, and when he had come within a few feet of the 
place a bird rose out of the snow like a whirlwind and 
flew away to a near-by swamp. 
No doubt these birds often inspect the gunner when 
he is little aware of their observation. Dorp tells of a 
case of that kind in the following words: 
“T turned to resume my walk, and as I did so I cast 
my eyes upward, and there on a plateau covered with 
moss and projecting nearly over me stood a ruffed 
grouse looking intently down upon me. He was twelve 
feet from me, as I afterward measured it. He was 
partly turned sideways, with the neck stretched and 
head bent down, and made a beautiful picture with 
background of evergreen. 
“He remained motionless, as I did also, for about a 
half minute, when he slowly turned and was quickly 
lost to sight. This was the closest I remember ever to 
have been to this wild bird in his native state when 
seen. I have been closer, but then I did not know it 
until he flew. 
“This bird had heard me walking and his curiosity 
