SHARP-TAILED GROUSE 261 
calls upon his intended mate to forget the shyness that 
will no longer serve their purpose; nor does the invi- 
tation lack defiance to a rival who may presume to dis- 
pute his rights. At the rallying cry the birds assemble, 
in numbers of both sexes, at some favorable spot, and a 
singular scene ensues as the courtship progresses. 
There is a regular ‘walk-around,’ as ludicrous, to the 
disinterested observer, as some of the performances on 
the comic stage. The birds run about in a circle, some 
to the right, others to the left, crossing each other’s 
path, passing and repassing in stilted attitudes, stop- 
ping to bow and squat in extravagant postures, and 
resuming their course, till one would think their heads 
as well as their hearts were lost. But this is simply their 
way, and they amuse themselves in such fashion till 
the affair is settled. The cocks have bristled and 
swelled, strutted and fought, till some have proven their 
claims to first choice, and others have concluded to 
take what they can get. Their subsequent history, I 
am sorry to state, is neither particularly creditable to 
themselves nor of absorbing interest to us. Leaving 
them to go about their business in their usual humdrum 
way, let us look to what now occupies their mates. 
“A nest will soon be required for her eggs, and the 
hen has to select suitable premises, though, being an 
architect of only the humblest order, she has little build- 
ing work to do; and, moreover, not being fastidious, 
her choice is made without difficulty. I have found 
the nests in such various locations that I can hardly 
determine what her preference is, if, indeed, she have 
