The Prairie- Hen 159 



with the country of magnificent open plains, was 

 not always confined to its present ranges. There 

 is no reason to doubt that it was once very abun- 

 dant much farther east than its present limit, and 

 it is more than probable that in the old days the 

 birds favored tracts of open woodlands. Like 

 the quail, the " chicken " follows the plough, which 

 accounts for the gradual extension of its range 

 westward, while the narrowing of the eastward 

 limit is readily explained by the increased number 

 of guns and other destructive agencies. In most 

 of its present haunts the bird may be considered 

 a resident, yet there is somewhat of a drifting 

 movement southward from the extreme northern 

 grounds, which occasionally amounts to what 

 might be termed a partial migration. Strangely 

 enough, this southward movement appears to be 

 confined chiefly to the females, the great majority 

 of the males sticking to their native ranges in 

 spite of furious storms and arctic temperature. 



Few of those at all familiar with the prairies 

 have failed to notice the love-making — the pecul- 

 iar booming and ridiculous antics of the males 

 of this species, which are so characteristic of the 

 first few days of early spring. The low, booming 

 sound carries far through the still gray atmos- 

 phere of earliest dawn, and when, as usually hap- 

 pens, a lot of old males have assembled upon 

 some slightly rising ground, they make a row 



