GROUSE, PARTRIDGES 199 



Geog. Dist. — Northern Minnesota, New York, New England, New Bruns- 

 wick and Canadian zone of northeast Canada. 



County Records. — Aroostook ; occiurs quite locally in the densely wooded 

 sections of the county, resident, (Knight). Franklin; rare resident, (Rich- 

 ards). Hancock ; rare resident, (Knight). Knox; rare, (Rackliff). Oxford; 

 breeds rarely, (Nash). Penobscot; very rare and local, (Knight). Piscata- 

 quis; resident, not common, (Homer). Somerset; resident in northern 

 part of county, (Morrell). Waldo; taken formerly, (Knight). Washington; 

 common resident, (Boardman) ; on rapid decrease in this county, (Clark). 



In the more densely wooded and less inhabited portions of 

 northern and eastern Maine this species still occurs as a rare 

 resident. It is most often found by single individuals or at 

 most not over two or three together except at such times as the 

 parent bird is accompanied by its young. 



Mr. Hardy is quoted by Major Bendire as stating that the 

 male bird "drums" by flying up into a tree, starting off and 

 drumming on the way to the ground. Others mention another 

 way of drumming in which the bird starts up a tree inclined 

 from the perpendicular, causing the drumming sound by its 

 rapidly beating wings, and when the top is reached descends 

 by gliding through the air to the ground to repeat the perform- 

 ance. (Smith F. & S. Feb. 8, 1883, p. 26). 



The male bird struts during the mating season, holding the 

 tail erect, wings outspread and drooping, feathers raised, the 

 bare spots over the eyes inflated until they nearly meet over 

 the head, trying meanwhile to walk about, then flying up to a 

 perch and back again, in fact doing everything possible to 

 attract attention according to a description of birds in 

 captivity in Forest and Stream by W. L. Bishop. 



The birds frequent rather dense evergreen woods, and are 

 very hard to discover on account of their very tameness. They 

 rarely fly up until practically stepped on at other times than 

 in the nesting season, and in the nesting season a broody hen 

 will hardly leave the nest for anything. Birds I have seen 

 perched in trees, where they are easier to discover than when 

 on the ground, remained until having completed my inspection 

 I either secured them by shooting or with a club or walked 



