THE CAN-ADA GROUSE. 103 



adapted for prospering in a wooded country; and as its 

 flesh, though dark, is as tender and succulent as that of 

 any of its genus, it would apparently pay sportsmen to 

 stock forests with it. 



The Indians of the Far West say that this species may 

 always be found in lowlands and along the courses of 

 streams and ravines, while the ruffed grouse is a denizen 

 of the uplands and the lower ranges of hills. The west- 

 ern is not so much attached to swampy places as its east- 

 ern congener, its favorite resorts being dry and sloping 

 land; sand *' barrens" which produce the fir, spruce, 

 and pine; and those openings where second-growth tim- 

 ber prevails. It is a great skulker in cover, but if it is 

 detected on open ground by a dog, it will attempt to 

 escape by running, and only take to the wing as a last 

 resource. The males are quite fleet of foot after the 

 wooing season is over, as they are thin and active, and so 

 wary that it is difficult to approach them. When flushed, 

 they utter a few loud clucks and dart away suddenly, but 

 they do not fly far before settling on a tree or in low shrub- 

 bery. They moult in July, and during the entire period 

 that they are shedding their feathers, they remain as close- 

 ly concealed as possible, to avoid their numerous enemies. 

 They keep in parties by themselves from the time the 

 hens commence lajdng until they are joined by the young 

 broods, late in the autumn. They win their mates as 

 the other members of their family do, by displaying their 

 forms, flghting, and calling or drumming. They rise 

 spirally in the air at intervals, and produce a drumming 

 sound, not unlike that of the snipe in the same situation, 

 but it is more metallic in tone. This is louder when 

 they are descending than at any other time, as the wings, 

 which are then placed at an acute angle with the body, vi- 

 brate slightly and with a tremulous motion, and the tail is 

 spread out to its fullest extent and turned over the back. 

 If the theory of Maret is correct, it is an easy matter 



