THE SAGE COCK. 177 



cording to the character of the climate of the country it 

 inhabits. The males win their brides by a deep, guttural 

 song, which sounds like whirr-whirr-whirr-hoo-hoo, and 

 by parading their forms before them, much as gobblers 

 do before the turkey hens. They spread the tail into a 

 fan-like shape, inflate the neck and air sacs to the fullest 

 possible limit, lower the wings and sweep the ground 

 with them, and wheel and strut and sing until they have 

 been accepted. They are the most assiduous of gallants, 

 and to persons of a certain temperament they seem lu- 

 dicrously "spooney," for their many attitudes, pompous 

 airs, and indefatigable calling and parading, are more 

 suggestive of ridiculous "softness" than dignified woo- 

 ing. When mates have been chosen, the female builds a 

 rude nest on the ground, generally under the shelter of a 

 sage-bush, and lays from ten to twenty eggs in it, and 

 when the young are hatched she devotes all her atten- 

 tion to them, and fights bravely in their defence, if ne- 

 cessary. Their greatest enemies are foxes, coyotes, 

 badgers, weasels, and other predaceous quadrupeds, for 

 these do not hesitate to gobble them up whenever they 

 get the chance, their taste not being refined enough to 

 object to the flavor of sage. As food and shelter are 

 abundant, most of the chickens must live to adult age, 

 notwithstanding the number of their foes, if one were to 

 judge from their profusion on the Western plains and 

 plateaus. The mothers and their broods keep together 

 until the approach of cold weather, then join the males, 

 and form into large packs, which often number several 

 hundred. They become wild at this time, and are easily 

 flushed, but, after alighting, they prefer tryiug to escape 

 by running and skulking, rather than by flying. Not 

 being deemed fit for the table, few persons kill them, 

 except Indians. These frequently snare them in large 

 numbers, especially in severe winters, when food is scarce, 

 for anything edible, from a polecat to a rat, is welcome 



