X'-^;^ 



RUFFED GROUSE. — Je/rao umbellm. 



This bird pairs in April, and builds its nest in May, placing it on the ground at the 

 root of a bush or a stump, and laying from nine to fifteen brownish-white eggs. The 

 mother-bird has a system of decoying intruders from her nest, very similar to that which 

 has already been mentioned in connexion with several other birds. The best time for 

 shooting the Ruffed Grouse is Septemljer and October, when it is very fat, having fed on 

 whortle-berries and other fruits which give its flesh a delicate and somewhat aromatic 

 flavour. In winter these birds feed much on the buds of alder and laurel, and are then 

 thought to be poisonous. 



In general colour the male is rich chestnut-brown, variegated with abundant mottling 

 of dark brown and grey. The curious tufts on the shoulder are rich velvety lilack glossed 

 with green, and just below them the skin is bare. The tail is grey, barred with blackish 

 brown. The length of the male liird is about eighteen inches. The female is smaller, 

 and is known by the brown colour of the neck-tufts and the bar on the tail. 



The Red Gkouse seems to be exclusively confined to the British Islands, and is found 

 in the north of England, Wales, Ireland, and Scotland, and .oome of the Channel Islands. 

 The Ijirds of this genus are separated from the remainder of the gi'oup in consequence of 

 the feathered toes, which are thickly clothed with short plumage, earning thereby the 

 name of Liigopus, or Hare-footed, 



It inhabits the niooi's, where heather is in abundance, as it feeds chiefly on the 

 tender leaves of that plant together with whortle-berries, grain, and similar substances. 

 The bu'd pairs early in the spring, and makes its nest of gi-ass and ling stems, occasionally 



