BIRDS OF MINNESOTA. 163 



Enjoying a prolonged acquaintance with him, I availed my- 

 self of his observations in those early times, to learn the habits 

 of the more common species especially. He stated that the 

 prairie hens were seldom seen at the first, but after the country 

 began to become settled considerably, they increased in num- 

 bers perceptibly from year to year. The Blackfoot Grouse. 

 {Fediocwtes phaslanellus (Linn. ), were the dominant grouse-kind 

 of the territory, and very well represented in the openings, and 

 wherever there was much brush- lands, but were never found 

 on the open, uncultivated prairies. This corresponds with my 

 own observations of the habits of the Pinnated Grouse in Illi- 

 nois, as far back as in 1836, the first summer of my residence 

 there. 



I shall never forget the first boomings of the males at day- 

 break. My duties called me out at that early hour, and far on 

 to the prairies, six days every week, when I had ample oppor- 

 tunities to become familiar with the weird notes of the amorous 

 males. At that time I never could make out more than three 

 sources, rarely more than two, from which these boomings 

 seemed to come, but from year to year the numbers increased 

 until I am sure there were not less than as many dozens, and 

 whereas at the first, a bag of ten or twelve birds was a good 

 showing for an expert "on the wing," for one day, it was a 

 common affair afterwards for ' 'a common shot" to bring in 50 

 to 60 birds after a very short day, and experts many times 

 boasted their one hundred. 



The grain fields afforded both food and protection for them 

 until the farmers complained of them bitterly, but not half so 

 bitterly as they did afterwards of the bird-destroyers who ran 

 over their broad acres of wheat, oats and corn in the order of 

 their ripening. The farmers are proverbially hard — for sports- 

 men — to please. Just here I may best introduce some portion 

 of Mr. Washburn's report of his experiences when in the Red 

 river valley, and with special reference to this species. He 

 says: 



"Extremely common in the prairie lands throughout the 

 valley, particularly near farming lands in the vicinity of wheat 

 fields. Replaced in a great measure by the preceding species 

 in the northern part of the State. Perhaps for the benefit of 

 the uninitiated, it would not be out of place to here give an 

 account of the modus operandi of hunting a bird which is an 

 object of such universal pursuit among sportsmen, and has be- 

 come an article of commercial importance; and this may pos- 



