518 THE BIRDS OF MANITOBA THOMPSON. 



as being preoccupied by tUe Ti/mpanuchus americanus, but I would sub. 

 mit tliat the latter is always known as the Prairie Hen;* and though 

 but a flue distinction it is a distinction, and it is better that it should 

 remain, rather than attempt the alteration of nomenclature that has 

 become as much a part of the language as the conjugation of the verb 

 *'to be." 



This eminently prairie bird in the summer time usually retires to 

 the woods and sand hills on the approach of winter; but in the spring, 

 before the snow is gone, they again perform a partial migration and 

 scatter over the prairies, where alone they are to be found during the 

 summer. They are very shy at all times, but during the winter the 

 comparatively heedless individuals have been so thoroughly weeded out 

 by their numerous enemies that it requires no slight amount of stalking 

 to get within range of a flock in the springtime. 



The advent of the grouse on the still snow-covered plains might 

 prove premature, but that the^^ find a good friend in the wild prairie 

 rose {Rosa hlanda). It is abundant everywhere, and the ruddy hips, 

 unlike most fruits, do not fall when ripe, but continue to hang on the 

 stiff stems until they are dislodged by the coming of the next season's 

 crop. On the Big Plain stones of any kind are unknown, and in nearly 

 all parts of Manitoba gravel is unattainable during the winter ; so that 

 the " chicken " and other birds that require these aids to digestion 

 would be at a loss were it not that the friendly rose also supplies this 

 need ; for the hips, besides being sweet and nutritious, contain a num- 

 ber of small, angular, hard seeds, which answer perfectly the purpose 

 of the gravel. To illustrate the importance of this shrub, in this re- 

 gard, I append a table of observations on the crops and gizzards con- 

 tents of grouse killed during the various mouths as indicated : 



January. — Roae-bips, browse, and equisetum tops. 



February. — Rose-bips aud browse. 



March. — Rose-bips and browse. 



April. — Rose-bips and browse of bircb and willow. 



May. — Rose-bips and sand-flowers {Anemone pateus). 



June. — Rose-bips, grass, grasshoppers, and Proconia cosialis.i 



July. — Rose bips, seeds of star-grass, and P. costalis. 



August. — Rose-bips, grass, strawberries, aud P. costalis. 



September. — Rose-bips, grass, berries, and P. costalis. 



October. — Rose-bips, grass, and various berries. 



November. — Rose-bips, bircb and willow browse, and berries of arbutus. 



December. — Rose-hips, juniper berries, and browse. 



This is, of course, a mere list of staples, as in reality nothing of the 

 nature of grain, fruit, leaves, or insects comes amiss to this nearly om- 

 nivorous bird, but it illustrates the importance of theaose-hips, which 



* Unfortunately, this is an error. One rarely bears the name Prairie Hen applied 

 to the Tympanuchus in the prairie States, where its almost universal name is Prairie 

 Chicken, often shortened to simply Chicken. — R. R. 



t As this insect is found all summer, it may prove not costalis, but a nondescript. 



