Vol 'l9i9 XYI ] Tuttle, Drumming of the Ruffed Grouse. 327 



was I retired behind the breastwork. He drummed again. The 

 sound is comparatively faint when heard at close range, and difficult 

 to describe. The silky rustle of the stiff wing feathers on the air 

 is almost louder than the first " beat." " Fiffump fump, Fffump — 

 Ffump — Fump — ." The first three, which are very faint, can 

 best be imitated by accentuating the "f" sound as the breath is 

 expelled, like an exhaust pipe. 



Suddenly he became aware of my presence, and with an ex- 

 plosive series of "Quit-quits" he flew to the low branch of a tree, 

 about six feet above my head. There he continued to scold for 

 some time, until grown tired of watching him, I rose to my feet, 

 and he rocketed through the second growth like a bullet. 



It has always been my experience that if I have been discovered 

 by a Grouse, when lying at full length on the ground, the bird, 

 though alarmed or annoyed, rarely takes flight, but usually in- 

 dulges in argument. 



Simsbury, April 15, WIS. Today I stalked a cock Grouse that 

 was drumming on the old toboggan slide log, but as I made my last 

 advance he saw me at the same instant that I saw him. He stood 

 stiffly, just as he was when he ceased to drum, all five feathers of 

 his crest separately erect and forward, his ruffs showing plainly, 

 so that I could even see the metallic green edges of the plumes, 

 but he was evidently worried, and turned his head slowly away. 

 Then without warning he whirred off, to alight on the side hill 

 about a gun shot distant. 



I noted particularly how short the bill seems when the crest is 

 erect, as compared with the longer appearance that it has when the 

 feathers lie flat to the head, as in the brooding female. In the 

 afternoon I set up my camera within four feet of the log in the hope 

 of a chance shot on the following day. 



April 16. No luck with the Grouse. He either did not drum, 

 or drummed elsewhere. 



April 17. I secured a very fair photograph of the cock Grouse. 

 The morning was overcast and the light very poor, and as I had 

 set the shutter for a fiftieth part of a second I did not expect to be 

 able to distinguish much on the plate; but, though underexposed, 

 the bird shows up plainly and in sharp focus. He drummed just 

 before I reached the end of my shutter thread (about forty yards 



