42 LIFE HISTORIES OP NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



somewhat the segment of a circle, then with very little apparent motion he per- 

 forms his growling or groaning, I don't know which to call it, having the 

 strange peculiarity of seeming quite distant when quite near, and near when 

 distant; in fact, appearing to come from every direction but the true one. The 

 iirst time I heard the sound I concluded it was the distant laboring of one of 

 our small mountain sawmills wrestling in agony with some cross-grained saw- 

 log. It appeared to me like it. 



"As near as I can judge by meeting with the young broods, these birds 

 nest at the lowest points about May 15, at the highest about the beginning of 

 June. The number of chicks seen by me in a brood ranged from three to 

 eight. The young in the downy stage are beautiful, delicate little objects. 

 Upon one occasion I met with a covey which had just been hatched; they were 

 quite nimble, and with the exception of one which I caught they hid themselves 

 with great address. Until I released the little prisoner the female showed great 

 distress, clucking in the most beseeching manner, accompanied with suitable 

 gestures, similar to but more tender and graceful than those of our domestic 

 hen. She stood within 6 or 7 feet of me pleading her cause and easily won it. 

 In her beautiful summer dress of brown, handsomely plnmed as she was, she 

 looked very interesting. 



"In a single instance only, with a brood about ten days old, have I noted 

 the presence of both parents. Perched upon a fallen tree the male seemed to 

 be on the lookout, while the female and young were feeding close by. 

 This seeming indifference of the male while the brood is very young, allow- 

 ing his mate to protect them, if he really is always near at hand, looks very 

 strange, and yet it may be the case, since he is generally with the covey when 

 the young are well grown. Directly the young are able to travel, the hen 

 Grouse leads them to some desirable opening skirting the timber, or gulch 

 where bearberries, wild raspberries, gooseberries, and currants, as well as grass- 

 hoppers, worms, and grubs are abundant, managing them just as the domestic 

 hen does her brood. The young grow rapidly, and when about two weeks old 

 can do a little with their wings; then instead of hiding on the ground they flush 

 and endeavor to conceal'themselves in the standing timber. Until almost, fully 

 grown they are very foolish; flushed, they will tree at once, in the silly belief 

 that they are out of danger, and will quietly suffer themselves to be pelted with 

 clubs and stones till they are struck down one after another. With a shot- 

 gun, of course the whole covey is bagged without much trouble, and as they 

 are, in my opinion, the most delicious of all Grouse for the table, they are 

 gathered up unsparingly." 



Mr. John Swinburne informs me that in southeastern Arizona the Dusky 

 Grouse frequents thick spruce and fir timber, and is generally found at 

 an altitude of about 9,000 feet. He says: "If found on the ground they 

 almost invariably fly into the nearest tree and sit there, moving their heads 

 from side to side, gazing at the intruder first with one eye then with the 

 other. I have shot at them repeatedly with the rifle and pistol before they 



