Grouse. 89 



nearly undrinkable. It is pre-eminently the grouse of the 

 plains, and, unlike all of its relatives, is never found near 

 trees ; indeed no trees grow in its haunts. 



As is the case with the two species of prairie fowl the 

 cocks of this great bird become very noisy in the early 

 spring. If a man happens at that season to be out in the 

 dry plains which are frequented by the sage fowl he will 

 hear in the* morning, before sunrise, the deep, sonorous 

 booming of the cocks, as they challenge one another or 

 call to their mates. This call is uttered in a hollow, bass 

 tone, and can be heard a long distance in still weather ; it 

 is difficult to follow up, for it has a very ventriloquial 

 effect. 



Unlike the sharp-tail the habits and haunts of the 

 sage fowl are throughout the year the same, except 

 that it grows shyer as the season advances, and occa- 

 sionally wanders a little farther than formerly from its 

 birthplace. It is only found where the tough, scraggly 

 wild sage abounds, and it feeds for most of the year solely 

 on sage leaves, varying this diet in August and September 

 by quantities of grasshoppers. Curiously enough it does 

 not possess any gizzard, such as most gallinaceous birds 

 have, but has in its place a membranous stomach, suited 

 to the digestion of its peculiar food. 



The little chicks follow their mother as soon as 

 hatched, and she generally keeps them in the midst of 

 some patch of sage-brush so dense as to be almost im- 

 penetrable to man or beast. The little fellows skulk and 

 dodge through the crooked stems so cleverly that it is 

 almost impossible to catch them. Early in August, when 



