they are fond of feeding. When startled they take at 

 once to the timber and are quickly lost to view. For 

 this reason dogs are almost useless in hunting them. 

 They are never found in numbers greater than a single 

 brood, even though the brood may be decimated by 

 the gun of the sportsman or the cunning of the vermin 

 to no more than two or three. 



The flesh of the ruffed grouse is white and generally 

 tender and of fine flavor, although in the late fall or 

 winter when its food consists almost wholly of fir buds 

 it tastes quite strong of turpentine. Its food generally 

 is about the same as the sooty grouse and in about the 

 same percentages. 



Color Head, light chestnut, the feathers on the top 

 being long and capable of erection when excited; a tuft 

 of long, rich brown feathers will be found on each side 

 of the neck; back, reddish chestnut mottled with black; 

 i'ump and tail-coverts, more of a cinnamon color 

 blotched with dark brown; flanks, lighter and barred 

 with black; tail rusty brown barred with deep brown 

 and tipped with two bands of gray, separated by a 

 streak of black; under tail-coverts, orange, barred with 

 black and tipped with white; wing feathers, brown with 

 a central stripe of light yellow. 



The female is marked the same but somewhat lighter 

 in coloring. 



Nest and Eggs The nest, like that of all the gallin- 

 aceous birds, is made on the ground and hidden away 

 in some thick cluster of brush or beneath some log. 

 The eggs are of a buff color spotted with dark brown, 

 and number from ten to fifteen. 



Measurements Total length from 16 to 19 inches; 

 wing about 7 or 8 inches. Weight about 2 pounds. 



THE CANADIAN RUFFED GROUSE 

 (Bonasa umbellus togata) 



The Canadian ruffed grouse ranges through the east- 

 ern side of the Cascade mountains of Oregon and Wash- 

 ington, but does not pass over to the Pacific side. It 

 resembles the Oregon ruffed grouse very closely except 

 that it is much lighter in color, and the female either 

 lacks the tults of feathers on the neck entirely, or where 

 present, they are very small. Like the Oregon species 

 it is a dweller in the heavy timber, and follow the 

 same habits in most all respects. It is of a more con- 

 fiding nature, however, often sitting unconcerned upon 

 a tree while several of its companions are being siiot, 

 47 



