ground in some secluded place and lined with leaves 

 or grass. The eggs, averaging about a dozen, are of 

 a reddish buff mottled with brown. 



Measurements Total length about 15 inches; wing 

 about 7 inches. Weight from one and a half to two 

 pounds. 



THE SAGE HEN 



(Centrocercus urophasianus) 



The sage grouse, or sage hen is the largest of the 

 grouse of America, some of the males weighing as much 

 as seven pounds. Its range, so far as the geographical 

 scope of this work is concerned, is northeastern Cali- 

 fornia, Nevada, and eastern Oregon and Washington, 

 but it extends much farther east. It is only found in 

 the sage brush districts of the high altitudes. They 

 usually remain in single broods, though they are some- 

 times found in much larger flocks. They often travel 

 for considerable distances, "following the leader" in 

 single file. They strut in the nesting season, but in a 

 peculiar way, pushing their breasts on the ground until 

 the feathers are worn off and even the skin abraded. 



A peculiarity of the sage grouse is that it has no 

 gizzard, but instead it has a stomach more like that of 

 an animal. The young birds lie quite well to a dog and 

 furnish very good sport, and until they are about half 

 grown the flesh is quite good, but the older birds are 

 very unsavory and in fact almost unpalatable. This is 

 caused by their feeding almost entirely upon the leaves 

 of the sage. 



Color Male Upper parts, gray, barred with brown; 

 tail, very long, the longer feathers being quite narrow 

 and stiff and barred also with brown; a dark line over 

 the eye and a light one from the eye down the side of 

 the neck; throat and cheeks, nearly white, mottled 

 with black; a few long hairy like feathers grow from 

 the side of the neck of the male birds. 



Female The female is colored and marked like the 

 male but considerably darker, is much smaller, with 

 shorter tail and without the hairy feathers on the side 

 of the neck. 



Nest and Eggs The nest is nothing more than a hol- 

 low in the midst of some bunch of brush, possibly lined 

 with a few leaves. The eggs are from twelve to eigh- 

 teen in number and of a greenish shade, mottled with 

 bright brown, but these spots are easily rubbed off. 



Measurements Male Total length from 24 to 28 

 - 51 



