1 5 o HUNTING TRIPS 



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, be- 

 fore 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 occasionally 

 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 Sep- 

 tember by quantities of grasshoppers. Cur- 

 iously enough it does not possess any giz- 



