OUTDOORS 



thirty feathers each, and the bird takes its 

 name from them. The tail is long, broad, 

 and banded, and when stretched out and 

 dried makes a handsome fan. The ruffed 

 grouse is about sixteen to eighteen inches 

 long, and will weigh from two to two and 

 a half or three pounds. He is an exceed- 

 ingly handsome bird, excelling the pinnated 

 grouse or prairie-chicken vastly in this re- 

 spect. His wings are short and rounded and 

 capable of surprising bursts of speed. There 

 is no lumbering awkwardness when this bird 

 rises, as after the manner of the prairie- 

 chicken. He springs from the brush with the 

 speed of a rocket and it takes quick shooting 

 to get him. To make a " double " on ruffed 

 grouse in thick cover is one of the most diffi- 

 cult feats in shot-gun shooting. They are 

 strong birds and require to be hard hit to be 

 brought down, unless when a stray shot 

 breaks a wing or hits them on the head or 

 neck. Like other birds of the grouse family 

 and the quail, the ruffed grouse when struck 

 in the head, if not killed outright, will 

 " tower," as it is called, flying straight up 

 into the air to quite a height. When a hunter 

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