The Game'birds and Rails 



399 



female friends join company " and march away. The capercallie is jealous of trespassers on his 

 domain, and instances are on record where people have been attacked when so infringing. 



Like the capercallie, the BLACKCOCK must be sought in the woods, whence he sallies forth 

 to the moors and stubble-fields to feed. The GREY-HEN, as the female of this species is called, 

 lays from six to ten eggs, of a buff colour, spotted with rich brown : both in number and 

 colour they resemble those of the capercallie. 



The naturalist Brehm gives a delightful account of the love-making of this bird. During 

 the spring, he says, " the bird utters almost continuously the strangest noises. He holds his 

 tail up and spreads it out like a fan, he lifts up his head and neck with all the feathers erect, 

 and stretches his wings from the body. Then he takes a few jumps in different directions, 

 sometimes in a circle, and presses 

 the under part of his beak so hard 

 against the ground that the chin- 

 feathers are rubbed off. During these 

 movements he beats his wings and 

 turns round and round. The more 

 ardent he grows, the more lively 

 he becomes, until at last the bird 

 appears like a frantic creature. At 

 such times the blackcocks are so 

 absorbed that they become almost 

 blind and deaf, but less so than the 

 capercallie." 



North America is very rich in 



large forms of grouse ; and one of 

 the most interesting of these is 



the PRAIRIE-HEN, remarkable for the 



possession of a pair of curious bags 



of a bright orange colour on each 



side of the neck, which can be 



inflated with air at will. 



" Early in the morning," writes 



Captain Bendire of the prairie-hen, 



"you may see them assemble in 



parties, from a dozen to fifty together, 



on some dry knolls . . . and their 



goings-on would make you laugh. 



The air-sacs are their ornaments, 



which they display . . . before the 



gentler sex by blowing them up 



till they look like two ripe oranges 



. . . projecting their long, black 



ears right forward, ruffling up all 



the feathers of the body till they 



stand out straight, and dropping 



their wings on the ground like a 



turkey-cock. . . . Then it is that 



the proud cock, in order to complete 



his triumph, will rush forward at his 



best speed . . . through the midst photo iy r. n. w. shufeiat] (Washington. 



of the love-sick damsels, pouring out TEXAN BOB-WHITE (ABOUT HALF NATURAL SIZE). 



as he goes a booming noise . . this bird takes its name from its note" Ah-Bob- White." 



