HABITS OF THE BUFFED GROUSE. 211 



Indiscriminately they live on a great variety of food ants, 

 grubs, alder-berries, wild cherries, and grain being their 

 favourite diet. Early in autumn, when the weather is fine, 

 particularly in the morning and evening, they will be found 

 in the open cultivation, more especially if there be rough 

 ground with brush in the vicinity ; but as severe weather 

 approaches, the woods will become their constant resort. 

 In shooting the ruffed grouse, great difficulty is always 

 experienced in marking them. Their flight, as I have pre- 

 viously said, is wonderfully rapid, and they have a method 

 of doubling back in the reverse direction to which they 

 started; however, as they do not generally go far (about three 

 or four hundred yards), with patience, and a selection of 

 the nearest irregular ground which has young timber upon 

 it, or the densest brush that is in the neighbourhood, a 

 second opportunity will probably occur of bringing more 

 of the family to bag. In many portions of the United 

 States and Canada they are known by the misnomers of 

 partridge and pheasant. Frequently when trout-fishing in 

 the wilds of the State of Maine I have come suddenly upon 

 them, when they would rise into the nearest tree, and 

 remain with unconcern watching me ; from evident curiosity 

 they would stretch their necks and get into all kinds of 

 grotesque attitudes ; and so little would they then regard 

 the report of a gun that I have known pot -hunters kill quite 

 a number of the same family by always shooting the lowest 

 birds first. But when the ruffed grouse becomes familiar 

 with man he is perfectly cognizant of the danger of being 

 in his proximity. Although before dogs they lie close, 

 rheir colour harmonises so well with that of the ground, 



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