SONGLESS BIRDS OF ORCHARD AND WOODLAND. 271 



seven days old. I saw a single bird about three weeks old 

 start from a hilltop with its mother, and, ascending among 

 the tree tops, fly into a hollow more than a hundred yards 

 away. Prof. C. F. Hodge told me that a three-weeks chick 

 which he was rearing became frightened one day, and dis- 

 appeared over the trees ; an hour later it flew back. 



During the fall, the Grouse keep together in small flocks. 

 Sometimes a dozen birds may be found around some favorite 

 grape vine or apple tree, but they are usually so harried and 

 scattered by gunners that toward winter the old birds may 

 sometimes be found alone. 



As winter approaches, this* hardy bird puts on its " snow- 

 shoes," which consist of a fringe of horny processes or pecti- 

 nations that grow out along each toe, and help to distribute 

 the weight of the bird over a larger surface, and so allow it 

 to walk over snows into which a bird not so provided would 

 sink deeply. Its digestion must resemble that of the famous 

 Ostrich, as broken twigs and dry leaves are ground up in its 

 mill. It is a hard winter that will starve the Grouse. A 

 pair spent many winter nights in a little cave in the rocky 

 wall of an old quarry. Sumacs grew there, and many rank 

 weeds. The birds lived well on sumac berries, weed seeds, 

 and buds. 



Sometimes, but perhaps rarely, these birds are imprisoned 

 under the snow by the icy crust which forms in cold weather 

 following a rain, but usually they are vigorous enough to 

 find a way out somewhere. The Grouse is perfectly at home 

 beneath the snow ; it will dive into it to escape a Hawk, and 

 can move rapidly about beneath the surface and burst out 

 again in rapid flight at some unexpected place. 



The Ruffed Grouse is a bird of the woodland, and, though 

 useful in the woods, it sometimes does some injury in the 

 orchard by removing too many buds from a single tree. In 

 winter and early spring, when other food is buried by the 

 snow and hard to obtain, the Grouse lives largely on the buds 

 and green twigs of trees ; but as spring advances, insects 

 form a considerable part of the food. The young feed very 

 largely on insects, including many very destructive species. 



While I have often observed the young birds feeding on 



