RUFFED GROUSE; PARTRIDGE; PHEASANT. 181 



tbe American Ruffed Grouse. It derives its name from a 

 peculiar tuft of numerous (twenty to thirty) broad, soft, 

 glossy, black feathers, on tbe sides of the neck, which it 

 sometimes raises as a ruff. As this bird is known so gen- 

 erally in Maryland as the Pheasant, and by no other name, 

 I will call it the Pheasant, because many of our sportsmen 

 would not know the bird by its true name Grouse, The 

 Pheasant is found wherever wooded country is met with, 

 throughout the Eastern portion of North America, from 

 the Atlantic Coast to the Eocky Mountains, and from 

 Georgia to Nova Scotia. They also often occur in consid- 

 erable numbers in the low lands, and were discovered by 

 by Mr. Audubon, breeding in the thickest canebrakes of 

 Indiana and Kentucky. They are found in nearly all tho 

 Southern States, being abundant in Virginia, the Caro- 

 linas, Tennessee, Kentucky, and it is said as far to the 

 Southwest as Natchez. Mississippi. Dr. Newberry, as has 

 been stated, did not encounter this bird within the limits 

 of California, but found them very abundant in the wooded 

 portion of the Cascade Mountains, and in the Willamette 

 Valley. The Oregon species were generally darker than 

 the Eastern varieties, but the habits were apparently every- 

 where the same. The Pheasant is generally found in small 

 flocks, except where they have been much hunted. When 

 this is the case, they are more frequently found singl} r , or 

 rarely more than two to five together. These game birds 

 have their homes in the woods, mountains, and hills of our 

 country. They delight in the rocky sides of mountains 

 and hills where springs and small running streams abound. 

 They are particularly fond of high, sloping, rocky, wooded 

 hill-sides, which border on such streams, especially those 

 which are sheltered by the pine, hemlock, laurel, and other 

 evergreens. They always prefer the densest woods and 

 thickets, and are but seldom found in open plains. They 

 love to frequent ravines and thickets, especially those which 

 extend out from the mountains and hills. These places 

 are their favorite feeding grounds. The Pheasant is more 

 or less polygamous. Their love season commences in 



