30 PINNATED GROUS. 



"Migration. They are stationary, and never known to 

 quit their abode. There are no facts showing in them any dis- 

 position to migration. On frosty mornings and during snows, 

 they perch on the upper branches of pine-trees. They avoid 

 wet and swampy places; and -are remarkably attached to dry 

 ground. The low and open brush is preferred to high shrubbery 

 and thickets. Into these latter places, they fly for refuge when 

 closely pressed by the hunters, and here, under a stiff and in- 

 penetrable cover, they escape the pursuit of dogs and men. 

 Water is so seldom met with on the true grouse-ground, that it 

 is necessary to carry it along for the pointers to drink. The 

 flights of Grouse are short, but sudden, rapid and whirring. I 

 have not heard of any success in taming them. They seem to 

 resist all attempts at domestication. In this as well as in many 

 other respects, they resemble the Quail of New York, or the 

 Partridge of Pennsylvania. 



"Manners. During the period of mating, and while the fe- 

 males are occupied in incubation, the males have a practice of 

 assembling, principally by themselves. To some select and 

 central spot where there is very little underwood, they repair 

 from the adjoining district. From the exercises performed there, 

 this is called a scratching-place. The time of meeting is the 

 break of day. As soon as the light appears, the company as- 

 sembles from every side, sometimes to the number of forty or 

 fifty. When the dawn is past, the ceremony begins by a low 

 tooting from one of the cocks. This is answered by another. 

 They then come forth one by one from the bushes, and strut 

 about with all the pride and ostentation they can display. Their 

 necks are incurvated; the feathers on them are erected into a 

 sort of ruff; the plumes of their tails are expanded like fans; 

 they strut about in a style resembling, as nearly as small may 

 be illustrated by great, the pomp of the turkey-cock. They 

 seem to vie with each other in stateliness; and as they pass each 

 other frequently cast looks of insult, and utter notes of defiance. 

 These are the signals for battles. They engage with wonderful 

 spirit and fierceness. During these contests, they leap a foot or 



