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AMERICAN FORESTRY 



quails and partridges are all Old World, members of 

 the family Perdicidae. The New World bob-whites, 

 California quail, etc., belong to a different family, the 

 Odontophoridae and should be called New World par- 

 tridges or New World quail. This takes the name par- 

 tridge away from all the grouse family to still another 

 family, the Tetraonidae. Finally the name pheasant is 

 quite as inappropriate for members of the grouse family as 

 turkey would be for the pheasants, and yet, in some parts 



TWO WEEKS OLD 



The wing feathers are the first to grow and young grouse can fly when 

 but a week old and scarcely larger than sparrows. This one is crouching 

 in the dead leaves to escape detection. 



of the country, the ruffed grouse is called the pheasant. In 

 general, the grouse can be distinguished by having the 

 tarsus or lower leg more or less covered with feathers, 

 in some species the ptarmigan, extending clear to the 

 tips of the toes. The New World partridges and quail 

 have the tarsus bare and without spurs while the pheas- 

 ants have it bare but with well developed spurs. 



There are about twenty-five species in the grouse 

 family, confined to the northern parts of the Northern 

 Hemisphere, two species of ptarmigan being circum- 

 polar and found both in Europe and America. The 

 majority of species, however, are more or less restricted 

 in their range and the individuals are often sedentary 

 and spend their entire lives within the confines of a 

 small woodland, never migrating. During the nesting 

 season they are solitary but afterwards the young stay 

 with the parents and sometimes different families come 

 together about good feeding spots until good-sized covies 

 are formed. Grouse are ordinarily terrestrial although, 

 when alarmed, they often fly up into the trees and during 

 the winter, they secure a large part of their food from the 



buds of trees. They are not shy birds unless hunted 

 continuously, but allow a very close approach, relying 

 upon their protective coloration to escape detection. 

 How complete this is, is shown in the accompanying 

 photograph of a ruffed grouse on its nest. When they 

 do fly, it is with a startling whir of the wings that is 

 quite disconcerting to the average hunter. Their flight 

 is rapid and direct although they usually follow the 

 arc of a circle and do not fly far. Indeed when flushed 

 several times and driven to the edge of its circumscribed 

 area, a grouse will often double back right over the head 

 of the hunter. 



Grouse ordinarily nest on the ground, the woodland 

 species at the foot of a tree or beneath a fallen branch, 

 and lay from nine to eighteen eggs, a provision of 

 nature for maintaining the species against numerous 

 enemies. The young are covered with down when 

 hatched and are able to run about. Their wing feathers 

 are the first to grow and they are able to fly when about 

 a week old though still very small. The male bird does 

 not ordinarily help in their care. Indeed he is usually 

 never seen near the nest or brood until they are full 



Photograph by A. D. DuBois 



A "FOOL HEN" 

 The Franklyn's grouse is the western representative of the Spruce grouse 

 and both species are called "fool hens" because of their misplaced 

 confidence in man. 



grown. The female, however, is very solicitous for the 

 safety of the young and uses every expedient to distract 

 the pursuer, trailing her wings along the ground, as 

 though severely wounded, hissing like a snake, or even 

 flying into the face of the pursuer. The young crouch 

 at the danger call and do not move until once more 

 called by the mother. Since they are always scattered it is 

 a difficult task to find them, so protectively colored are 

 they. The best known of the grouse family are the ruffed 



