500 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



produced. Between his drumming performances and 

 while waiting for the female to approach, he struts up 

 and down the log much like a miniature turkey gobbler 

 with tail spread, wings dropped and ruff erected. 



The Spruce partridge of the Northeast and the Frank- 

 lyn's grouse of the West are both inhabitants of the 

 moist spruce forests where their dark coloration seems 

 quite in keeping with their surroundings. The males 

 are easily distinguished from the ruffed grouse by the 

 absence of ruffs and by the largely black underparts. 

 The females are much browner than the males, but 

 have black tails with but a narrow band of brown at 

 the tip. Both species are known as "fool hens" because 

 of their misplaced confidence in man. They seem to have 

 absolutely no fear and will barely get out of one's way in 

 the forest and will often allow themselves to be killed with 

 a stick. For this reason although their flesh is delicious, 

 they cannot compare with the ruffed grouse as game birds. 

 The dusky or blue grouse is found in one or another 

 of its three forms from the 

 mountains of Arizona to 

 Alaska. It is considerably 

 larger than the other 

 grouse, of a nearly uniform 

 bluish slate color, mottled 

 with brown on the wing. 

 When not hunted it is as 

 unsuspicious as the spruce 

 grouse, but like the ruffed 

 grouse it soon learns to 

 evade the hunter and makes 

 a splendid game bird. 



The prairie chicken or 

 pinnated grouse, the sharp- 

 tailed grouse and the sage 

 grouse are birds of the 

 open prairie or sage brush 

 country of the West. With 

 the advance of agriculture 

 into their domain, they 

 have been pushed further 

 and further westward and 

 have been exterminated 

 over a large part of their 

 former range. The three birds, while resembling each 

 other superficially, are quite easily distinguished: the 

 prairie chicken by its pencils of elongated feathers on 

 the sides of the neck and square tail, the sharp-tailed 

 grouse by its similar appearance but pointed tail and 

 absence of the pencils and the sage grouse by its large 

 size, pointed tail and the presence of black on the under- 

 parts. All three species have interesting courtship per- 

 formances in the spring which are quite different from 

 those of the ruffed grouse. The prairie chickens, for 

 example, assemble in small companies on knolls or open 

 places on the prairie where the males compete for the 

 females. Large inflatable sacks are distended on the 

 sides of the neck to the size and color of small oranges, 

 the stiff feathers are erected, and a loud booming sound 



is produced by expelling the air from the sacks. They 

 then dance about and fight and rush at th'e females of 

 their choice in order to win their favor. 



The eastern form of the prairie chicken, called the 

 heath hen, which was formerly found throughout the 

 wooded districts of Southern New England and the 

 Middle States is now entirely extinct except for a small 

 flock, now rigidly protected, on the island of Martha's 

 Vineyard. 



The ptarmigan are unusual grouse which become pure 

 white in winter, their summer plumage being mottled 

 gray and brown like the lichen-covered rocks. They are 

 birds of the Barren Grounds or the mountain tops above 

 timber line and are always associated with snow and 

 glaciers. The only exception to this is the red grouse 

 of Great Britain which lives on the moors. It has the 

 distinction of being the only ptarmigan which does not 

 turn white in winter and is the only species of bird that 

 is confined to the British Islands. The other well-known 



European grouse are the 

 black cock, the large caper- 

 cailie and the hazel hens. 



All of the different spe- 

 cies of grouse seem to 

 offer possibilities for do- 

 mestication and yet, with 

 the possible exception of 

 the European red grouse, 

 none of them has been 

 bred successfully even as 

 a game bird. With the 

 ever 'growing number of 

 hunters and the depletion 

 of all game, it is becoming 

 more and more important 

 to devise artificial means 

 of increasing the game 

 supply. So far, in this 

 country, the only birds 

 that have been fully suc- 

 cessful on the game farms 

 are the ring-necked pheas- 

 ant and the mallard duck 

 although better results are 

 being obtained each year with bob-whites, and some 

 encouragement is offered with the ruffed grouse and a 

 few other species. It is greatly to be hoped that means 

 for rearing the ruffed grouse in captivity will soon be 

 devised so that the depleted covers may be restocked 

 and so that it can be reintroduced into the woodlands 

 from which it has been exterminated. It is to be hoped 

 that other States will follow the lead taken by New 

 York in establishing an experimental game farm where 

 problems such as this can be scientifically approached, 

 for game farming is still in its infancy. 



As far as experiments have progressed it seems quite 

 easy to raise grouse from eggs and even to have them 

 lay in captivity in small numbers, but they suffer from 

 apoplexy and will not stand the crowding necessary 



Photograph by G. C. Embody 



THIS GROUSE IS EASIER TO SEE 



They always rely upon their protective coloring, however, and do not 

 flush until nearly stepped upon. 



