654 North American Grouse. 



its preservation. The trapper and dealer care nothing for the sport 

 They look only at the present money profit and leave future gener- 

 ations to take care of themselves. The true sportsman shoots onb 

 as much as he can use, and takes a pride in the existence and security 

 and abundance of the bird he admires. 



The other great source of destruction to the prairie-fowl arise 

 from a habit of the Western farmers burning most of the prairie land 

 in the autumn, and reserving small patches to burn in the spring, so 

 that fall grazing will grow on the spring burnings. All the grouse 

 in a county finding the great expanse of the prairie burnt over will 

 nest in these patches of brown unburnt grass. The farmer then 

 burns this grass in June, destroying every nest therein. No persua- 

 sion can induce him to forego this habit, as the fall grass is of more 

 pleasure to him than the birds. The only remedy is for those inter- 

 ested in the race of birds to go over the country late in the fall and 

 burn off all these remaining patches, thus forcing the grouse to nest 

 on the burned prairie. 



The pinnated grouse has the power of inflating the two yellow 

 sacks which he carries on the sides of his neck, and during the mat- 

 ing season the cocks are often seen strutting and swelling in mimic 

 grandeur, with expanded wings and tail, and making a thrumming 

 noise with their wings, striving to please by their grandiose ways. 

 At these times they are pugnacious, and two cocks never meet with- 

 out a battle. They flit up in the air several feet striking at each 

 other with wings and feet until one yields the place of honor to the 

 other and departs — a disappointed bird, to lead the life of a 

 celibate. 



One autumn day, watching for ducks while ensconced on a musk- 

 rat house in the great Mendocio marsh, which extends back many 

 miles from the Mississippi River opposite Clinton, I noticed some 

 objects moving on the summit of a knoll. By careful watching I 

 discovered they were prairie- fowl, and, moved by curiosity, carefully 

 approached them. As I drew near I discovered fifteen prairie-fowl 

 apparently dancing a minuet. They were scattered about on the 

 short turf, twenty yards apart, nodding their heads at one another, 

 and presently two would run out and perform the figure which in a 

 country dance is known as "cross over and back to places," all the 

 while uttering a soft note of " coo-cooe" — the last syllable being 



