GROUSK, BOB-WIUT! 181 



barnxl with blackbili or dark grayish brown, the ham in<liltru-t <>n th brewt 



mi 1 In-Ilv, *tr"ii_'i r "ii iii. -iiiva. Ail. 9 . -Similar, but with the neck tuft* 

 very small. L-, IT'OO; W . II. fr-.m N 



M*f*. Eastern t'nile.1 Suit*, I rot 1 1 Vermont to Virginia, urnl along the 

 tiauiw to northern (ii-.'iyia. 



mgtoii, ii"l oitiitiioii 1'. II. Sing Sin.'. iin-m 1*. K. <'a!iiori>L'e, 



n tin- groiin.l, at the base of a Mumj. <>r In-,-, or l-uu-atli t.ru-li. 

 Eyyt> eight to fourteen, jmlo ochracuouit-huir, l-.'.j . 11.;. 



Of all tho characteristics of this >upcrb game bird, its habit of 

 drumming i> perhaps tin- most remarkable. This loud tattoo begins 

 with tho measured thump of the big <lrum. then gradually changes 

 ami dies away in tin- rumble of tin- kettle-drum. It may IK- briefly rep- 

 resented thus: Thump lhnt/> thump thump, thump; thump, 



thumjt-rup rup nip rup r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r. Tin- ><>iiinl is pnMhiced by 

 the male bin! Ix-jitiii;? the air with his wings as he stands firmly braced 

 on some favorite low jMTch: and it is iuw i|iiit(> well known to be the 

 call of the male to the female; an annouinrmeiit that he is at the old 

 rendezvous a rendezvous that has perhaps >erved them for more than 

 one season, and a place that in time becomes so fraught with delight- 

 ful associations that even in autumn or winter the male, when he finds 

 himself in the vicinity, can not n-i-t the temptation to mount his 

 wonted perch and vent his feelings in the rolling drum-lmit that was 

 in springtime his song of love. But now, alas ! there is no lady Grouse 

 to come, shy but responsive, at the sound of his reverberating sum- 

 mon*. 



There is good reason for .supposing that the Ruffed Grouse is po- 

 lygamous, atid that the male, if he drums in vain at one place, will 

 flj to another retreat and there seek the society of some more compli- 

 ant female. 



The young Grouse can run about as soon as they are hatched, and 

 can fly well when about a week old. Their mother is celebrated for the 

 variety of expfdicnts>he put- in practii-e to save her brinxl from threat- 

 ened danger, and their father has frequently lren known to divide the 

 charge with her. The young usually continue with their parents till 

 the following spring, though it is rare at this time to see moro.t!ian 

 three or f..iir surviving out of the original twelve or fourteen. 



The food of this (iroiisu is largely insects and U-rries during the 

 summer; in the autumn it adds seeds to the list, and when the ground 

 is covered with snow the staples are catkins, leaves, and buds. 



Its toes are provided during the winter with a curious frin 

 strong, horny |><>int> which act as snowshoes. In the northern part 

 of its range this bird commonly burrows into a snowdrift to pass the 

 night during the season of intense cold; but in the summer and in 



