THE PINNATED GROUSE. 383 



open brush is preferred to high shrubbery and thickets. Into these 

 latter places they fly for refuge when closely pressed by the hunt- 

 ers ; and here, under a stiff and impenetrable 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 

 females 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 exercise 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 assembles 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 Tur- 

 key-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 two from the ground, and utter a cackling, screaming, and 

 discordant cry. 



" They have been found in these places of resort even earlier 

 than the appearance of light in the east. This fact has led to the 

 belief that a part of them assemble over night. The rest join them 

 in the morning. This leads to the further belief that they roost on 

 the ground ; and the opinion is confirmed by the discovery of little 

 rings of dung, apparently deposited by a flock which had passed 

 the night together. After the appearance of the sun, they disperse. 



