212 BIRDS OF THE PASTURE AND FOREST. 



if this protection were offered them only that their sur- 

 plus might be used to grace our tables, it would be found 

 a profitable enterprise. 



THE RUFFED GROUSE. 



In May, if we were to wander into an extensive wood 

 which is not a swamp, at a sufficient distance from any 

 village tavern, we should probably hear the drumming 

 of the Partridge. This peculiar sound is heard early 

 in the morning and late in the evening, becoming more 

 frequent and persistent as the breeding-season advances. 

 It is made by the male, and is unlike any other sound I 

 ever heard. I cannot compare it to the rumbling of distant 

 thunder, as some do, because the sounds of thunder are 

 irregular, while the strokes of the Partridge's wings are 

 perfectly timed, and increase in rapidity as they decrease 

 in loudness, until they die away in a faint, fluttering 

 vibration. 



I think those observers are mistaken who believe this 

 drumming to be made by striking or flapping his wings 

 against his sides or against the log where he is stand- 

 ing. Samuels says : " The bird resorts to a fallen trunk 

 of a tree or log, and while strutting like a male Turkey, 

 beats his wings against his sides and the log with con- 

 siderable force. It commences very slowly, and after a 

 few strokes gradually increases in velocity, and ter- 

 minates with a rolling beat very similar to the roll of 

 a drum." Dr. Brewer describes the sound as produced 

 in the same manner, and this seems to be the universal 

 opinion. On the contrary, the bird produces this sound 

 by striking the shoulders of his wings together over his 

 back, as the common Cock frequently does before he 

 crows, and as the male Pigeon does when after dalliance 

 with his mate he flies out exultingly a short distance from 



