THE RUFFED GROUSE. 85 



The drumming of the male begins with the earlier 

 indications of spring, and is more frequently heard as the 

 love-season advances. This peculiar throbbing roll is 

 common to the woodland during March, April, May, and 

 the latter part of February; is occasionally heard in 

 summer, frequently in the fall, and rarely upon very 

 warm or rainy days in December and January. 



The morning hours are usually selected by the cock 

 as the time to send forth these notes of love, although 

 they are often heard in the late afternoon, and at other 

 hours, when the weather is warm and cloudy. It is also 

 common on warm, cloudy nights, which usually precede 

 rain. 



"Archer," who is excellent authority, says that barren 

 hens drum occasionally in the summer. I regret that this 

 assertion can not be verified by personal experience or 

 ornithological works at hand. The difficulty experienced 

 by gunners in distinguishing the sex of these birds, is the 

 principal reason for this point remaining in dispute. 



Young males, more gallant than wise, do much of the 

 fall drumming, and often pay for their temerity with their 

 lives. 



The muffled, throbbing sound called drumming is 

 essentially a love-call, and, under favorable atmospheric 

 conditions, may be heard three-quarters of a mile, or even 

 farther. When loudest, it somewhat resembles the quick 

 roll of a muffled drum, being occasionally mistaken for 

 distant thunder. It begins with an indistinct thump, 

 which is considerably augmented in volume at the second 

 stroke of the wings. The first two or three strokes are 

 quite regularly spaced, with intermissions of about a 

 second each, and sound very much like the flaps of the 

 domestic game-cock when he is about to crow. After 

 this preliminary flapping, the wing-strokes suddenly 

 increase in speed until they can be no longer counted, 



