THE RUFFED GROUSE. 87 



imitating very closely tlie strutting of the turkey-cock. 

 The great pride and passion displayed on these occasions 

 is transiently broken by drumming, for the strained and 

 inflated appearance of the bird indicates that all of his 

 muscular force is centered in the production of the love- 

 call. 



For his drumming-post, he usually selects a log in 

 dense underbrush, and when unmolested will give vent 

 to his feelings each morning from the same perch. Pro- 

 fessor Baird, in speaking of this attachment, mentions a 

 case where a grouse was said to have adhered to his 

 drumming-log after the woods had been cut away, and a 

 road made near by. 



In the fall, this habit is not so strictly observed, as 

 the writer believes that on several occasions, in districts 

 where grouse were very scarce, and easily marked down, 

 he has heard them drum after alighting from the first 

 and second flushing. 



From all that I can learn, this bird does not drum in 

 captivity. Mr. J. B. Battelle, editor of the Business 

 World, at Toledo, Ohio, who has been kind enough to 

 favor me with the result of his experience in domesticat- 

 ing the ruffed grouse, says, however, that when excited 

 the female taps so rapidly upon the sides of the coop 

 with her bill that the sound could be mistaken for the 

 drumming of the male. 



One must be a quick, cool snap-shot to excel in shoot- 

 ing this grouse. Instead of being blinded by the sudden 

 whir of wings, he must have his senses so keenly alert 

 that the moment the bird leaves the ground he calculates 

 instantaneously at what point in the course of its flight 

 he will shoot, and the allowance to be made, if any. 

 This having been done, he raises the gun quickly, and 

 fires the moment it touches his shoulder. Nothing will 

 help him to accomplish this feat so quickly as the prac- 



