HABITS OF THE RUFFED O ROUSE. 



211 



handsome and upright in form, of a beautiful rich chestnut- 

 brown color, variegated with gray and dark spots, and pen- 

 cilings on the back, breast, and neck. The tail is gray, 

 with a black bar across it near its termination, and is gen- 

 erally carried open, like a fan. On the top of the head 

 there is a slight crest, and down each side of the neck are 

 curious fan -shaped tufts of glossy black velvet -looking 



RUFFED GROUSE. 



feathers. In April these birds pair, but I should imagine, 

 from the seasons in the northern portion of the United 

 States and Canada being more backward than ours, if they 

 were introduced here they would do so a month earlier. 

 They lay from ten to sixteen eggs, their nest, which is a 

 very primitive one, being generally secreted in brush or 

 under the shelter of a fallen log. They are most affection- 

 ate parents, and use the same artifices as the wild duck to 

 draw away the intruders from the vicinity of their youth- 

 ful progeny. This grouse has two distinct calls, one a soft, 



