212 



NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. 



sound that may be heard at a great distance, but partakes somewhat of the character 

 of ventriloquism, as it is difficult to locate the position of the performer. In the 

 breeding season this may be executed to attract the females, but as the same perform- 

 ance is also gone through with in the autumn, it cannot always be for this purpose. 

 Some writers state that the wings strike the flanks, others that they strike each other 

 above the back, while others again, that they strike nothing, the fact being that the 

 movement is so rapid that it defies the closest observer to determine exactly what 

 does take place. 



FIG. yj. Iionasa betulina, hazel-grouse. 



The allies of the ruffed-grouse in Europe and Asia, the J5. betulina, has, with two 

 other lately described species, B. sewarzowi, and JEt. griseiventris, been separated by 

 some writers into a distinct genus, Tetrastes. The hazel-grouse is not found in Great 

 Britain, but is distributed generally throughout Europe and Asia from France to 

 northern China. It has also been met with in Japan. This species is not possessed 

 of the ruff, and is smaller than the American bird, neither does it indulge in the habit 

 of drumming. It is monogamous, the males leaving the young to the care of the 



