CANADA GROUSE, SPRUCE PARTRIDGE 



tied to the end of a stick may be passed over its head 

 as it sits on a limb, and it may thus be dragged from 

 its perch. A bird of such confiding disposition would 

 not afford much sport, and besides this the deep forests 

 which this species inhabits are far from the usual 

 haunts of the gunner. 



The range of the Canada grouse extends from 

 northern New England, north through Labrador, west 

 to northern Minnesota and northwestward to Alaska. 

 We have seen them on the shores of Prince William 

 Sound and Cook Inlet in that territory. Its northern 

 limit, according to Swainson, extends to the parallel 

 of 67. It is not migratory, and breeds wherever found, 

 and its favorite home is in the dense swamps and ever- 

 green thickets of the north land. It is upon the buds 

 and leaves of these evergreens that it chiefly feeds, and 

 from this food its flesh often takes a resinous taste that 

 is not agreeable. 



The breeding season is in May or June, according to 

 latitude. The mating actions of the male his drum- 

 ming differ much from those of other grouse. Major 

 Bendire quotes a correspondent as saying: "After 

 strutting back and forth for a few minutes the male 

 flew straight up as high as the surrounding trees, about 

 fourteen feet; here he remained stationary an instant, 

 and while on suspended wing did the drumming with 

 the wings, resembling distant thunder, meanwhile 

 dropping down slowly to the spot from where he 

 started, to repeat the same thing over and over again." 



Mr. Everett Smith says in Forest and Stream: "The 



