SHARP-TAILED GROUSE 255 



nearly horizontally and its tail perpendicularly, distends 

 its air-sacs and erects its feathers, then rushes across 

 the 'floor,' taking the shortest of steps, but stamping its 

 feet so hard and rapidly that the sound is like that of a 

 kettle drum; at the same time it utters a sort of bub- 

 ling crow, which seems to come from the air-sacs, 

 beats the air with its wings, and vibrates its tail, so 

 that it produces a low, rustling noise, and thus con- 

 trives at once to make as extraordinary a spectacle of 

 itself and as much noise as possible. 



"As soon as one commences all join in, rattling, 

 stamping, drumming, crowing and dancing together 

 furiously ; louder and louder the noise, faster and faster 

 the dance becomes, until at last, as they madly whirl 

 about, the birds are leaping over each other in their 

 excitement. After a brief spell the energy of the 

 dancers begins to abate, and shortly afterward they 

 cease and stand or move about very quietly, until they 

 are again started by one of their number 'leading off/ 



"The whole performance reminds one so strongly 

 of a Cree dance as to suggest the possibility of its 

 being the prototype of the Indian exercise. The space 

 occupied by the dancers is from 50 to 100 feet across. 

 . . . The dancing is indulged in at any time of the 

 morning or evening in May, but it is usually at its 

 height before sunrise. Its erotic character can hardly 

 be questioned, but I cannot fix its place or value in the 

 nuptial ceremonies. The fact that I have several times 

 noticed the birds join for a brief set-to, in the late 

 fall, merely emphasizes its parallelism to the drumming 



