86 GALLINACEOUS BIRDS GROUSE 



hens are somewhat smaller. It is remarkable that 

 such large birds can conceal themselves as they do, 

 and they often refuse to take wing- until fairly kicked 

 out of the bush. They lie well to the dogs, but it is 

 important to take water in the wagon for these animals, 

 as it often is on the prairies, to prevent their suffering 

 from thirst. 



My shooting at these birds was mostly done from the 

 saddle while on the march. When we flushed a covey 

 of birds I took a shot at them, and marking those that 

 flew away to the particular bush where they settled, 

 rode at once to the spot and sometimes dismounted 

 to shoot at the scattered birds. Upon several occa- 

 sions I went out with a friend especially to shoot them, 

 riding here and there (we had no dog) until the horse 

 flushed a covey, and following them so long as we could 

 make them take wing. Birds often escaped by hiding in 

 the sage and refusing to fly. The most likely places 

 seemed to be depressions where the water evidently 

 flowed in wet seasons and little knolls adjacent, but we 

 stumbled upon the birds almost anywhere in the sage, 

 and often made very good bags. It was next to im- 

 possible to miss one, since the shots were always in the 

 open and the marks large. The birds required hard 

 hitting, however, to bring them down, and I would not 

 advise the use of shot smaller than number 5 or 6. A 

 wounded bird is difficult to recover without a dog 

 where the sage grows thickly, and I always tried to kill 

 the birds outright. The side shots, or those at quar- 

 tering birds, are more likely to be fatal than those at 

 birds going straight away, since the shot then pene- 

 trates the lighter feathers beneath the wings. 



