CAJV,IDA GROUSE. 



103 



ville, Nova Scotia, described a trait of this Grouse in nest- 

 building which I have never witnessed myself. He 

 states that the hen, when leaving her nest, will pick up 

 sundry articles, like straws, grass, leaves, etc., and throw 

 them over her back toward the nest, and sometimes, mis- 

 led by the trail, she will throw these things in the wrong 

 direction, but as soon as she discovers this, she faces 

 about and throws them again over her l)ack toward the 

 nest. Then, while she is sitting, she reaches out and 

 draws all these different articles lying near toward her, 

 and arranges them in such a manner that before the 

 young appear the nest is quite a deep affair and sur- 

 rounded by a neat border. The number of eggs is 

 about a dozen, sometimes a few less, or even more, with 

 a ground color varying from a pale to a reddish buff, 

 spotted and blotched with marks of various sizes, of a 

 reddish brown or burnt umber color. Occasionally an 

 unspotted ^^^ may appear, and in a large series there is 

 a very great variation in both color and markings. 

 Only one brood is raised in a season, and the chicks are 

 exceedingly pretty creatures, buflfy yellow, with pale 

 brown back and wings and sundry black marks on other 

 parts of the body. The mother shows great courage in 

 their defense, fluttering close to anyone who approaches 

 her brood, and will almost permit herself to be touched 

 with the hand as she crouches with ruffled feathers, or 

 stumbles along in front of the intruder on her privacy. 



The flesh of this Grouse is dark, and in the winter be- 

 comes at times very bitter, and is never as well flavored 

 as that of the various Dusky or RufTed Grouse. Still it 

 is not to be despised and is often a welcome addition to 

 the camp larder, when the bracing air of the woods and 

 healthful exercise have produced an appetite that requires 

 no sauce to make the food palatable. The young are 



