FRANKLIN'S GROUSE. 



107 



without creating an alarm, or causing the br ^h t make 

 any attempt at flight. Of course nothing but ihc neces- 

 sity of obtaining food for the camp would excuse such 

 thorough slaughter, for certainly there was no sport in 

 shooting creatures that would not get out of the way, 

 nor rarely make an attempt to fly, and it seemed a 

 pity to kill birds for the pot that were so rare in all orni- 

 thological collections. A pair obtained on one of these 

 occasions, I am glad to think, is now in the collection of 

 the American Museum of Natural History in New York. 

 The males of Franklin's Grouse are like their relatives 

 of the other species, pugnacious creatures, attacking 

 almost anything, and very fearless. This trait is of 

 course exhibited chiefly during the mating season, but 

 they are quite ready to act on the offensive or defensive 

 at any time. They have also the same habit as the 

 Spruce Grouse of erecting the feathers just below the 

 head, making the birds appear very odd, and the males 

 strut in a similar way as that already described in the 

 article on the other species. This Grouse appears not 

 to go far from water, and when in the forest, if not in pre- 

 cisely a swamp, the birds would always be found in some 

 wet spot, or near a brook or spring. 



Franklin's Grouse is a thorough mountaineer, living at 

 altitudes varying all the way from 5000 to 10,000 feet, 

 and it is only occasionally that it descends much below 

 the first-named elevation. Wherever found there it re- 

 sides and breeds, raising the young brood probably in the 

 same locality where the parents themselves grew to 

 maturity. It is not rare in the places it frequents, but is 

 often met with in considerable numbers; not in large 

 flocks, but numerous coveys scattered over a con- 

 siderable area. From its trustful nature and consequent 

 reluctance to save itself by flight, a great many are killed 



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