HABITS Of THE RUFFED GROUSE, 



163 



the quickest and straightest aim to bring it to bag, 

 nor are they much inferior to the Oriental favourite 

 in beauty of plumage. 



The ruffed grouse a little exceeds the red grouse 

 in size, being almost eighteen inches in length, is 

 very handsome and upright in form, of a beautiful 

 rich chestnut brown colour, variegated with grey 

 and dark impressions, and pencillings on the back, 

 breast, and neck. The tail is grey with a black bar 

 across it near its termination, and is generally carried, 

 when the owner is not on the wing, open like a fan. 

 On the top of the head there is a slight crest, and 

 down each side of the neck are curious fan-shaped 

 tufts of glossy black-brown, velvet-looking feathers. 

 In April the birds pair, but I should imagine from the 

 seasons in the northern portion of the United States 

 and Canada being more backward than our own, if 

 they were introduced here they would do so a month 

 earlier. They lay from ten to sixteen eggs, their 

 nest, which is a primitive one, being generally 

 secreted in brush, or under the shelter of a fallen 

 branch. They are most afi*ectionate parents, and use 

 the same artifices as the wild duck to draw away 

 intruders from the vicinity of their youthful progeny. 

 This grouse has two distinct calls, one a soft, mellow, 

 prolonged note, generally used in gai--ring up the 

 covey after it has been scattered ; the other an 

 extraordinary drumming sound, made by the cocks 

 in the pairing season, and capable of being heard a 

 great distance in still weather. The latter noise is 

 caused by a rapid vibration of the wings when the 

 male is perched on a fallen tree or stump. Indis- 

 criminately they live on a great variety of food — 

 ants, grubs, elderberries, wild cherries, and grain 

 being their favourite diet. Early in autumn, when 

 the season is fine, particularly in the morning and 

 evening, they will be found in the open cultivation, 

 more especially if there be rough ground with cover 



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