THE PINNATED GROUSE. 85 
leaves of a plant supposed to be a wintergreen; and it is said, when they 
are much pinched, they betake themselves to the buds of the pine. In con- 
venient places, they have been known to enter cleared fields, and regale 
themselves on the leaves of clover; and old gunners have reported that they 
have been known to trespass upon patches of buckwheat, and pick up the 
erains, 
“ Migration. — They are stationary, and never known to quit their abode. 
There are no facts showing in them any disposition to migration, On frosty 
mornings, and during snows, they perch on the upper branches of pine trees. 
They avoid wet and swampy places, and are remarkably attached to dry 
ground. The low and open brush is preferred to high shrubbery and thick- 
ets. Into these latter places they fly for refuge when closely pressed by the 
hunters; and here, under a stiff and impenetrable cover, they escape the 
pursuit of dogs and men. Water is so seldom met with on the true grouse 
ground, that it is necessary to carry it along for the pointers to drink. The 
flights of grouse are short, but sudden, rapid, and whirring. I have not 
heard of any success in taming them. They seem to resist all attempts at 
domestication. In this, as well as in many other respects, they resemble the 
quail of New York, or the partridge of Pennsylvania. 
® Manners. — During the period of mating, and while the females are occu- 
pied in incubation, the males have a practice of assembling principally by 
themselves. To some select and central spot, where there is very little un- 
derwood, they repair from the adjoining district. From the exercise per- 
formed there, this is called a seratching-place. The time of meeting is the 
break of day. As soon as the light appears, the company assembles from 
every side, sometimes to the number of forty or fifty. When the dawn is 
past, the ceremony begins by a low tooting from one of the cocks. This is 
answered by another. They then come forth, one by one, from the bushes, 
and strut about with all the pride and ostentation they can display. Their 
necks are incurvated; the feathers on them are erected into a sort of ruff; 
the plumes of their tails are expanded like fans ; they strut about in a style 
resembling, as nearly as small may be illustrated by great, the pomp of the 
turkey-cock. They seem to vie with each other in stateliness ; and, as they 
pass each other, frequently cast looks of insult, and utter notes of defiance. 
These are the signals for battle. They engage with wonderful spirit and 
fierceness. During these contests, they leap a foot or two from the ground, 
and utter a cackling, screaming, and discordant ery. 
“They have been found in these places of resort even earlier than the 
appearance of light in the east. This fact has led to the belief that a part 
of them assemble over night. The rest join them in the morning. This 
leads to the further belief that they roost on the ground; and the opinion is 
NO. XIII. 64 . 
