THE OOLOGIST. 



115 



ing closely at the ground that I might 

 avoid stepping on another one I step- 

 ped forward and picked it up. On 

 straightening up, my eyes fell on an- 

 other one and so on until I had seven 

 in my hands. Not being able to find 

 any more just then I stood quietly 

 awaiting developments. For eight 

 minutes all was still. The old birds 

 seemed to think all was well and kept 

 out of sight in the weeds. Bat sudden- 

 ly there was a faint peep from the 

 grass in front of me answered at once 

 by one of the chicks in my hands. At 

 once Mrs. Grouse came forward through 

 the fence and up as close to the little 

 one as my position admitted. Then 

 turning about she started back cluck- 

 iuQf and whistling in the most persua- 

 sive manner. Out of a clump of grass 

 came a young bird and started to fol- 

 low though several feet behind. Step- 

 ping forward I picked up No. eight. 

 Thf commotion started up as before ex- 

 cept that the male uttered now and 

 then a note not unlike the warning 

 note of a Crow, which seemed calcul- 

 ated to quiet the young. As they did 

 not seem inclined to come closer I 

 placed the little ones in my hat and 

 stepped back. Then the fun com- 

 menced. After making a wide circuit 

 around the hat the female ran swiftly 

 up to it, looked in and fiew off in ter- 

 ror. Solicitude for the safety of her 

 young had brought this wariest of all 

 our birds to approach an object of the 

 most extreme terror to her. But she 

 had seen her little ones and at once re- 

 commenced her tactics to induce them 

 to follow her. The male was now as 

 silent as she had been before. He 

 seemed to think that this kind of work 

 was beneath his dignity. On stepping 

 forward to let them out of my hat I saw 

 the ninth bird sitting out on a patch of 

 clean ground, yet I had overlooked it 

 several times, so closely was it sitting 

 to the ground. I placed them all to- 

 gether on the leaves and stepped back 



a few feet.. Immediately she came for- 

 ward and one by one she coaxed them 

 behind a stump and from there to the 

 fence corner, where she left each one, 

 and strange to relate not one stirred 

 while she went after another. Finally 

 she sat down over them and all was as 

 quiet as could be. Not an indication of 

 that contented peeping which you hear 

 from a brood of common fowl for the 

 little Grouse seemed to realize the grav- 

 ity of the situation. Just one more 

 test and I was ready to leave. How 

 close would she let me come? Slowly I 

 approached but not a feather moved. 

 When within three feet she seemed to 

 rise straight in the air and flying a 

 few feet dropped out of sight in the 

 brus'h. But this time not one chick 

 stirred; All sat just as she left them. 

 Why did they run the first time and sit 

 still the second? Washer note differ- 

 ent or were the little ones responsible 

 for the action? If the Ruffed Grouse 

 was as scarce everywhere as it is in the 

 greater part of Western New York at 

 present, we should not find out much 

 from observation. As it was growing 

 dark I left the little Grouse to their anx- 

 ious parents and started toward home. 

 I never expect to have another equally 

 good chance to study the young of this 

 shy bird and hope that after the foxes, 

 owls and hunters have each had their 

 quota there may be one pair for next 

 year. E. H. Short, 



Gaines, N. Y. 



Woodpeckers and Their Nests. 



I cannot imagine what could have 

 prompted a man to commit such a 

 crime against his own property, but 

 the owner of the fine grove of trees had 

 deadened them all, cutting a girdle of 

 bark from qach of them near the ground 

 and leaving them to die and decay as 

 they stood. 



The dry limbs yielded to time and 

 the elements and cumbered the ground 



