QUAIL, GROUSE, ETC. 161 



and in winter they will Ry from tree to tree, and often 

 there are plenty in the pines, when not a track can be found 

 in the snow. 



The size of the dusky grouse is nearly twice that of 

 the ruffed grouse, a full-grown bird weighing from three 

 to four pounds. The feathers are very thick, and it seems 

 fitly dressed to endure the vigor of its habitat, which is in 

 the Rocky Mountain and Sierra Nevada country only, and 

 in the pine forests from five to ten thousand feet above the 

 level of the sea. The latter height is generally about the 

 snow line in these regions. Although the weather in the 

 mountains is often mild and pleasant in winter, and espe- 

 cially healthy and agreeable from the dryness and purity 

 of the atmosphere, yet the cold is sometimes intense. 



This grouse nests on the ground, often under slielter of 

 a hollow log or projecting rock, with merely a few pine 

 needles scratched together. From eight to fifteen eggs 

 are laid, of buff or cream color, marked all over with round 

 spots of umber-brown. 



THE CANADA GROUSE * 



The Canada Grouse, also called the Spruce Partridge, 

 frequents the evergreen forests and swamps and the 

 shrubby areas of British America east of the Rocky Moun- 

 tains, and in Alaska it is a resident of the Pacific Coast. 

 In its southern flights it seldom passes beyond the latitude 

 of the northern portion of New England and Minnesota. 



The Canada grouse, like all the related species, is a 

 bird of rapid flight. The feathers of their small wings are 

 stiff, causing a whirring sound during flight. The male 



