QUAIL, GROUSE, ETC. 167 



grouse. Certain portions of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas 

 are the haunts of the rare and smaller form, known as the 

 lesser prairie chicken. 



The prairie chicken, or pinnated grouse, like the tur- 

 keys, are polygamous. In August the young and old con- 

 gregate in droves, numbering from a dozen to upwards of a 

 hundred. Over the grain and stubble fields and into plowed 

 ground these flocks forage from early fall until the first 

 spring thaws. In JNIarch and earlj' April they begin to 

 disband, and the males may then be heard "booming" at 

 sum'ise from some elevated spot exposed on all sides. The 

 cocks have a small patch of loose skin on either side of the 

 neck, which they are capable of inflating with air until these 

 bare spots swell to the size of a large crabapple, resembling 

 little oranges. While the males are filling and emptying 

 these pouches the head is lowered and the wings partially 

 spread and drooping. Several cocks assume this posture 

 simultaneously, each facing the others and booming alter- 

 nately. At this juncture it is not an unfamiliar sight to see 

 a hen fly directly in their midst, when a battle royal ensues. 

 Perhaps the madam has just left a setting of nine to 

 eighteen eggs, but she soon leaves the rivals to their comical 

 antics. 



The nest is usually prepared in a sheltered spot, under a 

 clump of dead weeds or a bunch of weather-beaten grass, or 

 at the base of a small bush or shrub. The parent scratches 

 a slight hollow in the earth, lining it with dead vegetation 

 and a few feathers from her own breast. The first egg is 

 laid sometimes as early as April 20th, but usually during 

 the forepart of JNIay. The period of incubation is three 



