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FES 4 1916 



A BI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE 



DEVOTED TO THE STUDY AND PROTECTION OF BIRDS 



Official Organ of The Audubon Societies 



Vol. XVIII 



January — February, 1916 



No. 1 



Some Canadian Grouse 



By H. H. PITTMAN, Wauchope. Saskatchewan 

 With photographs by H. and E. Pittman 



K 



CCORDING lo the official list, 

 Canada has many species of 

 Grouse, but the ranges of some 

 of tJiem are so difficult of access that 

 the average traveler or settler is hardly 

 likely to meet with all of them. The 

 four dealt with in this article are, per- 

 haps, the best-known members of the 

 family, and the ones most likely to be 

 seen during a tour through the country. 

 Two are birds of the plains, and two 

 are to be found in the woods and forests. 

 The commonest species on the plains 

 in southern Manitoba and Saskatche- 

 wan is the Prairie Sharp-tailed Grouse 

 {PedioccBtes phasianellus campestris) 

 which derives its name from the fact 

 that the feathers of the tail are graduated so that the middle ones come to 

 a point. In the two provinces mentioned I have found these birds very 

 plentiful, and have seen coveys which must have contained at least fifty or 

 sixty individuals, on many occasions. These birds are also found in Alberta, 

 but, possibly through not knowing the province so well, I have not seen so 

 many there. 



The courtship of the Prairie Sharp-tailed Grouse is extremely interesting 

 to watch. They have regular meeting-places, generally on bare knolls, and here 

 coveys of the birds assemble day after day throughout the spring. When not 

 resting, the males spend their time displaying to the hens, strutting and danc- 



PRAIRTE SHARP -TAILED GROUSE 

 SUNNING THEMSELVES ON A SNOW- 

 COVERED HAYSTACK IN MIDWINTER. 



