AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY 



99 



Photo by C. A. Reed. 

 Ruffed Grouse. 



(This is the same bird that is figured in the following drumming pictures). 



I DRUMMING OF THE RUFFED GROUSE. > 



By C. F. Hodge. 



The day was April 14^ when my grouse cock first drummed for me. I had 

 raised him from an egg taken from the woods the May before; and when he 

 began to strut and show off his fine new feathers in September, I thought 

 he ought to begin to drum any minute and told him so in so many words. I 

 kept on telling him so nearly every day for all the intervening months, but 

 he would just feed out of my hand and strut and look at me as much as to 

 say: "I'll drum all right, when I get good and ready." 



On the above date hope and patience had about given out. I went to the 

 cage to see him about it at five o'clock in the morning, and there he was 

 wasting his time, as usual, strutting around before his favorite little hen. 

 "I'll just take her away from you and see if you'll have sense enough to 

 drum, then, you old loafer;" I said. No sooner said than done, and I had 

 hardly time to turn around, before he sprang on a bit of stone wall, straight- 

 ened up like the true "drum-major" that he was and the soft morning air 

 began to throb as if it were alive. He was drumming at last ! 



I was glad to have a bird that would dram and not be afraid of me so that 

 I could see exactly how it is done and get some photographs of the curious 

 performance. How many of my readers have heard a grouse drum.^ How 

 many have seen him drum.^ How many know just how he does it? Well, 

 to one who knows it. this is one of the most thrilling sounds in nature; and I 



