Notes on the Sage Hen. 91 



In a very few years they will occur in South Dakota only as 

 a rare winter straggler from Montana. 



This widespread extermination of the Sage Grouse is in 

 spite of the fact that the flesh of all but the youngest Sage 

 bens tastes so strongly of sage that they are not usually con- 

 sidered edible. Sage hens are somewhat destructive to gar- 

 dens and are sometimes killed as pests. The young, which 

 are easily shot with a 22 rifle, are used extensively as food. 



Polygamy among wild birds is very rare and the Sage 

 Grouse is one of our few examples. The mating dance takes 

 place in April and May and lasts from dawn till well along 

 in the forenoon. Upon an open grassy slope as many as 

 fifty of these stately birds will gather. The cocks walk about 

 with tail widespread and the neck much distended by the 

 inflation of the air sacs. Upon approaching a female the 

 male drags one wing on the ground. From time to time the 

 cock utters a dull ringing note, which can be heard but a 

 very few rods. The females seem to pay little attention to 

 the dance, nor do they select mates in any obvious manner, 

 since several are looked upon with favor during a single 

 morning. 



The nest is made in a slight depression and contains from 

 seven to nine spotted eggs. The young remain with the 

 mother until winter. They spend the night, not on the lower 

 fiats along streams, where most of the day is spent, but on 

 the edge of upland, frequently near the border of a patch of 

 sand grass. The flock sleep within a few feet of each other. 

 The mother clucks to her very young chicks after the same 

 manner as does the domestic hen. 



During the summer the cocks congregate together, while 

 unfortunate females are solitary. Sage hens require drink- 

 ing water and are hence found near waterholes. Since a 

 few small trees are usually found near our permanent pools 

 the most frequent place to find sage hens in the heat of the 

 day is sprawled out in the shade of the single tree, or under 

 a nearbv " cut bank." 



