496 PINNATED GROUS. 



confining part of the angle, and almost at the same moment a gi'eat num- 

 ber of others arose, and, with much noise, followed the same direction. 

 At a signal, the poles were laid flat on the ground, and we secured the pri- 

 soners, bagging some dozens. Repeating our experiment three times in 

 succession, we met with equal success, but now we gave up the sport on 

 account of the loud bursts of laughter from the Negroes, who could no 

 longer refrain. Leaving the net on the ground, we returned to the house 

 laden with spoil, but next evening not a Grous was to be found in the 

 meadow, although I am confident that several hundreds had escaped. , 



On the ground the Pinnated Grous exhibits none of the elegance of 

 manner observed in the Ruffed Grous, but walks more like the Common 

 Hen, although in a more erect attitude. If surprised, it rises at once 

 with a moderate whirring sound of the wings ; but if it happens to see 

 you at a distance, and the place is clear, it instantly runs off" with consi- 

 derable speed, and stops at the first tuft of high glass or bunch of briar, 

 when it squats, and remains until put up. In newly ploughed grounds 

 I have seen them run with all their might, their wings partially expanded, 

 until suddenly meeting with a large clod, they would stop, squat, and dis- 

 appear in a moment. During the noontide hours, several may often be 

 seen dusting themselves near each other, either on the ploughed fields or 

 the dry sandy roads, and rearranging their feathers in a moment, in the 

 same manner as the Wild Turkey. Like the Common Fowls, they watch 

 each other's motions, and if one has discovered a grasshopper, and is about 

 to chase it, all the rest within sight of it either fly or run up to the place. 

 When the mother of a brood is found with her young ones, she instantly 

 ruffles up her feathers, and often looks as if she would fly at you ; but 

 this she never ventures to do, although she tries every art to decoy you 

 from the place. On large branches of trees these birds walk with great 

 ease, but on small ones they require the aid of their wngs to enable them 

 to walk steadily. They usually, if not always, roost singly within a few 

 feet of each other, and on such little eminences as the ground affords. I 

 have found them invariably fronting the wind, or the quarter from which 

 it was to blow. It is only during the early age of the young birds that 

 they sit on the ground in a circle. 



The flight of the Prairie Hen is strong, regular, tolerably swift, and 

 at times protracted to the distance of several miles. The whirring of its 

 wings is less conspicuous than that of the Ruffed Grous or " Pheasant" 

 (Tetrao uv^hellus), and its flight is less rapid. It moves through the 



