356 Roosevelt Wild Life Bulletin 



THE DRUMMING HABIT OF THE RUFFED GROUSE 



Theories as to the Drumming Sound. The early ornithologists, 

 — Audubon, Wilson, Nuttall, — as, indeed, their followers until a 

 recent date, had only their several theories as to just how the 

 drumming sound was produced. One thought the wings beat the 

 bird's sides ; another, the breast or, again, that the wings struck 

 together above the back. It is about fifteen years since the publi- 

 cation by the present writer of the first, or one of the first, photo- 

 graphs to appear in print of a Ruffed Grouse in the act of drum- 

 ming; also a life drawing and a description of the drumming, as 

 seen in the woods (Sawyer, '08). Sepia copies of the drawing 

 were distributed separately. From time to time for the past several 

 years have appeared descriptive articles, illustrated with photographs, 

 on the same subject. I think the most complete series of photo- 

 graphs I have seen in print are those by Vreeland, illustrating " The 

 Drumming of the Ruffed Grouse" (Vreeland, '18). Yet much 

 remains to be said of this phenomenon, owing to a still persisting 

 haze of doubt about it, together with certain widely accepted points 

 of misinformation. Professor Hodge, working with captive Grouse, 

 said the sound was produced by virtue of certain so-called feather- 

 cushions (Hodge, '05, p. 644). As for the latter theory it may be 

 sufficient to note that close examination of a Ruffed Grouse fails 

 to reveal any special development of the body plumage. If it was 

 meant that a certain area of the plumage is merely acted on as a 

 sound-producing cushion, yet that would still be mere theory and 

 remain to be demonstrated. 



Perhaps the most complete and interesting account we have had 

 is that entitled " Some Notes on the Drumming of the Ruffed 

 Grouse" (Tuttle, '19, '20). Mr. Tuttle relates his many observa- 

 tions at Huron Mountain, Michigan, from April 7 to 13, and at 

 Simsbury, Connecticut, from April 15 to May 21. He illustrates 

 his detailed description of the drumming with an excellent photo- 

 graph of a drumming Grouse. Discussing the drumming, this 

 observer calls attention to the inflated air sacs of related species and 

 adds — " It does not seem to me at all impossible that the sound- 

 carrying power of the drumming of Bonasa may in part be traced to 

 an inflation of the rudimentary sacs which it possesses " ( '19, p. 337). 

 However, it is not obvious to the present writer that these rudi- 

 mentary sacs, located as they are on the neck of the bird, could 

 exert any considerable influence on the drumming sound. The 

 wings, which all observers agree are the main consideration, have 

 no contact with the neck in any part of the drumming. Mr. Tuttle 

 believes the wings do not strike together bebind the back of the bird. 

 In this I quite agree with him. Commenting further on this point 

 Mr. Tuttle writes, " Should it be proved that the wings do meet, it 

 would still be difficult to prove that the sound was produced by their 

 contact, rather than by the forward stroke against the air" ('19, p. 

 335). He is quite correct as regards the difficulty in determining 

 how much of the sound would be attributable to the striking- tosrether 



