DIFFERENTIAL POINTS: 



When the nest and eggs are found in the woods, it is hardly possible to mistake them so character- 

 istic are the location and construction of the nest, and the size, shape, and color of the eggs. 



A single egg, when separated from its natural surroundings, may also generally be readily recognized 

 by its color, shape, and size. 



REMARKS : 



The eggs illustrated, were taken from three nests, and represent the usual sizes and colors of the 

 shell. Although the Ruffed Grouse is being rapidly driven to the dense woods of the uncultivated 

 hills of the State, yet a few remain in nearly every large tract of woodland in the most densely peopled 

 districts. In Pickaway County, within a radius of ten miles, there are generally six or seven broods 

 raised each year. I occasionally run across a nest or an old bird with young. 



The mother-bird feigns lameness when she sees her brood in danger; and it is a beautiful sight to 

 see an old bird scatter her little ones in the underbrush, and by her numerous devices endeavor to 

 draw the intruder from the spot. 



The young are very sensitive to cold and wet, and many of them are draggled to death during 

 heavy rains. But when grown there is no bird superior in activity and hardihood, and their pursuit is 

 one of the most delightful sports of the State. The following account of the Ruffed Grouse has been 

 prepared, by request, by Dr. N. E. Jones: 



" Hearest thou that bird? 

 I listened, and from 'midst the depth of woods 

 Heard the love signal of the Grouse that wears 

 A sable ruff around his mottled neck : 

 Partridge they call him by our northern streams, 

 And pheasant by the "Delaware. He beats 

 'Gainst his barred sides his speckled wings, and makes 

 A sound like distant thunder ; slow the strokes 

 At first, then fast and faster, till at length 

 They pass into a murmur, and are still." 



The Ruffed Grouse is usually found in woodland having thick undergrowth, and inhabits alike 

 craggy mountain sides, rocky ravines, and low borders of rivers and streams. 



This Grouse may be briefly described as having a brown bill, crested head, hazel eyes, naked tarsi, 

 grayish feet with the two anterior toes joined at the base and to the first joint. It measures from bill 

 to end of tail, sixteen to nineteen inches — from tip to tip of wings twenty-three to twenty-four inches, 

 and its tail measures six and a half to seven inches. Its weight is one and a half to one and three- 

 fourths pounds. The plumage is variegated rufous brown. On the back it is grayish and rufous brown 

 with numerous oblong pale black-edged spots: — on the sides and belly lighter shades, with blotches of 

 brown and gray, edged with black: — the neck has an admixture of white, yellow, black and biwvn, and 

 is ornamented with a tuft of long black or brown glossy feathers on either side which gives to the bird 

 its distinctive name. The tail is usually composed of eighteen principal feathers of a rufous brown marked 

 near their extremities with a broad black or brown zone between two narrow bands of light grayish- 

 brown speckled with black. The dark broad band is about three-fourths of an inch wide, while the light 

 grayish band, which is at the terminal end of the feathers, is about half an inch in width; and the other 

 light border-band is nearly half the width of the latter joined to a black or brown margin upon the 

 basal side. These light-gray or ash-colored bands extend across all the feathers of the tail alike, while 



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