﻿BIRDS 
  OF 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  37 
  1 
  

  

  the 
  most 
  acute 
  distress 
  when 
  her 
  chicks 
  are 
  in 
  danger 
  and 
  flutters 
  about 
  or 
  

   limps 
  along 
  as 
  if 
  witli 
  broken 
  wing 
  until 
  she 
  has 
  lured 
  the 
  intruder 
  away 
  

   from 
  her 
  A'oung, 
  when 
  she 
  flies 
  off 
  into 
  the 
  forest 
  and 
  returns 
  to 
  her 
  brood 
  

   by 
  a 
  circuitous 
  route. 
  On 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  occasions 
  when 
  the 
  mother 
  grouse 
  

   saw 
  that 
  her 
  ruse 
  was 
  of 
  no 
  avail, 
  I 
  have 
  actually 
  been 
  attacked 
  by 
  her 
  and 
  

   driven 
  from 
  the 
  locality. 
  She 
  charges 
  w4th 
  ruffs 
  and 
  hackle 
  feathers 
  thrown 
  

   high 
  up 
  like 
  a 
  mane 
  about 
  her 
  head, 
  her 
  tail 
  and 
  w4ngs 
  spread, 
  to 
  beat 
  the 
  

   intruder 
  w'ith 
  her 
  powerful 
  wing 
  strokes. 
  The 
  A^oung 
  can 
  fl}- 
  W'hen 
  they 
  are 
  

   as 
  large 
  as 
  small 
  robins 
  and 
  soon 
  learn 
  to 
  alight 
  in 
  thick 
  trees 
  and 
  remain 
  

   motionless 
  while 
  danger 
  is 
  near. 
  The 
  grouse 
  utters 
  a 
  subdued 
  cluck, 
  and 
  

   when 
  startled 
  makes 
  a 
  plaintive 
  sound 
  "resembling 
  the 
  whining 
  of 
  young 
  

   puppies." 
  

  

  Food. 
  When 
  3'oung 
  they 
  feed 
  almost 
  entirely 
  on 
  insects, 
  being 
  very 
  

   fond 
  of 
  grasshoppers, 
  beetles, 
  ants 
  and 
  various 
  kinds 
  of 
  leaf 
  eating 
  larvae. 
  

   Late 
  in 
  summer 
  they 
  feed 
  largely 
  on 
  berries 
  of 
  all 
  kinds, 
  the 
  leaves 
  of 
  clover, 
  

   strawberr\' 
  and 
  the 
  tender 
  shoots 
  of 
  plants, 
  especially 
  beech 
  drops 
  and 
  the 
  

   3'oung 
  leaves 
  of 
  wintergreen. 
  In 
  the 
  fall 
  they 
  are 
  fond 
  of 
  beech 
  nuts, 
  

   chestnuts, 
  small 
  acorns 
  and 
  haw 
  berries, 
  or 
  the 
  fruit 
  of 
  the 
  Crataegus; 
  and 
  

   in 
  winter 
  subsist 
  principally 
  on 
  the 
  buds 
  of 
  birch, 
  poplar, 
  and 
  apple 
  trees, 
  

   often 
  traveling 
  a 
  distance 
  of 
  50 
  or 
  100 
  rods 
  to 
  visit 
  isolated 
  trees 
  late 
  in 
  

   the 
  afternoon 
  to 
  feed 
  on 
  the 
  buds. 
  The 
  grouse 
  seems 
  to 
  be 
  partial 
  to 
  

   leaves 
  with 
  pungent 
  flavor, 
  like 
  wintergreen, 
  m.int, 
  sorrel, 
  birch, 
  and 
  

   various 
  kinds 
  of 
  berries, 
  which 
  impart 
  a 
  peculiar 
  gamey 
  flavor 
  to 
  its 
  flesh, 
  

   and, 
  it 
  is 
  said, 
  when 
  it 
  has 
  fed 
  for 
  some 
  time 
  on 
  the 
  mountain 
  laurel, 
  becomes 
  

   bitter 
  or 
  even 
  poisonous. 
  

  

  Roosting. 
  When 
  the 
  chicks 
  are 
  young 
  they 
  sleep 
  on 
  the 
  ground 
  

   brooded 
  by 
  the 
  hen, 
  but 
  when 
  they 
  are 
  able 
  to 
  fly 
  they 
  roost 
  in 
  trees 
  at 
  

   a 
  hight 
  of 
  from 
  8 
  to 
  20 
  feet, 
  the 
  more 
  easily 
  to 
  avoid 
  their 
  numerous 
  enemies. 
  

   During 
  the 
  coldest 
  weather 
  I 
  have 
  found 
  grouse 
  roosting 
  both 
  on 
  the 
  ground 
  

   and 
  in 
  dense 
  pines 
  or 
  hemlocks, 
  but 
  in 
  snowy 
  and 
  stormy 
  weather 
  they 
  

   usually 
  sleep 
  in 
  the 
  snow, 
  at 
  the 
  foot 
  of 
  a 
  tree 
  or 
  stump, 
  but 
  not 
  among 
  

   the 
  thick 
  brush, 
  and 
  are 
  frequently 
  buried 
  in 
  the 
  snow 
  to 
  a 
  depth 
  of 
  several 
  

   inches, 
  as 
  may 
  be 
  seen 
  by 
  examining 
  the 
  roosting 
  holes 
  which 
  they 
  have 
  

  

  