CHAPTER II. 
THE PINNATED GROUSE. 
Grouse—Their haunts—Differences between the European and American 
species—How to distinguish each genus—The prairie fowl—Gen- 
eral hue—Pugnacious males—The use of the gular sacs—Birds 
breed in captivity—Ariifices of the female to protect her yourg— 
Her signal of danger—Increase in the number of grouse—The 
color of the flesh changed by frosty weather—The shooting season 
—Haunts of the birds—Marking them down on the prairie—How 
dogs should be trained—The Texas variety of pinnated grouse— 
Shooting from an open carriage—The best grouse regions—Num- 
ber of prairie fowl destroyed annually—A stirring scene—Sir 
Thomas More’s opinion of sport—A Western Diana—A day with 
the prairie chickens—Rivals in the field—A runaway—Good luck— 
How we spent St. Prairie Chicken Day. 
Grouse are more abundant in Canada and the United 
States than in any other part of the world, especially in 
the western and north-western divisions, where they still 
have plenty of room, both in the forest and on the 
prairie, in which to thrive and multiply. Of the various 
species and their varieties known on the American Con- 
tinent, the prairie fowl and the sharp-tailed grouse are 
confined to prairies; the sage-cock is a denizen of the 
sterile plains where artemisia prevails; the ptarmigans 
frequent the more arctic portions of the country and 
the snowy mountains; and those placed under the head 
of Canace and Bonasa inhabit wooded regions. 
The American species of wood grouse are considered to 
be generically distinct from the Zetraonine of Europe, 
taking the capercailzie (7. uwrogallus) as the type, as the 
latter has a high, compressed, and light-colored bill, 
lengthened and stiffened feathers on the head and neck, 
and metallic colors. The Canace proper, which is repre- 
sented by the spruce-grouse, has its nearest analogue in 
