1%6 AMERICAN GAME BIRD SHOOTING. 
gizzard—a statement which is true in a particular sense, 
for this organ is as soft as that of birds of prey, and is 
almost totally unlike the hard, dense apparatus of ordi- 
nary gallinaceous birds. 
Living principally on the leaves of the so-called wild 
sage (Artemisia tridentata), its flesh has a peculiarly bit- 
ter taste, which makes it anything but pleasant, even to 
the palate of a hungry man; but if the bird is ‘“‘ drawn” 
immediately after being shot, and some onions and a slice 
or two of lemon are placed in the abdominal cavity ere it 
is roasted, the acrid flavor is modified to such an extent 
that even a fastidious person might partake of it without 
much grumbling. The flesh of both old and young is 
dry and black, so that it is not much sought after, even 
by hunters. Their opinion of its merits may be readily 
inferred from the names they apply to it, which vary 
from ‘‘ Injun killer” to ‘‘ walking quinine” and “ feath- 
ered sage-tea.” The birds are said to prefer the leaves 
of the artemisia to grain, and to be able to remain 
without water a long time. The latter statement may 
be readily believed, for I have seen them in sterile re- 
gions where no water was to be found for miles, yet they 
were as lively and cheerful as they could well be. They 
may, like the prairie chickens, be content to quench 
their thirst with sips of the morning or evening dew, 
where streams or tarns are scarce. 
This species never takes to trees, and when alarmed 
it tries to escape by skulking in the sage, rather than by 
fight. When it does take to the wing, however, it rises 
with a loud and heavy whirr, after uttering its notes of 
fear, and frequently flies quite a long distance before 
alighting. It is, as a rule, so tame that it will allow a 
person to approach to within a few feet before it thinks 
of running away. It is almost as familiar as a barn-yard 
fowl, and as easily killed. 
The pairing season commences in March or April, ac- 
