THE SAGE COCK. 177 
cording to the character of the climate of the country it 
inhabits. The males win their brides by adeep, guttural 
song, which sounds like whirr-whirr-whirr-hoo-hoo, and 
by parading their forms before them, much as gobblers 
do before the turkey hens. They spread the tail into a 
fan-like shape, inflate the neck and air sacs to the fullest 
possible limit, lower the wings and sweep the ground 
with them, and wheel and strut and sing until they have 
been accepted. They are the most assiduous of gallants, 
and to persons of a certain temperament they seem lu- 
dicrously ‘‘spooney,” for their many attitudes, pompous 
airs, and indefatigable calling and parading, are more 
suggestive of ridiculous ‘‘softness” than dignified woo- 
ing. When mates have been chosen, the female builds a 
rude nest on the ground, generally under the shelter of a 
sage-bush, and lays from ten to twenty eggs in it, and 
when the young are hatched she devotes all her atten- 
tion to them, and fights bravely in their defence, if ne- 
cessary. Their greatest enemies are foxes, coyotes, 
badgers, weasels, and other predaceous quadrupeds, for 
these do not hesitate to gobble them up whenever they 
get the chance, their taste not being refined enough to 
object to the flavor of sage. As food and shelter are 
abundant, most of the chickens must live to adult age, 
notwithstanding the number of their foes, if one were to 
judge from their profusion on the Western plains and 
plateaus. The mothers and their broods keep together 
until the approach of cold weather, then join the males, 
and form into large packs, which often number several 
hundred. They become wild at this time, and are easily 
flushed, but, after alighting, they prefer trying to escape 
by running and skulking,-rather than by flying. Not 
being deemed fit for the table, few persons kill them, 
except Indians. These frequently snare them in large 
numbers, especially in severe winters, when food is scarce, 
for anything edible, from a polecat to a rat, is welcome 
