36 GROUSE FAMILY, 



week. According to Wilson, they are also still met with among 

 the scrub-oak and pine-hills of Pocono, in Northampton 

 county, Pennsylvania. They are also rather common through- 

 out the barrens of Kentucky and on the prairies of Indiana, 

 and as far south as Nashville in Tennessee, but I believe no- 

 where more abundant than on the plains of Missouri, whence 

 they continue to the Rocky Mountains. Dislike of moisture, 

 as with the Turkey, but principally the nature of their food, 

 appears to influence them in the choice of their resort. The 

 small acorns of the dwarf- oaks, and various kinds of '"ild fruits, 

 as strawberries, whortleberries, and partridge-berries, with oc- 

 casional insects abounding in these wooded thickets, appear 

 to be the principal inducement to their residence ; from which 

 they rarely wander at any season, unless compelled by a failure 

 of their usual food, and so become, notwithstanding the almost 

 inaccessible nature of the ground, a sure prey to the greedy 

 and exterminating hunter. In the Western States, where they 

 appear as an abundant species, they are at times observed to 

 traverse the plains and even cross extensive rivers in quest of 

 the means of subsistence. In winter they likewise feed on 

 buds as well as mast, sometimes swallowing leaves, and occa- 

 sionally the buds of the pine. At times, if convenient, they 

 have been known to visit the buckwheat field for their fare, 

 or even devour the leaves of clover. In wintry storms they 

 seek shelter by perching in the evergreens ; but in spring and 

 summer they often roost on the ground in company. They 

 feed mostly in the morning and evening ; and when they can 

 stir abroad without material molestation, they often visit arable 

 lands in the vicinity of their retreats. In the inclemency of 

 winter, like the Quail, they approach the barn, basking and 

 perching on the fences, occasionally venturing to mix with the 

 poultry in their repast, and are then often taken in traps. 



The season for pairing is early in the spring, in March or 

 April. At this time the behavior of the male becomes remark- 

 able. Early in the morning he comes forth from his bushy 

 roost and struts about with a curving neck, raising his ruff, ex- 

 panding his tail like a fan, and seeming to mimic the ostenta- 



