lO 



knew him well ; and a half-dozen boys, who 



owned guns and were eager to join the 



(3f/)e O/'BeecA hunters' ranks, had a shooting acquaintance 



^Ta'fr/dge with him. He was known far and wide as 



5^ " the ol' beech pa'tridge." That he was old 



no one could deny who knew his ways and 



his devices ; and he was frequently scared up 



in a beech wood by a brook, a couple of miles 



out of the village. 



Spite of much learned discussion as to 

 different varieties of grouse, due to marked 

 variations in coloring, I think personally that 

 we have but one variety, and that differences 

 in color are due largely to the different sur- 

 roundings in which they live. Of all birds 

 the grouse is most invisible when quiet, his 

 coloring blends so perfectly with the roots 

 and leaves and tree stems among which he 

 hides. This wonderful invisibility is increased 

 by the fact that he changes color easily. He 

 is darker in summer, lighter in winter, like 

 the rabbit. When he lives in dark woods he 

 becomes a glossy red-brown ; and when his 

 haunt is among the birches he is often a 

 decided gray. 



