152 TETRAONID^. 



lies deep on the ground they are of course unable to 

 obtain the latter, and generally sit perched up in the 

 leafless trees : an unusual position for a grouse! 



Their usual habit is to roost in a circle on the 

 ground, though single birds will sometimes perch on a 

 tree, even in summer. Why is it that in the New 

 World we see grouse, snipe, and ducks sitting on the 

 branches of trees, to the confusion of all scientific classi- 

 fication? 



The packs of Prairie-hen which remain unbroken at 

 the end of the season, or others collecting together from 

 all quarters in immense numbers, often form a sort of 

 "yard" in the snow, squatting closely together at night, 

 as the quail do under similar circumstances. At such 

 times the whole of them may be easily netted at once, 

 and it is principally in this way, I fear, that the birds now 

 so largely sent to the English market, packed in barrels 

 with bran, are obtained by Yankee dealers. An erro- 

 neous impression prevails among many in this country 

 with regard to the supposed poisonous state of the flesh 

 of the Prairie-hen at certain seasons of the year. Such, 

 hoAvever, is not the case, as they do not feed on anything 

 of a deleterious nature. The error has ai-isen from con- 

 founding this bird with another of the same family, and 

 also North-American, namely, the Rufi^ed-grouse, which 

 is noticed further on. 



