214 The Grouse Family 



During the period of courtship the male sage- 

 grouse fairly out-Romeos Romeo, his great size- 

 only adding to the absurdity of his antics. But, 

 mercifully, female taste exhibits that infinite variety 

 which gives every fellow a chance. The pairing 

 season begins early in March, and the males strut 

 with an earnestness positively ludicrous. Then 

 the big air-sacs are filled to their fullest capacity, 

 the spiny feathers about them bristle out like 

 thorns, the long tail is spread and the wings 

 trailed. One familiar with the noise of other 

 grouse naturally would expect from this great 

 fellow a thunderous booming, but the fact is the 

 sounds produced amounts to nothing more than 

 a broken, indistinct croaking. However, foolish 

 though he looks, and poor though his vocal efforts 

 be, the females are willing to endure the ills they 

 see rather than fly to others that they wot not of. 



The nest is a mere hollow under some sage 

 bush, and occasionally a trifle of light stuff and a 

 few feathers are added by way of lining. The 

 eggs are large and sage-buff in color, marked with 

 brown. So far as the writer is aware no two of 

 them are exactly alike, and there is a considerable 

 variation in the ground color. A man handling 

 the eggs with warm, moist hands, may be some- 

 what astonished to find the color coming off. 

 This, however, is not confined to the eggs of this 

 species. The number of eggs varies greatly, the 



