70 THE INDUSTRIES OF ANIMALS. 



endeavours to attract an enemy's attention and feigns 

 to be wounded in order to decoy him away from her 

 young. This trick is adopted especially by birds. In 

 illustration of this it will be sufficient to quote from 

 Bendire's Life Histories of North American Birds 

 some observations by Mr. Ernest Thompson of 

 Toronto, regarding the Canadian Ruffled Grouse 

 {Bonasa umbellus togatd), commonly called the Part- 

 ridge by Canadians : — " Every field man must be 

 acquainted with the simulation of lameness, by which 

 many birds decoy or try to decoy intruders from their 

 nests. This is an invariable device of the Partridge, 

 and I have no doubt that it is quite successful with 

 the natural foes of the bird ; indeed it is often so with 

 Man. A dog, as I have often seen, is certain to be 

 misled and duped, and there is little doubt that a 

 mink, skunk, racoon, fox, coyote, or wolf would fare 

 no better. Imagine the effects of the bird's tactics 

 on a prowling fox : he has scented her as she sits ; he 

 is almost upon her, but she has been watching him, 

 and suddenly, with a loud whirr,' she springs up and 

 tumbles a few yards before him. The suddenness 

 and noise with which the bird appears cause the fox 

 to be totally carried away; he forgets all his former 

 experience, he never thinks of the eggs, his mind is 

 filled with the thought of the wounded bird almost 

 within his reach ; a few more bounds and his 

 meal will be secured. So he springs and springs, 

 and very nearly catches her, and in his excitement 

 he is led on, and away, till finally the bird flies 

 off, leaving him a quarter of a mile or more from 

 the nest. 



" If instead of eggs the Partridge has chicks, she 

 does not await the coming of the enemy, but runs to 



