248 



ORDERS OF BIEDS— UPLAND GAME-BIRDS 



near the foot-hills of the Rocky and Big Horn 

 Mountains. When flushed, it makes the mis- 

 take of its life in alighting in the low, isolated 

 cottonwood-trees that straggle along the creeks, 

 for when thus perched it takes a strong man to 

 resist the temptation to cut off its head with a 

 rifle ball, — or try to do so. This bird will fly 

 out of the most impregnable cover, and perch 

 aloft to be shot at in a manner indicating a 

 total absence of the most ordinary instinct of 

 self-preservation. 



The Sage -Grouse, or " Cock - of - the- 

 Plains," 1 is a superb bird — big, handsome 

 and showy. It is one of the very few creatures 

 which can eat with pleasure and benefit the 

 leaves of the common sage-brush, and subsist 

 upon that food indefinitely. Naturally, how- 

 ever, this diet often imparts to the flesh of the 

 bird an excess of sage flavor which renders it 

 quite unpalatable. On this fact alone, the Sage- 

 Grouse can base a hope of a better fate than that 

 of its more edible relatives in the Grouse Family. 



Of the realty conspicuous members of the 

 Plains fauna, — buffalo, antelope, elk, coyote, 

 gray wolf, swift fox, jack "rabbit," prairie- 

 "dog," and Sage-Grouse, — all have vanished 

 from frequent sight, save the last two, and 

 some have wholly disappeared. In riding in 

 October, 1901, from Miles City to the Missouri 

 River and back, about 250 miles all told, we 

 saw only three coyotes, one gray wolf, and four - 

 prairie-hares. Cotton-tail rabbits abounded in 

 the bad-lands, and we saw about six flocks of 

 Sage-Grouse — a very small number for so much 

 territory. 



One of those flocks, however, was a sight to 

 be remembered. In the valley of the Little 

 Dry, it spread out, in open order, on a level 

 flat that was covered with short, gray buffalo- 

 grass, and dotted here and there with low clumps 

 of sage-brush. Halting the outfit wagon, I 

 slowly rode forward until within thirty feet of 

 the vanguard of the flock. There were in all 

 forty-six birds, and all were on dress parade. 

 They stood proudly erect, headed across the 

 trail, marched forward in a slow and stately 

 manner, and every weather eye was kept on me. 

 The majority were big, long-tailed cocks. 

 At last the parade terminated in the flight of 



1 Cen-tro-cer'ciiK u-ro-phas-i-an'us . Length of 

 male, 27 inches ; female, 22 inches. 



the birds nearest me, gradually followed by all 

 the others. 



In size, the Sage-Grouse is the largest member 

 of the (irouse Family in America, — next in 

 fact to the magnificent black cock of Europe. 

 When a whole flock suddenly rises out of the 

 sage-brush and takes wing, it is an event to 

 remember. The rush and beat of wings makes a 

 startling noise, and the size of the bird is also 

 highly impressive. This grouse is so large that, 

 as it flies away, you see its body rock violently 

 from side to side, and note the effort of the wings 

 to carry the bird, and maintain a true balance. 



The male has an air-sac on each side of its 

 neck, which it inflates in the courting season, 

 when it struts to attract the attention of the 

 females. Recently Mr. Frank Bond has ob- 

 served, and reported in The Auk, that the 

 male also rubs its breast along the ground, as a 

 part of its strutting performance, which accounts 

 for the mysteriously worn condition of the 

 breast-feathers. 



It is no more necessary to describe a Sage- 

 Grouse than an elephant. Its size, and its ex- 

 tremely long and pointed tail proclaim its 

 identity anywhere. According to Mrs. Bailey, 

 it ranges "from Assiniboia and British Columbia 

 to Utah, Nevada and California, from the 

 Sierra Nevadas and Cascades east to the Black 

 Hills, Nebraska and Colorado." I will only 

 add the earnest wish that every one who reads 

 these notes may some day have the pleasure 

 of seeing at close range this glorious bird in its 

 ideal home, — on a sage-brush flat in the land of 

 buttes, where the world is big and free, and full 

 of sunshine. 



The Ptarmigans (pronounced tar'mi-gans) 

 form a sharply distinguished group of the 

 Grouse Family, with which, in view of the dif- 

 ferent species we possess in Alaska, and also 

 nearer home, every American should become 

 acquainted. The most striking and peculiar 

 character about these birds is that at the ap- 

 proach of winter they turn snow-white. They 

 prefer to nest on the tops of rugged mountains, 

 above timber-line, and in Alaska are at home 

 either on the lofty snow-fields of the mountains, 

 or the desolate barrens. 



There are four well-defined species, and six 

 varieties. The only species which is at home 

 in the United States is the White-Tailed 



