Bob Whites, Grouse, etc. 



drive over the prairie in a light wagon, letting the dogs range far 

 and wide on either side. . . . When one scents the birds he 

 will come to a point suddenly . . . as if he saw a ghost. The 

 wagon drives near him, the other dogs coming up and backing 

 him. The sportsmen then alight and take their shots. Rarely the 

 whole covey is flushed together, and frequently the old birds lie 

 until the last, and while the sportsman is loading his gun will 

 dash away uttering their quick-repeated cry of cluk-cluk-cluh- 

 cluh, and looking back over their wings at the sportsman 

 who marks them down half a mile away. As one goes to retrieve 

 the dead bird, still another and another will rise, and it is only 

 until one has been carefully over the field that he feels secure 

 that all the birds are up." 



Unlike the rest of their kin, the prairie chickens can fly long 

 distances, though not with such concentrated power as to pro- 

 duce the thunder-like roar of the ruffed grouse, for example. 

 Their flight may not be so swift, for it is accomplished with less 

 flapping and more easy, graceful sailing. They migrate regularly, 

 or, at least, the females do, leaving the hardier males to brave the 

 intense cold at the northern limit of their range. In November 

 and December flocks descend from northern Iowa and Minnesota 

 to settle for the winter in southern Iowa and northern Missouri, 

 the size of the south bound flocks being influenced by the severity 

 of the cold, just as the return of the migrants in March and April 

 depends upon the warmth of spring. Most of the pinnated 

 grouse's life is passed on the fertile open prairies, sleety storms, 

 high winds, and deep snow alone driving a pack to shelter in 

 timbered lands. 



Prairie Sharp-tailed Grouse 



(Pedioccetes pbasianellus campestris) 



Called also: PIN-TAILED GROUSE; SPECKLED OR WHITE 

 BELLY; WILLOW GROUSE ; PRAIRIE CHICKEN; SPIKE- 

 TAIL 



Length — 17.50 to 20 inches. 



Male and J^emale— Upper parts yellowish buff, irregularly barred 

 and blotched with black; the shoulders streaked and the tips 

 of wing coverts conspicuously spotted with white; crown 



281 



