88 THE BIRDS 
ing, the eges taking from eighteen to nineteen days 
to hatch. Unlike any native bird we have, when flushed 
they rise almost perpendicularly to a height of forty to 
fifty feet, before continuing their journey elsewhere. 
They are a noble bird for both sport and table, beside 
being beneficial and ornamental, especially so the male 
bird. These birds are non-migratory and do not wander 
far from where reared, unless continually disturbed. 
When in confinement, if allowed to set on their own eggs, 
only one clutch is laid during the season, but if the eggs 
are taken away every day or so from the nest, they con- 
tinue to lay until some twenty-five to thirty eggs are 
deposited. We must have a good game warden system 
throughout our State before these birds will be sold as 
game in the markets. As their food consists chiefly of 
insects, grubs, worms, beetles and their larvee and eggs, I 
consider them a beneficial bird to introduce from an 
agricultural standpoint, as well as for food. 
GENUS BONASA. 
[300]. Bonasa umbellus umbellus (Linneus). Ruffed 
Grouse. 
{Pheasant. Partridge]. 
Raner.—Eastern United States from Minnesota, 
Michigan, southern New York, and southern Vermont 
south to eastern Kansas, northern Arkansas, Tennessee, 
and Virginia, and in the Alleghenies to northern Georgia. 
This well-known game bird of our inland region is 
reported as rapidly becoming more scarce each season, and 
