118 AMERICAN GAME BIRD SHOOTING 
mals, the altitude at which it lives changes with the 
changing season. 
One of the earliest spring sounds in the country 
where the dusky grouse are found is the hooting of 
the male, a booming or blowing sound analogous to 
the grating song of the sage grouse or the tooting of 
the pinnated grouse. The call possesses a certain ven- 
triloquial quality, which makes it exceedingly difficult 
to follow, and it is often hard to locate the bird that is 
uttering it. A similar difficulty is usually found in 
attempting to follow up the drumming of the ruffed 
grouse. This call and the accompanying mating ac- 
tions were well described by a correspondent, ‘“‘Stand- 
stead,” in Forest and Stream twenty years ago. He 
wrote: “While driving near the city. [Victoria, B. C.] 
with the veteran shot, R. Maynard, we saw a pair of 
blue grouse quite near the trail, and the cock bird gave 
us a most entertaining exhibition of the charms that he 
displays in wooing his mate. Like a turkey cock he 
strutted about with his wings trailing on the ground, 
his tail feathers erect and spread out fart-like to their 
fullest extent, his neck distended, and on each side of 
his neck the feathers were turned out so as to resemble 
a pair of round white rosettes, nearly three inches in 
diameter, with an oblong red spot in their center, where 
the skin of the neck was exposed. His head seemed 
to be crowned with a fiery red comb. Excepting the 
rosettes, he was in appearance a miniature turkey gob- 
-bler. Every few seconds he would strut up to his de- 
mure but sleek-looking mate, puff out his neck and 
