570 GAME BIRDS OF CALIFORNIA 



A few days later, on tlie shores of Wright and Ehett lakes, we found them 

 very, abundant, and killed all we cared to. A very fine male whieh. I killed there 

 was passed by nearly the whole party within thirty feet in open ground. I noticed 

 him as soon, perhaps, as he saw us, and waited to watch his movements. As the 

 train approached he sank down on the ground, depressing his head, and lying as 

 motionless as a stick or root, which he greatly resembled. After the party had 

 passed, I moved toward him, when he depressed his head till it rested on the 

 ground, and evidently made himself as small as possible. He did not move till I 

 had approached to within fifteen feet of him, when he arose and I shot him. He 

 was in fine plumage, and weighed over five pounds. 



. . . Its flesh is dark and, particularly in old birds, highly flavored with worm- 

 wood, which to most persons is no proof of excellence. The young bird, if par- 

 boiled and stewed, is very good; but, as a whole, this is inferior for the table to 

 any other species of American grouse. 



During the winter season in the Mono country, according to E. H. 

 Ober (MS), the Sage-hens find shelter- in bad weather by scratching 

 down through the snow to the ground at the bases of the bushes. 

 Sustenance is secured from the tops of the bushes protruding through 

 the snow aiid also from the stray leaves and buds which the wind 

 has blown over the surface of the snow. As late as 1896, literally 

 thousands made their homes along the southwestern borders of Long 

 Valley some few miles north, of the northern boundary of Inyo 

 County. Now there are but a few hundreds in the most favorable 

 tracts. 



As is evidenced by the accumulation of droppings to be found 

 in certain favorite localities. Sage-hens roost together on the ground. 

 They are said to return to the same roosting ground night after 

 night, even after foraging a considerable distance for food during 

 the day (Bendire, 1892, p. 110; and authors). 



The stomach of a Sage-hen, unlike that of most other upland game 

 birds, is not a muscular organ, like a true gizzard, but is a thin-walled 

 receptacle. This indicates that the bird is largely herbivorous, feed' 

 ing upon leaves, buds, and berries, rather than regularly upon grain 

 or hard seeds. As the bird browses rather than scratches for a living 

 a grinding apparatus would be of small use. Its principal diet 

 throughout the year consists of the leaves of the sage-brush together 

 with leaves and buds of such other shrubs as the wild cherry and 

 deer-brush, together with a small amount of grass and seeds. During 

 the spring and summer, grasshoppers and other insects are added 

 to the diet. In a large number of specimens dissected nothing was 

 found but grasshoppers and leaves of the sage-brush (Baird. Brewer 

 and Ridgway, 1874, III, p. 433). 



Stomach examination by th^ United States Biological Survey, of 

 specimens from Idaho and Wyoming, shows that the Sage-hen, besides 

 eating sage-brush leaves, feeds upon the seeds, leaves and flowers of 



