108 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



Mr. George H. Wyman makes the following statement in Forest and 

 Stream, August 29, 1889: "The Sage Cock will eat the leaves from sage- 

 brush when it cannot get berries or grain, but it will go farther for a morn- 

 ing feed from a wheat field than any bird I know, except the Wild Goose. 

 I have killed Sage Fowl with stomachs filled with ripe wheat picked up the 

 same morning, in places where none was to be had nearer than 8 miles, and 

 in fact with no cultivation of any kind nearer in any direction. They fly 

 long distances in search of food, but return to roost in the same place at 

 night, generally on some steep hillside, free from shrubs or high grass." 



From the foregoing statements it will be seen that the food of the Sage 

 Grouse, during the summer months at least, is quite varied. The fact that the 

 stomachs of these birds are soft, and unlike, in this respect, that of all gallina- 

 ceous birds, is well known. No doubt on this account it feeds mostly on 

 leaves and the tender tops of various plants, as well as insects; still there is 

 no reason to doubt that where grain is obtainable, which is not often the case 

 where these birds are found, it will also resort to it as an article of food. 



It is a hardy bird, taking kindly to the higher altitudes in the mountain 

 parks, as well as to the hottest and most barren portions of the alkali-covered 

 valleys, as long as they support a scanty growth of Artemisia, which seems to 

 be a positive necessity to the existence of this Grouse. 



Mr. A. C. Lowell, of Fort Bidwell, California, writes me that "Sage Fowl 

 are much more numerous with us some years than in others, and I believe this 

 bird is a victim of a grub which I have several 'times found in the walls of the 

 abdominal cavity. These grubs are about 1^ inches long, flat, with a head 

 much broader than its body; they look like the large white worms which are 

 often found cutting shallow paths under the bark of decaying logs." 



The mating season begins early in March, and sometimes even in the lat- 

 ter part of February, in fact long before the snow has disappeared. While 

 not at any time what might be called a graceful bird when on the ground, the 

 Sage Cock, during this season, when actively engaged in his courtship, is 

 unquestionably the most comical-looking bird I have ever seen, and it would 

 be hard to say what he most resembles. 



Directly west, and about half a mile from Camp Harney, Oregon, on a 

 rocky table land, sparsely covered with stunted patches of sage, a number 

 of these birds wintered regularly, and early one morning in the first week of 

 March, 1877, 1 had the long-wished-for opportunity to observe the actions of a 

 single cock while paying court to several females near him; and I presume he 

 did his very best. His large, pale yellow air sacs were fully inflated, and not 

 only expanded forward, but apparently upward as well, rising at least an inch 

 above his head, which, consequently, was scarcely noticeable, giving the bird 

 an exceedingly peculiar appearance. He looked decidedly top-heavy and 

 ready to topple over at the slightest provocation. The few long, spiny feath- 

 ers along the edges of the air sacs stood stood straight out,- and the grayish 

 white of the upper parts showed in strong contrast with the black of the breast. 



