THE PINNATED GROUSE. 203 



Gobbler. Ho is then in full dress; and his conse- 

 quential attitudes and pompous manners give him 

 quite an animated appearance. Companies of ten or 

 twenty frequently assemble at daybreak, and perform 

 these exciting manoeuvres, which mostly result in 

 fiercely contested battles, in which they attack each 

 other in the manner of the common a;ame-fowl. 



Prairie Hen, or Pmnated Grouse. 



The peculiar rolling or tooting sound which it 

 generally makes before sunrise, although in the un- 

 settled districts it is often heard from morning till 

 night, is produced by inflating to their full extent 

 the bladder-like appendages above the wings, and 

 then throwing the head forward, forcing it through 

 the throat in distinct rolling or undulating notes. 



