38 



THE COLLECTORS' MONTHLY. 



evenings ; but I have heard it at about al 

 hours of the day, and occasionally through- 

 out the night. I therefore consider it the 

 most interesting item in bird life, which has 

 fallen under my notice in this interesting 

 place. 



It requires care, however, lest one mistake 

 the Golden Crown for the Indigo bird, as the 

 latter has a very similar performance, gener- 

 ally in the open field, however. This song 

 by the two birds when in flight, bears a strik- 

 ing resemblance except that the melody of 

 the Golden Crown is much the more charm- 

 ing. 



(For the Collectors Monthly.) 



Deiidragapus obscurus fu light osus. 



(Ridgw.) 297a. 



Sooty Grouse. 



This beautiful Grouse is found in the 

 Mountainous regions of Western N. A. near 

 the Pacific coast. In Oregon it is exceeding- 

 ly abundant as far as numbers go; but it is 

 not so easy to find as one might suppose up- 

 on first entering a fir wood and hearing the 

 booming or hooting which the males alone 

 are engaged in during the months of April, 

 May and sometimes June. On every side 

 maybe heard the muffled <; Hoot ! hoot! 

 hoot, hoot, hoot!" of the birds. There are 

 invariably five notes, no more ; but sometimes 

 (though rarely) less. "Davie" in his "nest 

 and eggs of N. A. birds," states that there 

 are from five to seven notes. I cannot agree 

 with him in that as I never have heard more 

 than five and I have taken particular pains 

 to hear more if possible. During the Spring, 

 Summer and early Autumn the Grouse is 

 abundant in the low foot hills of the moun- 

 tains. In October or November they grad- 

 ually fall back into the high mountains where 

 they remain all winter. While there, they 

 feed mostly upon the seeds of the fir trees- 

 When spring arrives, they again descend to 

 the lower hills. They are hardly ever found 

 in the valley but always upon the hills or 

 mountains. 



Their nest is built upon the ground near 

 some log or in a chump of grass or bushes. 

 They are found either in the wood or in an 

 open stumpy field and generally on the south 

 side of a hill. The nest is made of dead 

 leaves and grasses and the complement of 

 eggs is usually from five to twelve, though 

 more are often laid. I have one set contain- 

 ing only one egg. This was due from one 

 set of eggs being taken from the bird and 

 she only laying one more after building a 

 new nest. This one was badly incubated 

 when found. 



So far this season I have secured three 

 sets of eggs of the Sooty Grouse. They are 

 as follows : 



(a) Nest found April 20, 1891 containing 

 one egg badly incubated as before mentioned. 

 This nest was on the ground beside a log in 

 the fir woods and made of leaves only. 



(b) My second set of seven eggs was taken 

 May 4th, '91. Incubation slight. Nest on 

 ground in an open field in a clump of grass. 

 It was made of dry leaves and grass. 



(c) My third set was taken same day as (b) 

 and contained seven slightly incubated eggs. 

 It was only a few rods from nest (b) and in a 

 similar location. 



The eggs are of a creamy buff color with 

 specks of brown. They measure on an aver- 

 age 1,87x1,38. 



With these few random notes on the Sooty 

 Grouse, I will close. Very truly yours, 

 Dr. A. G. Prill. 



Sweet Home. Linn Co.. Oregon. 



Austin Corbin's great game park near 

 Newport, New Hampshire, contains 22.000 

 acres of hilly land, is stocked with buffalo, 

 elk, moose, black-tailed deer, red deer, 

 caribou antelope and wild boars, from the 

 Black Forest of Germany. The experiment 

 is said to promise great results. 



