The Dusky Grouse 



Taken in Eastern Washington 

 Photo by F. S. Merrill 



circlet, some five inches in diameter, suddenly flares forth on each side 

 of the neck, to the great admiration, no doubt, of the observant hen. 



These more emphatic demonstrations are probably reserved for 

 such time as the hen is known to be close at hand, for I have never fright- 

 ened a strutting cock without finding a female hard by, at least at no greater 

 distance than the lower branches of a neighboring tree. She has re- 

 sponded to the earlier calls of the male by a single musical toot note, 

 uttered at intervals of approach; but once arrived at the trysting place 

 she has become very shy, and will take no part in the celebration, save 

 by a few tell-tale clucks and many coy evasions. On these occasions, 

 also, the cock works himself up 

 into such a transport that he 

 becomes oblivious to danger, 

 so that he may be narrowly ob- 

 served or even captured by a 

 sudden rush. 



The Wood Grouse are pos- 

 sibly polygamous, but contests 

 between the males are infre- 

 quent, and there is no great 

 disparity in numbers between 

 the sexes, so that the male, 

 oftener than otherwise, mates 

 but once during a season. At 

 least he is not known to carry 

 on separate amours abreast. 

 When the female has laid her 

 complement of eggs, from five 

 to nine, in a shallow, leaf-lined 

 depression at the base of a tree, 

 bush, or rock, the male joins 

 himself to a small company of 

 his widowed fellows, or else 

 sulks out the season in ineffec- 

 tual hooting. 



In choosing a nesting site 

 the female is not at especial 

 pains to find concealment, rely- 

 ing rather upon the protective 

 harmony of her surroundings, — 



, J , i . • A NEST IN THE PINE WOODS 



how securely may be noted in AS BEFORE , THE race depicted is d. o. fuiiginosus 



1593 



