The Sage-Hen 



pitches forward and 

 casts off for a belly- 

 buster slide over the 

 ground, not without 

 much assistance of 

 propulsive feet in ap- 

 proved "kid" fash- 

 ion. As a result of 

 this ridiculous dry- 

 1 a n d swim, the 

 feathers of the breast 

 are worn off at the 

 tips till only the 

 quills protrude. 

 These ragged quill- 

 ends, in being forced 

 over the earth, pro- 

 duce a mild roar 

 which passes for an 

 aria 'by Caruso with 

 the gray lady in the 

 sage-box. La! but 

 it is absurd! Do you 

 suppose — now do 

 you suppose we ever 

 make such fools of 

 ourselves? 



In nesting, the 

 female hides from 

 the cock, as is the 

 case with most of 

 the grouse. A slight 

 depression in the 

 ground, barely or not 

 at all lined with twigs and sage-leaves, serves for a cradle, with a sage- 

 bush for a canopy. The eggs are heavily colored, greenish gray or green- 

 ish drab as to ground, with sharp dots and rounded spots of reddish brown 

 or chocolate. Eight to fifteen is the number laid, but the smaller denom- 

 ination represents the average size of fall flocks after the coyotes have 

 taken toll. 



Sage is a thing accursed in the eyes of all thrifty farmer folk, and he 



Taken in uregon 



FULL DRESS 

 THE SAGE GROUSE IS WELL NAMED Cenlrocercus, 



Photo by William L. Finley 



SPIKE-TAIL 



1606 



