﻿10 
  GKOUSE 
  AND 
  WILD 
  TURKEYS 
  OF 
  UNITED 
  STATES. 
  

  

  good 
  qualities 
  and 
  as 
  proper 
  efforts 
  for 
  its 
  reintroduction 
  into 
  parts 
  

   of 
  its 
  former 
  range 
  will 
  almost 
  certainly 
  be 
  successful, 
  it 
  is 
  hoped 
  

   that 
  the 
  undertaking 
  will 
  not 
  long 
  be 
  delayed. 
  It 
  is 
  unquestionable 
  

   that 
  the 
  presence 
  of 
  this 
  bird 
  will 
  add 
  appreciably 
  to 
  the 
  value 
  of 
  any 
  

   farm. 
  

  

  THE 
  PRAIRIE 
  HEN. 
  

  

  {Tympan 
  uch 
  us 
  american 
  us. 
  ) 
  

  

  The 
  prairie 
  hen, 
  or 
  ' 
  prairie 
  chicken, 
  ■ 
  inhabits 
  the 
  western 
  prairies 
  

   from 
  Manitoba 
  to 
  southern 
  Texas 
  and 
  Louisiana 
  and 
  from 
  Ohio 
  to 
  

   Nebraska. 
  The 
  birds 
  of 
  southern 
  Texas 
  and 
  Louisiana 
  a 
  are 
  smaller 
  

   and 
  darker 
  than 
  the 
  common 
  bird. 
  This 
  big 
  grouse, 
  resembling 
  a 
  

   brownish-gray 
  hen, 
  adds 
  animation 
  to 
  the 
  western 
  prairies 
  and 
  is 
  as 
  

   characteristic 
  of 
  them 
  as 
  the 
  mockingbird 
  is 
  of 
  the 
  South. 
  In 
  the 
  

   nuptial 
  season 
  the 
  birds 
  assemble 
  every 
  morning 
  at 
  daybreak 
  on 
  little 
  

   hillocks 
  on 
  the 
  plains, 
  and 
  the 
  cocks 
  strut 
  about 
  with 
  wings 
  drooping, 
  

   tail 
  spread, 
  and 
  the 
  large 
  orange-colored 
  sacs 
  on 
  the 
  sides 
  of 
  the 
  neck 
  

   fully 
  inflated. 
  At 
  intervals 
  they 
  lower 
  their 
  heads 
  and 
  emit 
  a 
  singu- 
  

   lar 
  booming 
  love 
  note 
  that 
  can 
  be 
  heard 
  more 
  than 
  a 
  mile, 
  and 
  is 
  one 
  

   of 
  the 
  most 
  striking 
  bird 
  notes 
  in 
  the 
  general 
  spring 
  chorus. 
  The 
  

   rivalry 
  of 
  the 
  males 
  at 
  these 
  gatherings 
  often 
  leads 
  to 
  fierce 
  fights. 
  

   Finally 
  all 
  find 
  partners, 
  separate 
  into 
  pairs, 
  and 
  make 
  nests 
  in 
  

   grass-lined 
  depressions 
  among 
  standing 
  grass 
  or 
  similar 
  shelter, 
  

   where 
  about 
  a 
  dozen 
  eggs 
  are 
  laid 
  to 
  a 
  clutch. 
  Generally 
  only 
  one 
  

   brood 
  is 
  raised 
  in 
  a 
  season. 
  The 
  young, 
  like 
  those 
  of 
  other 
  gallina- 
  

   ceous 
  birds, 
  leave 
  the 
  nest 
  as 
  soon 
  as 
  they 
  are 
  hatched 
  and 
  run 
  about 
  

   with 
  the 
  hen 
  in 
  search 
  of 
  food. 
  In 
  summer 
  prairie 
  hens 
  roost 
  on 
  the 
  

   ground 
  in 
  a 
  family 
  covey, 
  as 
  does 
  the 
  bobwhite, 
  but 
  in 
  winter, 
  in 
  

   many 
  sections, 
  they 
  roost 
  in 
  trees. 
  In 
  the 
  fall 
  several 
  coveys 
  congre- 
  

   gate 
  in 
  a 
  pack, 
  after 
  the 
  fashion 
  of 
  ptarmigans 
  and 
  crested 
  quail. 
  

   Prof. 
  F. 
  E. 
  L. 
  Beal 
  informs 
  the 
  writer 
  that 
  at 
  Ames, 
  Iowa, 
  during 
  

   the 
  early 
  eighties, 
  he 
  frequently 
  found 
  packs 
  numbering 
  as 
  many 
  as 
  

   a 
  thousand 
  birds, 
  and 
  that 
  they 
  habitually 
  roosted 
  in 
  the 
  long 
  grass 
  

   beside 
  sloughs. 
  The 
  prairie 
  hen 
  is 
  migratory 
  in 
  the 
  northern 
  part 
  of 
  

   its 
  range, 
  and 
  to 
  a 
  certain 
  extent 
  farther 
  south 
  also. 
  The 
  well-known 
  

   authority 
  on 
  migration, 
  Prof. 
  W. 
  W. 
  Cooke, 
  says 
  : 
  h 
  

  

  In 
  November 
  and 
  December 
  large 
  flocks 
  of 
  prairie 
  chickens 
  come 
  from 
  north- 
  

   ern 
  Iowa 
  and 
  southern 
  Minnesota 
  to 
  settle 
  for 
  the 
  winter 
  in 
  northern 
  Missouri 
  

   and 
  southern 
  Iowa. 
  This 
  migration 
  varies 
  in 
  bulk 
  with 
  the 
  severity 
  of 
  the 
  

   winter. 
  

  

  From 
  a 
  gastronomic 
  point 
  of 
  view 
  the 
  prairie 
  hen 
  deserves 
  high 
  

   praise; 
  it 
  is 
  larger 
  than 
  the 
  ruffed 
  grouse, 
  sometimes 
  weighing 
  3 
  

   pounds, 
  and 
  has 
  a 
  delicious 
  flavor. 
  The 
  flesh 
  of 
  young 
  birds 
  is 
  light- 
  

   colored, 
  of 
  old 
  ones 
  dark. 
  The 
  estimation 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  bird 
  is 
  held 
  

  

  a 
  Tympan 
  uch 
  us 
  americanus 
  attwateri 
  (Bendire). 
  

   6 
  Bul. 
  2, 
  Div. 
  Econ. 
  Ornith., 
  Dept. 
  Agri., 
  p. 
  105, 
  1888. 
  

  

  