﻿20 
  GROUSE 
  AND 
  WILD 
  TURKEYS 
  OF 
  UNITED 
  STATES. 
  

  

  15 
  to 
  20, 
  but, 
  according 
  to 
  the 
  people 
  of 
  that 
  section, 
  the 
  prairie 
  hens 
  

   gather 
  in 
  flocks 
  of 
  hundreds 
  in 
  the 
  late 
  fall. 
  At 
  this 
  season 
  they 
  are 
  

   destructive 
  to 
  unthreshed 
  wheat 
  and 
  oats, 
  tearing 
  off 
  the 
  surface 
  of 
  

   the 
  stacks. 
  In 
  winter 
  they 
  visit 
  cattle 
  pens 
  and 
  corrals 
  in 
  search 
  of 
  

   food. 
  During 
  severe 
  winters 
  they 
  are 
  sometimes 
  so 
  numerous 
  that 
  

   they 
  become 
  a 
  nuisance. 
  Some 
  idea 
  may 
  be 
  had 
  of 
  their 
  abundance 
  

   during 
  winter 
  from 
  the 
  information 
  secured 
  by 
  Oberholser 
  that 
  one 
  

   man 
  shipped 
  20,000 
  of 
  them 
  from 
  this 
  section 
  in 
  a 
  single 
  season. 
  

  

  THE 
  SHARP-TAILED 
  GROUSE. 
  

  

  (Pedioecetes 
  pliasianellus. 
  ) 
  « 
  

  

  The 
  sharp-tailed 
  grouse 
  is 
  about 
  the 
  same 
  size 
  and 
  has 
  the 
  general 
  

   appearance 
  of 
  -the 
  prairie 
  hen. 
  Its 
  range 
  is 
  wide, 
  extending 
  from 
  

   Lake 
  Michigan 
  to 
  northeastern 
  California, 
  and 
  from 
  northeastern 
  

   New 
  Mexico 
  to 
  Alaska. 
  In 
  the 
  northern 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  Mississippi 
  

   Valley 
  its 
  range 
  overlaps 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  prairie 
  hen, 
  and 
  mixed 
  flocks 
  are 
  

   sometimes 
  seen, 
  but 
  the 
  ' 
  spike 
  tail 
  ' 
  is 
  seldom 
  found 
  in 
  such 
  large 
  num- 
  

   bers 
  as 
  that 
  species. 
  It 
  shows 
  also 
  much 
  less 
  adaptability 
  to 
  changed 
  

   conditions 
  and 
  disappears 
  more 
  rapidly 
  after 
  the 
  subjection 
  of 
  its 
  

   range 
  to 
  agriculture. 
  In 
  regard 
  to 
  its 
  curious 
  courtship, 
  Professor 
  

   Macoun 
  writes 
  of 
  the 
  Columbian 
  sharp-tailed 
  grouse 
  : 
  & 
  

  

  The 
  males 
  collect 
  in 
  large 
  numbers, 
  on 
  some 
  bill 
  about 
  tbe 
  end 
  of 
  April 
  or 
  

   beginning 
  of 
  May 
  to 
  bare 
  tbeir 
  annual 
  dance, 
  wbicb 
  they 
  keep 
  up 
  for 
  a 
  month 
  or 
  

   six 
  weeks. 
  It 
  is 
  almost 
  impossible 
  to 
  drive 
  them 
  away 
  from 
  one 
  of 
  their 
  hills 
  

   when 
  they 
  are 
  dancing. 
  One 
  day 
  about 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  May, 
  I 
  shot 
  into 
  a 
  dancing 
  

   party, 
  killing 
  two, 
  and 
  wounding 
  another, 
  which 
  flew 
  a 
  short 
  distance. 
  I 
  went 
  

   to 
  get 
  it, 
  and 
  before 
  I 
  got 
  back 
  to 
  pick 
  up 
  the 
  dead 
  birds, 
  the 
  others 
  were 
  back 
  

   dancing 
  around 
  them. 
  

  

  About 
  a 
  dozen 
  eggs 
  generally 
  make 
  a 
  clutch, 
  and 
  but 
  one 
  brood 
  is 
  

   reared 
  in 
  a 
  season. 
  The 
  eggs 
  vary 
  from 
  buff 
  to 
  olive-brown 
  and 
  are 
  

   usually 
  lightly 
  spotted 
  with 
  brown. 
  

  

  From 
  two 
  to 
  three 
  months 
  after 
  hatching, 
  the 
  young 
  are 
  full 
  grown 
  

   and 
  afford 
  quite 
  as 
  good 
  if 
  not 
  better 
  sport 
  than 
  the 
  prairie 
  hen. 
  

   They 
  lie 
  well 
  to 
  the 
  dog 
  and 
  usually 
  rise 
  with 
  a 
  noisy, 
  clucking 
  cry; 
  

   after 
  a 
  short 
  distance 
  the 
  flight 
  changes 
  to 
  an 
  alternation 
  of 
  rapid 
  

   vibrations 
  of 
  the 
  wings 
  and 
  gliding 
  or 
  sailing 
  on 
  stiffly 
  outspread 
  

   pinions. 
  The 
  flesh 
  of 
  the 
  young, 
  like 
  that 
  of 
  young 
  prairie 
  hens, 
  is 
  

  

  a 
  The 
  sharp-tailed 
  grouse 
  varies 
  in 
  different 
  parts 
  of 
  its 
  range, 
  and 
  has 
  been 
  

   divided 
  into 
  two 
  geographic 
  forms 
  in 
  addition 
  to 
  the 
  typical 
  bird. 
  These 
  are 
  the 
  

   Columbian 
  sharp-tailed 
  grouse 
  (Pedioecetes 
  pliasianellus 
  columbianus) 
  , 
  occupying 
  

   the 
  western 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  bird's 
  range 
  in 
  the 
  United 
  States, 
  and 
  the 
  prairie 
  sharp- 
  

   tailed 
  grouse 
  (Pedioecetes 
  pliasianellus 
  campestris) 
  which 
  covers 
  the 
  plains 
  east 
  

   of 
  the 
  Rocky 
  Mountains. 
  

  

  b 
  Cat. 
  Can. 
  Birds, 
  pt. 
  1, 
  p. 
  212, 
  1900. 
  

  

  