﻿26 
  GROUSE 
  AND 
  WILD 
  TURKEYS 
  OF 
  UNITED 
  STATES. 
  

  

  contrasted 
  black 
  and 
  reddish 
  brown 
  colors, 
  set 
  off 
  by 
  immaculate 
  

   white. 
  

  

  The 
  ruffed 
  grouse 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  most 
  highly 
  prized 
  of 
  American 
  

   game 
  birds. 
  It 
  is 
  known 
  in 
  New 
  England 
  as 
  the 
  ' 
  partridge,' 
  but 
  in 
  

   the 
  Southern 
  States 
  it 
  is 
  usually 
  called 
  ' 
  pheasant.' 
  It 
  is 
  distinctly 
  

   a 
  bird 
  of 
  the 
  woods, 
  imparting 
  the 
  spirit 
  of 
  the 
  wilderness 
  to 
  every 
  

   sylvan 
  retreat 
  that 
  it 
  inhabits. 
  In 
  Virginia 
  and 
  Maryland, 
  near 
  the 
  

   city 
  of 
  Washington, 
  the 
  species 
  is, 
  or 
  was 
  until 
  recently, 
  not 
  uncom- 
  

   mon 
  along 
  the 
  rocky 
  palisades 
  of 
  the 
  Potomac 
  and 
  in 
  deep 
  gorges 
  

   lined 
  with 
  laurel 
  thickets. 
  In 
  Essex 
  County, 
  N. 
  J., 
  it 
  frequents 
  the 
  

   crest 
  of 
  a 
  wooded 
  basaltic 
  dike 
  known 
  as 
  the 
  Orange 
  Mountains, 
  

   where 
  the 
  picturesque 
  rocky 
  woods 
  with 
  a 
  good 
  stand 
  of 
  deciduous 
  

   trees 
  and 
  an 
  undergrowth 
  of 
  blueberry, 
  second-growth 
  white 
  oak, 
  

   wild 
  grape 
  and 
  bittersweet 
  vines, 
  and 
  beds 
  of 
  partridge 
  berry 
  

   (Mitchella 
  repens) 
  furnish 
  a 
  congenial 
  home. 
  That 
  ruffed 
  grouse 
  

   usually 
  prefer 
  deciduous 
  to 
  evergreen 
  growths 
  was 
  particularly 
  no- 
  

   ticed 
  by 
  the 
  writer 
  in 
  1892 
  and 
  1898 
  at 
  Chocorua, 
  N. 
  H., 
  a 
  hamlet 
  

   between 
  Lake 
  Winnepesaukee 
  and 
  the 
  White 
  Mountains. 
  On 
  his 
  

   tramps 
  through 
  heavy 
  spruce 
  forests 
  remote 
  from 
  houses 
  or 
  clear- 
  

   ings 
  he 
  seldom 
  came 
  across 
  grouse. 
  He 
  frequently 
  met 
  them, 
  how- 
  

   ever, 
  in 
  woodland 
  near 
  farms 
  or 
  in 
  clearings, 
  and 
  particularly 
  along 
  

   wood 
  roads. 
  A 
  favorite 
  ground 
  in 
  August 
  was 
  the 
  clearing 
  of 
  an 
  

   abandoned 
  farm, 
  200 
  feet 
  above 
  Chocorua 
  Lake, 
  which 
  lies 
  at 
  the 
  foot 
  

   of 
  Chocorua 
  Mountain. 
  The 
  fields 
  are 
  separated 
  from 
  one 
  another 
  

   by 
  little 
  trout 
  brooks 
  and 
  have 
  grown 
  up 
  to 
  young 
  spruces. 
  Here 
  in 
  

   bowlder-strewn 
  pastures 
  was 
  an 
  abundance 
  of 
  blackberries, 
  blue- 
  

   berries, 
  and 
  grasshoppers, 
  with 
  old 
  apple 
  trees, 
  birches, 
  and 
  poplars 
  

   for 
  winter 
  budding. 
  On 
  this 
  old 
  farm 
  the 
  writer 
  never 
  failed 
  to 
  flush 
  

   from 
  three 
  to 
  eight 
  grouse, 
  and 
  on 
  several 
  occasions 
  he 
  saw 
  hen 
  birds 
  

   with 
  young. 
  In 
  a 
  sandy 
  spot 
  of 
  the 
  road 
  leading 
  up 
  to 
  the 
  house 
  

   the 
  grouse 
  had 
  dusting 
  wallows, 
  which 
  they 
  used 
  habitually. 
  Dur- 
  

   ing 
  October 
  birds 
  were 
  often 
  found 
  in 
  hemlock 
  woods 
  with 
  an 
  under- 
  

   growth 
  of 
  osmunda 
  ferns 
  or 
  other 
  vegetation. 
  

  

  The 
  ruffed 
  grouse 
  does 
  not 
  congregate 
  in 
  large 
  coveys, 
  like 
  the 
  

   plumed 
  quails 
  or 
  the 
  prairie 
  chicken, 
  but 
  is 
  found 
  in 
  companies 
  of 
  

   from 
  two 
  to 
  eight, 
  usually 
  members 
  of 
  a 
  single 
  brood. 
  It 
  does 
  not 
  

   spend 
  the 
  night 
  on 
  the 
  ground, 
  but 
  perches 
  on 
  a 
  tree. 
  When 
  the 
  

   weather 
  is 
  very 
  cold, 
  however, 
  it 
  often 
  plunges 
  into 
  the 
  snow 
  and 
  

   passes 
  the 
  night 
  as 
  snugly 
  as 
  an 
  Eskimo 
  in 
  his 
  igloo. 
  

  

  The 
  bobwhite 
  whistles, 
  the 
  prairie 
  chicken 
  booms, 
  and 
  the 
  blue 
  

   grouse 
  hoots, 
  but 
  the 
  ruffed 
  grouse 
  drums. 
  The 
  drumming 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  

   the 
  most 
  interesting 
  and 
  attractive 
  of 
  all 
  bird 
  performances. 
  It 
  may 
  

   be 
  heard 
  at 
  every 
  season, 
  but 
  is 
  at 
  its 
  best 
  in 
  spring. 
  The 
  cock, 
  then 
  

   in 
  full 
  vigor, 
  mounts 
  his 
  drumming 
  log, 
  droops 
  his 
  wings, 
  raises 
  his 
  

   fantail, 
  and 
  struts 
  along 
  the 
  log 
  with 
  his 
  crest 
  and 
  glossy 
  black 
  neck 
  

  

  