Alabama, ip 15. 57 



SAGE HEN 



T*"nHIS, the largest of American grouse, measuring about 

 ( twenty-eight inches in length and weighing up to eight 

 reBall pounds, is found in western North America from British 

 Columbia and Assiniboia to central California and Colorado. 

 The hen bird is considerably smaller than the cock, measuring but 

 twenty-three inches in length. 



These great birds inhabit the Great Basin and arid plains 

 throughout their range, where sage is the prevailing brush. They 

 are strictly terrestrial fowl, feeding almost wholly on sage leaves 

 which impart a disagreeable taste to their flesh. They remain com- 

 mon only in regions remote from civilization, for their large bodies 

 offer such an easy mark even though their flight be swift, that they 

 soon become scarce after the country becomes settled. 



Because of their great size, the actions of cock birds during 

 mating season are even more ludicrous than those of other grouse 

 The air sacs on the neck are enormously inflated until the whole 

 breast is balloon-shaped and then he slides along over the bare 

 ground for some distance on this improvised pneumatic tire. While 

 expelling the air, he produces a great variety of cackling and 

 rumbling noises. At the end of this season the feathers on the 

 breast are worn away by this constant friction with the ground, 

 leaving only the stiff shafts at their ends. 



— Game Birds. 



