138 THE OREGON SPORTSMAN 



COLUMBIAN SHARP-TAILED GROUSE 



A Rapidly Disappearing Species Commonly Known as the Prairie 



Chicken of the Northwest 



Among the sportsmen who are licensed to shoot game birds 

 during the open season, it is surprising to find that a compara- 

 tively small number really know one game bird from another. 

 Where a certain species is almost extinct and the state makes a 

 law protecting the one species but permits the killing of other 

 similar species, the statute is often violated through ignorance. 

 This is the case with the bird commonly known as the Prairie 

 Chicken in the eastern part of Oregon. In some counties, the 

 bird is protected, but at present there is an open season in Union, 

 AVasco and Sherman counties from October 1st to October 15th 

 each year. The open season on Ruffed Grouse and Blue Grouse 

 in eastern Oregon is from August 15th to October 31st. The 

 season on Sage Grouse is from July 15th to August 31st each 

 year. Sportsmen who shoot in eastern Oregon should be able to 

 distinguish the Prairie Chicken or Sharp-tailed Grouse from the 

 Sage Grouse, Ruffed Grouse and Blue or Sooty Grouse. 



The Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse, Pin-tailed Grouse or 

 Prairie Chicken (Pcdioccetes phasianellus columbianus) was for- 

 merly quite common throughout the eastern part of the state 

 from Klamath county to the Columbia river and in the counties 

 to the east. Its range does not extend across the Cascades. This 

 bird was first discovered by Lewis and Clark in 1805-6. They 

 found it very common along the plains of the Columbia and it 

 was named by Ord in 1815 Phasianus columbianus or Pheasant 

 of the Columbia. 



This grouse is one of our best game birds, but it has de- 

 creased very rapidly with the change of conditions because it 

 does not prosper in the vicinity of man. It has always held its 

 own in the sage brush with the coyotes and other natural ene- 

 mies, but like the Sage Grouse, it has suffered a great deal on 

 account of the extensive pasturing of sheep. Where the flocks 

 tramp through the brush in the springtime hunting for grass, 

 they destroy many nests. As the sage is grubbed out and gives 



