46 



RUFFED GROUS. 



singular tract of country is interspersed, the latter, or Pheasant, 

 was frequently met with ; but not a single individual of the former. 



The native haunts of the Pheasant being a cold, high, moun- 

 tainous and woody country, it is natural to expect that as we de- 

 scend from thence to the sea shores, and the low, flat and warm 

 climate of the southern states, these birds should become more 

 rare, and such indeed is the case. In the lower parts of Carolina, 

 Georgia and Florida they are very seldom observed; but as we 

 advance inland to the mountains they again make their appear- 

 ance. In the lower parts of New Jersey we indeed occasionally 

 meet with them; but this is owing to the more northerly situation 

 of the country; for even here they are far less numerous than 

 among the mountains. 



Dr. Turton and several other English writers have spoken of 

 a Long-tailed Grous, said to inhabit the back parts of Virginia, 

 which can be no other than the present species, there being, as far 

 as I am acquainted, only these two, the Ruffed and Pinnated Grous, 

 found native within the United States. 



The manners of the Pheasant are solitary; they are seldom 

 found in coveys of more than four or five together, and more 

 usually in pairs or singly. They leave their sequestered haunts 

 in the woods early in the morning, and seek the path or road, to 

 pick up gravel, and glean among the droppings of the horses. In 

 travelling among the mountains that bound the Susquehanna, I 

 was always able to furnish myself with an abundant supply of 

 these birds every morning without leaving the path. If the wea- 

 ther be foggy, or lowering, they are sure to be seen in such situa- 

 tions. They generally move along with great stateliness, their 

 broad fan-like tail spread out in the manner exhibited in the draw- 

 ing. The drumming, as it is usually called, of the Pheasant, is 

 anotlier singularity of this species. This is performed by the male 

 alone. In walking through solitary iioods frequented by these 

 birds, a stranger is surprized by suddenly hearing a kind of thump- 



