RUFFED HEATHCOCK 
BufFon, indeed, with his peculiarity of man- 
ner, after describing the noise made by this 
bird, says — " such is the call which invites the 
female to the feast of love ; but what announces 
a future generation, is often the signal for the 
destru6lion of the present. The sportsman, 
led by the noise, approaches the bird nnper- 
ceived ; and, when the male is dissolved in 
convulsions of pleasure, he takes the fatal aim I 
If, however, the bird observes the person, it 
stops it's motions, and flies off three or four 
hundred paces. These," he adds, are really 
the instin6ls and habits of the European Grouse, ' 
though the singularities are rather heightened. ~ 
The flesh is white, and an excellent meat ; and 
may not this be the reason why the rapacious 
birds chase them with such perseverance ? We 
have already mentioned the conjefture," con- 
cludes BufFon, " in treating of the European 
Grouse; if it were confirmed by a sufficient 
number of observations, we might infer that 
voracity does not always exclude prediledllon, 
but that the birds of prey have nearly the same 
tafte as man : and this w^ould ajfFord another 
analogy between those two species," 
