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THE SANE GROUSE. 
familiar house species, the Ruffed Grouse, or “Partridge” of the New England country-side. 
Mr. Say, the accomplished naturalist, first discovered this bird in 1820. In the spring, the 
male sits on a branch and utters its peculiar booming call, which is so ventriloquial in effect 
that one is sure to be deceived and misled by it. Dr. Cooper, of California, testifies that it 
may be directly overhead, and yet its voice so deceive you as to appear to be at a distance. 
The Dusky Grouse inhabits the mountains about Sante Fe, in New Mexico, and in the 
Sierra Nevada. It has been seen in considerable numbers around Salt Lake City. It has been 
seen in Oregon in considerable numbers. The Black Hills of Nebraska is the most eastern 
limit of its range. The love-notes are said to be deep, soft, plaintive, but unmusical — in our 
view of it — for, no doubt, the gentle creature that sits near by on her nest has different appre- 
ciation of their nature. These notes are likened to the sound produced by rapidly and by 
jerks swinging a ratan. 
SAND GROUSE .— Pterocles exustus. 
A most remarkable habit in winter is noticed : These birds retire to the tops of the loftiest 
fir-trees and pass the season in nearly a complete state of hybernation. The flesh of this 
Grouse is said to surpass in flavor and delicacy that of the famous Ruffed Grouse. 
A variety called the Oregon Dusky Grouse is found inhabiting the country along the 
coast from the Columbia River to Alaska, where it is known as the Blue Grouse, and in some 
quarters, Pine Grouse. The orange-colored featherless sacks that are seen on the sides of the 
neck in this bird are known to produce their peculiar notes by alternately contracting and 
expanding. The sombre color of its plumage is effective in its efforts at concealment, as 
when it is pursued it flies directly to the top of some tall fir-tree, and hugs closely the limb 
on which sits ; which limb is very much like the plumage in color. 
Another variety is called Richardson’s Dusky Grouse, named after the celebrated trav- 
eller and naturalist, Sir John Richardson. It is the form that inhabits the interior of British 
North America. It is met with in the pine woods on the slopes of the Rocky Mountains. 
The Sawd Geouse are mostly found in the sandy deserts of Africa and Asia, though 
one or two species are inhabitants of Europe, The wings of all these birds are long and 
