36 
GROUSE FAMILY. 
week. According to Wilson, they are also still met with among 
the scrub-oak and pine-hills of Pocono, in Northampton 
county, Pennsylvania. They are also rather common through- 
out the barrens of Kentucky and on the prairies of Indiana, 
and as far south as Nashville in Tennessee, but I believe no- 
where more abundant than on the plains of Missouri, whence 
they continue to the Rocky Mountains. Dislike of moisture, 
as with the Turkey, but principally the nature of their food, 
appears to influence them in the choice of their resort. The 
small acorns of the dwarf-oaks, and various kinds of '"ild fruits, 
as strawberries, whortleberries, and partridge-berries, with oc- 
casional insects abounding in these wooded thickets, appear 
to be the principal inducement to their residence ; from which 
they rarely wander at any season, unless compelled by a failure 
of their usual food, and so become, notwithstanding the almost 
inaccessible nature of the ground, a sure prey to the greedy 
and exterminating hunter. In the Western States, where they 
appear as an abundant species, they are at times observed to 
traverse the plains and even cross extensive rivers in quest of 
the means of subsistence. In winter they likewise feed on 
buds as well as mast, sometimes swallowing leaves, and occa- 
sionally the buds of the pine. At times, if convenient, they 
have been known to visit the buckwheat field for their fare, 
or even devour the leaves of clover. In wintry storms they 
seek shelter by perching in the evergreens ; but in spring and 
summer they often roost on the ground in company. ’J’hey 
feed mostly in the morning and evening ; and when they can 
stir abroad without material molestation, they often visit arable 
lands in the vicinity of their retreats. In the inclemency of 
winter, like the Quail, they approach the barn, basking and 
perching on the fences, occasionally venturing to mix with the 
poultry in their repast, and are then often taken in traps. 
The season for pairing is early in the spring, in March or 
April. At this time the behavior of the male becomes remark- 
able. Early in the morning he comes forth from his bushy 
roost and struts about with a curving neck, raising his ruff, ex- 
panding his tail like a fan, and seeming to mimic the ostenta- 
