io4 
THE CONDOR 
Vo i,. VII 
ing grounds, the males fly away to their home in the sage until time again calls 
them to drill. 
In April many of the females are setting while others have found suitable 
locations. The courts are not so popular now for the males fail to attract atten- 
tion. Soon after this the session is brought to a close. The females nest in the 
parks and valleys usually near some spring or rivulet, though there are excep- 
tions to this rule. One must look closely, for the old bird will permit herself to be 
almost trampled upon before she will disclose the secret of her treasures. On be- 
ing disturbed the hen will usually forsake her nest and seek a location elsewhere. 
The nest is poorly constructed, consisting of a shallow depression under a sage 
bush, lined with blades of grass 
and a few of the bird’s own 
feathers. The hens lay from 
six to nine and occasionally ten 
eggs. These are a dirty olive 
buff heavily blotched with Van- 
dyke brown. Badgers and coy- 
otes destroy many nests while 
eagles are an important enemy. 
The young are like little tur- 
keys in color and peep similarly. 
They leave the nest immediately 
upon hatching. Attemps to 
raise them have always failed, 
though I have secured the very 
young and put them with hens. 
The young will tolerate no 
foster mother, but escape from 
the pen, if possible, and wander 
away uttering their plaintive 
little whistle “ra-do-ra-do.” I 
believe that they might be 
reared if one had a turkey 
brood in a patch of alfalfa where 
the chicks would feel more at 
home and be able to eat the 
food of their choice. 
The actions of a sage hen 
with a brood remind one of a 
turkey. The presence of the 
brood is often made evident by the actions of the mother which are wild and fool- 
ish. In these circumstances one must be very careful lest he tramp on the chicks 
for they are much the color of the ground upon which they lie very closely. After 
considerable clucking and muttering the mother will wander off some distance and 
watch and listen for a signal of distress. If one whistles the notes of a little one in 
distress it will throw her into spasms of excitement. She will act as if injured in 
both wings and body as she flutters around uttering a clucking noise. By Novem- 
ber the young equal the old in size, but the color is not so dark — more of a light 
brownish, The young feed upon insects, but from November till spring the birds 
are forced to live upon sage, which strongly taints the meat. 
When riding in the spring and summer I have often seen single hens and 
MALE SAGE GROUSE IN NUPTIAL PLUMAGE 
(Mounted by I*. E. Burnett) 
