242 Birds Every Child Should Know 
often hear grouse drumming at the old stand, 
merely from excess of vigour and not because 
they take the slightest interest then in a mate. 
After the mating season is over, they have less 
chivalry than barnyard roosters. 
Shy, wary birds of wooded, hilly country, 
grouse are rarely thought of as possible pets, 
but the gentle little girl in the picture won the 
heart of a drummer and subdued his wildness, 
as you see. Some people are trying to domes- 
ticate grouse in wire-enclosed poultry yards. 
Sometimes when, like “the cat that walked 
by himself ’ ’ you wander “ in the wild wet woods, ’ ' 
perhaps you will be suddenly startled by the 
loud whirring roar of a big brown grouse that 
suddenly hurls itself from the ground near your 
feet. If it were shot from the mouth of a can- 
non it could surprise you no less. Then it sails 
away, dodging the trees and disappears. Gun- 
ners have “educated’’ the intelligent bird into 
being, perhaps, the most wily, difficult game 
in the woods. 
Like the meadowlark, flicker, sparrows and 
other birds that spend much time on the ground, 
the bob-white and ruffed grouse wear brown 
feathers, streaked and barred, to harmonise 
perfectly with their surroundings. “To find 
a hen grouse with young is a memorable 
experience, ” says Frank M. Chapman. “ While 
the parent is giving us a lesson in mother love 
