30 
PINNATED GROUS. 
Migration . — They are stationary, and never known to 
quit their abode. There are no facts showing in them any dis- 
position to migration. On frosty mornings and during snows, 
they perch on the upper branches of pine-trees. They avoid 
wet and swampy places; and are remarkably attached to dry 
ground. The low and open brush is preferred to high shrubbery 
and thickets. Into these latter places, they fly for refuge when 
closely pressed by the hunters, and here, under a stiff and in- 
penetrable cover, they escape the pursuit of dogs and men. 
Water is so seldom met with on the true grouse-ground, that it 
is necessary to carry it along for the pointers to drink. The 
flights of Grouse are short, but sudden, rapid and whirring. I 
have not heard of any success in taming them. They seem to 
resist all attempts at domestication. In this as well as in many 
other respects, they resemble the Quail of New York, or the 
Partridge of Pennsylvania. 
‘•^Manners . — During the period of mating, and while the fe- 
males are occupied in incubation, the males have a practice of 
assembling, principally by themselves. To some select and 
central spot where there is very little underwood, they repair 
from the adjoining district. From the exercises performed there, 
this is called a scratching-place. The time of meeting is the 
break of day. As soon as the light appears, the company as- 
sembles from every side, sometimes to the number of forty or 
fifty. When the dawn is past, the ceremony begins by a low 
tooting from one of the cocks. This is answered by another. 
They then come forth one by one from the bushes, and strut 
about with all the pride and ostentation they can display. Their 
necks are incurvated; the feathers on them are erected into a 
sort of ruff; the plumes of their tails are expanded like fans; 
they strut about in a style resembling, as nearly as small may 
be illustrated by great, the pomp of the turkey-cock. They 
seem to vie with each other in stateliness; and as they pass each 
other frequently cast looks of insult, and utter notes of defiance. 
These are the signals for battles. They engage with wonderful 
spirit and fierceness. During these contests, they leap a foot or 
