666 
A YEAR WITH THE BIRDS 
bursting from the stubble ; and the farmer, whose enemies it 
destroys and whose resources it enriches, should work together 
to secure for its preservation laws adequate and generally en- 
forced. — Sylvester D. Judd, Ph.D., Assistant Ornithologist, 
Biological Survey, in Year Book, U. S. Dept. Agriculture, 
1904. 
Ruffed Grouse: Bonasa umbellus. R. 
Partridge ( New England) , Pheasant ( Middle and Southern States ) 
Length: 16-18 inches. 
Male and Female : Slightly crested head; yellow eye stripe; neck mot- 
tled with reddish and dusky brown. Back variegated chestnut; 
lower parts lighter, buff or whitish, with dark bars. Long tail, 
which spreads fan-like, reddish gray, beautifully barred. Neck 
ruff of dark feathers, with iridescent green and purple tints, 
which, in the female, is dull. Claws not feathered. 
Note: A Hen-like cluck. 
Breeds: In woodlands, through range. 
Nest: On the ground, among dry leaves; frequently a bunch of leaves 
between the roots of a chestnut. 
Eggs: 10-15, rich buff, usually plain, sometimes specked with brown. 
This is the beautiful game bird whose habit of standing on 
a log, stump, or fence and beating its wings rapidly up and 
down with a drumming sound has startled many a boy and 
girl on their first visit to the spring woods. 
THE RUFFED GROUSE 
When the pallid sun has vanished 
Under Osceola’s ledges, 
When the lengthening shadows mingle 
In a sombre sea of twilight, 
From the hemlocks in the hollow 
Swift emerging comes the Partridge; 
Not a sound betrays her starting, 
Not a sound betrays her lighting 
In the birches by the wayside, 
In her favored place for budding. 
When the twilight turns to darkness, 
When the fox’s bark is sounding, 
From her buds the Partridge hastens, 
Seeks the soft snow by the hazels, 
Burrows in its sheltering masses, 
Burrows where no Owl can find her. 
Frank Bolles 
