Jan. 1889.] 
A mi OOLOGrIST. 
9 
ts> terra firma myself, which I reached in a 
very unceremonious manner. I had Uot calcu- 
lated rightly upon the weight of my rope and 
the result was that when I had/got within 
about thirty feet or more of tl)6 ground the 
rope broke of its own weight. /Luckily for me 
the cliff was of sandstone and the rains and 
snows of ytears had washed 1 the sand off: so 
that, instead '•of striking a />cky flat bottom, I 
found myself suddenly idiot from the high 
sandy bank (upon whi</li I sat so hard) out 
nearly at right angles ^vith the cliff, and after 
performing m an y\ unheard of acrobatic per- 
formances, I final IvX dropped softly (?) into a 
pile of rocks, and \knew — nothing. Clear 
Creek was not far awhy, and my friend soon 
brought me to my sense’s, and I awoke to see 
my young eaj^es “lariated” out to stakes, 
while Jim, nyy companion}, was busy rubbing 
my wrists ami performing all the things known 
by him t</ bring a person Stunned to their 
senses. Every bone in my body was sore, but 
none broken, and after several Y^eeks I was 
once more on my feet. HoweveX I lost the 
best of the collecting season that year, and I 
seldom climb a high tree or ledge that I do 
no j think of two young eagles and a sand- 
stone cliff, in Clear Creek Canyon. 
(To lie continued.) , 
Charles F. Morrison. 
Nesting of the Canada Grouse in 
Captivity. 
As it is almost impossible to find eggs of the 
Canada Grouse ( Canace canadensis) in their na- 
tive haunts, and being determined to obtain 
some, I concluded to overcome the difficulty 
by capturing and domesticating some of these 
birds. With this idea I built an enclosure 
about thirty feet square, and of sufficient 
height to allow me to walk about inside of it. 
I built this of strips of boards three inches in 
width, with two-inch spaces between them for 
the admission of light. Having cut spruce 
tree-tops, I placed them in different parts of 
the enclosure, which gave it the appearance of 
a natural forest, and also served the birds for 
roosting places. These spruces I renewed 
from time to time to keep them fresh. 
I placed birds in this enclosure as rapidly as 
I could obtain them, but for a long time they 
died so fast that I, at any one time, never pos- 
sessed more than four. I have lost, in this 
way, twelve or fifteen birds. 
These birds are found scattered through the 
central ridge of the province running east 
and west. They are confined to this region 
for two reasons, first, because in this out of the 
way district they are more out of the reach of 
hunters, and second because the nature of 
the bird renders this lonely region the most 
suitable abode for them. 
I imagine that their absence from the haunts 
of the Ruffed Grouse ( Bonasa umbellus ) is to be 
accounted for by their extraordinary tameness 
— a tameness which precludes the possibility 
of escape from extermination in even moder- 
ately populated districts. In fact, they have 
been exterminated, except in places which are 
not frequented to any great extent by the 
sportsman. 
The manner of their capture is as follows: 
One who knows their haunts and is familiar 
with their habits takes a slim pole, from twelve 
to fourteen feet in length, to the end of this 
pole he attaches a snare made of soft twine. 
Armed with this weapon, he approaches the 
bird who is probably perched on a spruce 
limb; slowly and cautiously, step by step, he 
advances, holding the pole ready; the bird 
eyes him curiously; nearer and nearer the 
noose approaches; suddenly, with an almost 
imperceptible movement, the fatal noose de- 
scends over the head of the doomed victim ; 
a slight jerk, and the captive is brought strug- 
gling and fluttering to the ground. The noose 
is then loosened from its neck, and the captive 
is deposited in a covered basket carried for 
the purpose. 
The operation I have described is a delicate 
one, and requires good judgment and careful 
management. It is not every one who starts 
out with a pole and noose who brings back his 
bird, for the least awkwardness or abrupt 
movement, or a little mismanagement, and the 
bird is gone. And, in this case, as he cleaves 
the air with rapid pinion, distance fails to lend 
enchantment to the view. 
These rapidly recurring deaths taught me 
that if I was going to succeed it was necessary 
for me to ascertain, by a careful examination, 
what conditions were necessary to the health 
of the birds, what was their proper food, etc. 
I began to examine and study the contents of 
the crops of birds sent to me to be mounted. 
In this way, and by introducing different 
varieties of food, I learned what was most suit- 
able for them, and so completely was I success- 
ful that for the last ten months I have not lost 
a single bird. In fact, they are in better con- 
dition than the wild ones, having now (Aug. 
4) almost completed their new suits, while 
