104 
BIRDS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 
Order GALLING. Gallinaceous Birds. 
Suborder PHASIANI. Pheasants, Quail, Etc. 
Family TETRAONID-ffi. Grouse, Etc. 
THE GROUSE AND QUAIL. 
Only two species of this large and important family, containing some of the best 
known and most highly prized game birds, are found in Pennsylvania. These, the 
Ruffed Grouse or Pheasant, and the Quail or Partridge, are reported as natives in 
nearly every county in the commonwealth. Fifty, sixty or more years ago the 
Prairie Hen ( Tympanuchus americanus , Reich.) was, it is stated, rather common in 
certain parts of the state. Dr. Wm. P. Turnbull* writing, in 1869, of the Prairie 
Hen, says : “ Now very rare. A few are still met with in Monroe and Northampton 
counties, where I have shot the species.” In recent years unsuccessful efforts have 
been made to introduce to Pennsylvania, with a view to naturalization, the Prairie 
Hen, the European or Migratory Quail (Coturnix coturnix , Linn.) and the Califor¬ 
nia Partridge (Callipepla cali/ornica , Shaw). The Ruffed Grouse, an inhabitant 
principally of woods and thickets, is most numerous in the mountainous and ele¬ 
vated districts. The Quail, or Bob-white, prefers the open fields, meadows and 
pastures, hence is most plentiful in the fertile and productive agricultural regions, 
especially in the southeastern and some of the southern and western counties. 
Both species nest commonly on the ground, and lay many buff-colored or white 
eggs. The young, covered with a brownish and blackish down, are able to run as 
soon as they are out of the shell, and they possess an ability to hide themselves 
under fallen leaves or in scattered grasses and weeds, which is quite remarkable. 
Both species, when not breeding, are found generally in small flocks of one or two 
families. The Grouse does not appear to be migratory, but the Quail is of a migra¬ 
tory disposition. The flesh of these birds is held in high esteem by epicures. Large 
numbers of both species, particularly Grouse, are killed annually and shipped to 
the markets. They subsist chiefly on a vegetable diet, viz., the seeds of various 
weeds and grasses, cereals, berries, wild grapes, and other small fruits; the buds 
and blossoms of trees and shrubs, the tender shoots of different small plants, etc., 
and in summer they also devour numerous kinds of insects. Pheasants spend most 
of their time on the ground, but they often alight in trees and bushes to feed, roost, 
or to escape from enemies. Often when pursued by gunners Grouse secrete them, 
selves in the tops of high trees, particularly hemlocks, where they frequently remain 
so motionless as to escape the keen eye of the most experienced hunter. Some¬ 
times when these wily birds fly in trees they alight on large limbs, sit lengthwise, 
and so close to the limb as to render it difficult to detect them. At other times they 
perch close to the body of a stately forest monarch, and stand unright—feathers close 
to the body—and with neck stretched to the full extent; but even in this partly un¬ 
covered attitude they are often overlooked, being frequently mistaken for knots, 
bunches of lichens, leaves or rough bark. One is often surprised to see liow T very 
small a large Grouse will appear when frightened and hiding in a tree. Old hunt¬ 
ers, who have made a careful study of both Grouse and Quail, in their natural haunts, 
claim that these birds, during the breeding season, leave no “scent” by which dogs, 
etc., can trail them, as they do at other times. Although the Quail is a resident 
(i. e., found in the same locality during all months of the year), it is, in some parts 
of the state at least, more or less migratory, as is clearly shown by the fact that in 
the fall flocks, sometimes numbering a hundred or more birds, are seen traveling, 
usually, southward. Quails are terrestrial. Coveys huddle close together at night, 
and roost on the ground, and often, like the Grouse, when pursued, they seek shelter 
* Birds of East Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 
