9 
1866. 
May 19. 
1867. 
Nor, 30. 
1868. 
Fob. 1. 
Oct. 24. 
1870, 
Apr, 27. 
May 23, 
1871. 
June 17. 
1872, 
Fob. 22. 
Bonaza umbella. 
Middlesex County, Mass. 
Nest with ton eggs. 
Found a place yesterday where several hah roosted on 
a low scrubby pine; visited the spot to-day and by the 
signs judged they had passed the night there also. 
My dog flushed one in the Pine Swamp that v^as ap¬ 
parently lying under the snow. Upon shooting and dis¬ 
secting it I found its crop filled with buds (with parts 
of the stems attached)—maple buds predominating, 
& bird came into Fresh Pond this afternoon which I 
took for a Rudy Duck. It passed entirely around the 
pond, a distance of at least a mile and a half, flying 
at a height of about tv^-onty feet above water, then pit¬ 
ched into the oak woods lining the shore. Upon follow¬ 
ing it I found it to bo a Ruffed Grouse. 
Nest vath one egg v/hich the female sat on till nearly 
stopped upon. The locality^/was the edge of a small 
open grove near a house, and with farmers working close 
at hand. The nest 7/as placed in a slight hollow at 
the foot of a tree, and was composed of leaves and the 
abdonina'i feathers of the parent bird. I visited the 
place at intervals till May 17 when she finished her 
laying of ten eggs and began to incubate them. While 
sitting she would remain perfectly motionless until my 
hand was v/ithin a few inches of her tail, not so much as 
moving a feather or rolling her fiery eyes; then with a 
startling suddenness would rise directly from the nest 
with the usual loud whiring. Whenever I found her ab¬ 
sent from the nest the eggs were always covered up in the 
most careful manner. 
Nest eleven fresh eggs. 
Two broods of young, although not larger than a 
Bluebird they rose easily, uttering a cheeping cry, and 
flying a hundred yards or more alighted in low trees or 
mother was very bold approaching within a 
yar d and making a noise p ocisely like the whining 
of a dogy also clucking "^rapidly, ® 
Started forty in Concord and Carlisle. 
