(Plate VII.) 
THE RUFFED GROUSE. 
Bonasa umbellus (L.) Stephens. 
This noble bird — the favorite of all sportsmen — has received 
a variety of local appellations. In New England, it.is the “ Par¬ 
tridge;” in the Middle and Western States, the “Pheasant.” The 
name Ruffed Grouse only is correct, since the bird is neither a 
pheasant nor a partridge; and the first portion is in allusion to 
the “ ruff ” of broad, silky, shining feathers which overlie the bare 
spaces on the neck. Ordinarily this ruffle lies smoothly, but in 
moments of excitement it bristles erect, showing the beautiful jet 
of the feathers. 
Naturally at home in the dense forest, these birds are not so 
dependent upon its seclusion, but that they will remain and thrive 
in the less frequented parts of a long-cultivated region, if not 
ruthlessly persecuted by the gun. Grouse shooting therefore is 
still to be had in every Northern State to a greater or less extent, 
but the almost stupid confidence of the frontier bird is succeeded 
by a great wariness learned among the dangers of civilization. 
Ruffed Grouse are not met with in packs, but in pairs or single 
families. Their food consists of such berries, seeds and fruits, 
as they are able to pick up in the woods they frequent, and often 
they will wander a long distance from the shelter of the trees,— 
especially in winter, when they are sometimes nearly famished, 
— in order to obtain such delicacies as buckwheat, com, beans, 
or the seeds of the apples left to decay in the orchards. 
In April is heard that “ sonorous, crepitating sound,” resembling 
the low rumbling of distant thunder, which is called the drumming, 
of the Grouse. For this purpose a resonant log is chosen, upon 
which, morning after morning, the bird stands, not erect, but 
resting upon the back of its tarsi, its tail being widely spread, its 
ruffle expanded, its head drawn back, feathers pressed close to its 
body. “ The wings are then raised and stiffened, and drumming 
commences by a slow, hard stroke with both wings, downward and 
forward ; but they are stopped before they touch the body. The 
rapidity of this motion is increased after the first few beats, when 
the wings move so fast that only a semi-circular haze over the bird 
is visible, this rapid vibration causing the rolling noise with which 
the sound terminates.” Far and wide this hoarse challenge re¬ 
sounds through the forest and summons other Grouse: if a fe¬ 
male, for love-making ; if a male, for jealous combat. 
In M ay in New York State the pairing is concluded and the 
eggs are laid by the middle of June at the latest. For incubation 
the most retired situations are chosen, such as the foot of an old 
stump, or the ground in the shadow of small bushes. Sometimes 
the hen seems to choose the most exposed site possible, as one 
less likely to be suspected by weasels and other marauders. The 
nest is inartistic and the dozen eggs are bright clay color, spar- 
ingly spotted with brown. The chicks leave the cradle almost 
immediately upon being hatched, and go about with the parents 
in those slow and stately walks usual to the species. Thoreau 
often came upon such broods in the. woods about Walden. “ The 
young suddenly disperse on your approach,” he writes, “at a sig¬ 
nal from the mother, as if a whirlwind had swept them away, and 
they so exactly resemble the dried leaves and twigs that many a 
traveller has placed his foot in the midst of a brood, and heard the 
whir of the old bird as she flew off, and her anxious calls and 
mewing, or seen her trail her wings to attract his attention without 
suspecting their neighborhood. The parent will sometimes roll 
and spin round before you in such a dishabille that you cannot, 
for a few moments, detect what kind of creature it is. The young 
squat still and flat, often running their heads under a leaf, and 
mind only their mother's directions given from a distance, nor will 
your approach make them run again and betray themselves. You 
may even tread on them, or have your eyes on them for a minute, 
without discovering them. The remarkably adult yet innocent ex¬ 
pression of their open and serene eyes is very memorable.” 
The wing-feathers of the young grow rapidly, the autumnal 
season of plenty arrives, and old and young, able to escape the 
enemies that surround them, practice less and less the arts of con¬ 
cealment, wandering widely in search ol pod, while the males, full 
ot vigor and exhilaration, again mount the rostrum and in the deep 
drone of beating wings loudly advertise their prowess, Now is it 
that the sportsman seeks this game, cautiously treading with his 
dog the haunts where he has been wont to find them or discovered 
the nests in midsummer. His mind and eye are ever on the qiti 
vive , yet is any one perfectly unsurprised when the Grouse bursts 
up like an explosion and speeds away like a rocket? Shooting 
these October fellows is glorious sport, and in many districts, even 
well to the northward, may be pursued the winter through, for the 
Grouse is only partially or not at all migratory, but abides with 
us all winter, “ like a russet link extended over from autumn to 
spring, preserving unbroken the chain of summers.” 
