8 
THE NATURALIST AND COLLECTOR 
The Ruffed Grouse. 
T HE ruffed, grouse (Bonasa um- 
bellus) is known in various 
localities as the partridge or 
pheasant, neither of which are 
appropriate, it being- a true grouse, en¬ 
tirely different from both forms with 
which it is confounded. It is peculiarly 
graceful in its movements, walking 
with a proud, firm step, erecting- its 
head and opening* its beautiful tail 
with a sudden, quick jerk; it is seen to 
the best advantage on the ground, 
where it passes the greater portion of 
its time. 
The most peculiar habit of the ruffed 
grouse is that of drumming which is 
usually practiced in the spring,although 
it is occasionally heard during the sum¬ 
mer and fall, sometimes as late as the 
month of November. 
When the breeding season com¬ 
mences, generally early in April, the 
male is accustomed to select the trunk 
of some fallen tree, to which he resorts 
every day soon after dawn, and again 
toward sunset. Mounting upon his 
chosen perch he struts up and down 
with his head drawn back, tail ex¬ 
panded to its fullest extent and wings 
lowered till they touch the log. After 
passing a few moments thus employed 
he suddenly stretches out his neck, 
draws his feathers close to his body, 
lowers his tail and begins to beat his 
sides violently with his wings, increas¬ 
ing the rapidity of the movement at 
every stroke. The sound produced is 
not unlike the rolling of distant 
thunder, and can be heard for a consid¬ 
erable distance. The same log is chosen 
by the same bird many seasons in suc¬ 
cession, unless frequently disturbed. 
The nest generally contains ten to 
tw*elve eggs of a yellowish color spotted 
with red. The males are polygamous 
and desert the females when incubation 
commences, and do not return to the 
hens until late in autumn, when the 
young and old go together. 
In color this species may be described 
as follows: Head and back part of the 
neck yellowish red; deep chestnut upon 
the back, interspersed with white spots 
margined with black; tail reddish yel¬ 
lowish, barred and mottled with black, 
with a broad subterminal band of the 
latter color. A yellowish white band 
runs through the eye; the throat and 
lower part of the neck brownish yel¬ 
low. Feathers of ruff always most 
conspicuous in the male, are velvet 
black with blue reflections; under parts 
white with large spots of brownish 
red; under tail coverts mottled with 
same; bill horn color, black at the tip. 
A difference is noticeable in speci¬ 
mens of this species, some being of a 
greyish hue, particularly on the tail 
feathers, which often have no traces 
whatever. The differences are not suf¬ 
ficient, however, to suggest a separate 
species, both varieties of coloring being 
seen in the same brood. 
— J. R. Kennan. 
