GROUSE 
In early spring, just as the first leaves are sprouting, a muffled drumming 
is heard in the woods, beginning slowly and softly and quickening in tempo 
and increasing in volume until it resembles a roll of muffled thunder. This 
drumming is part of the mating ritual of the male ruffed grouse. 
There was formerly much difference of opinion as to how this sound 
was produced. Recently the matter has been settled by means of the high¬ 
speed camera. Pictures taken by Dr. Arthur Allen show the male bird 
standing erect on a fallen tree trunk. He raises his feathers, lifts the ruff 
about his neck, droops his tail and wings, and then throws his wings for¬ 
ward and upward. The drumming sound results from the air compression 
made between strokes. It is thought that the male makes this sound for two 
reasons: to make his presence known to the female and to warn other cocks 
not to encroach on his territory. 
Grouse make their nests in thick woods, where their russet-brown color¬ 
ing blends with the underbrush. The nest consists of a hollow in the ground, 
lined with hardwood leaves, pine-needles and feathers. In late April and 
in May the female lays an egg a day until nine to twelve eggs are laid. The 
eggs are a glossy cream color with occasional brown spots. Incubation 
requires twenty-one days, the mother bird brooding alone. When a sitting 
female is surprised, she waits until the intruder is quite close and then leaves 
the nest with a great whir of her wings. The young remain in the nest only 
until their down dries, but the family stays loosely united through the 
winter. The female grouse is highly devoted to her brood, teaching them 
to scratch for insects, to hunt berries and seeds; and she is careful to keep 
them away from damp places. If an intruder approaches her chicks, the 
mother bird’s ruff will bristle with rage, and she will utter a shrill, whining 
cry, resembling pee-ee-ee-u-rrr, followed by puk-puk-puk. The chicks re¬ 
spond tsee-tsee-tsee and disappear with incredible swiftness among leaves or 
twigs. The female will even attack dogs when defending her young. 
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