of the stream until the drumming be- 
gan. I had expected then to negotiate 
the whole distance during the space of 
one drumming, but the end of the last 
beat found me only a part of the way 
across. 
ND there I was forced to stand, chill 
water oozing into my leaky lumber- 
man’s shoes. The close of another 
drumming found me standing in water 
only three or four inches deep, but the 
water from my boots and _ clothes 
dripped noisily into the stream and the 
alert grouse instantly commenced vig- 
orously to scold. Although only two 
rods intervened, neither of us could see 
the other because of the maple top. At 
length he quieted down and again 
drummed. 
It was my plan to climb up into this 
old tree top. To do this it was neces- 
sary to move very cautiously, and when 
the drumming next ceased I was in an 
awkward position, supporting myself 
with my hands on two limbs about level 
with my hips, and with my legs dan- 
gling in mid air. I remained in this 
position for what seemed an eternity, 
and only after many moments was I 
able to ease myself into a sitting pos- 
ture. The drummer had again heard 
the dripping water, so I remained quiet 
during the next performance to allow 
him to gain confidence. 
T the sixth drumming the grouse 
caught sight of my arm, which was 
grasping for a limb above my head, 
and he stopped short in the middle of 
the beats. I remained as motionless as 
a statue, but only after a long silence 
did the drum beats roll again. Perhaps 
it was a. bit of grouse strategy that 
caused the drummer to stop short again 
during each of the two following drum- 
mings; perhaps he wished to stop and 
listen, I do not know. By further cau- 
tious maneuvering I eventually found 
myself standing in the top and peering | 
forth through an eight-inch opening in 
the leaves. The grouse was but a few 
yards away. I stood very quietly and 
watched. The following is taken di- 
rectly from my notebook account of that 
day. 
‘| POSITIVELY determined the fol- 
lowing: (1) Practically each time 
before he drummed, the grouse strutted 
up and down the log two or three feet 
,and expanded and shut his tail like a 
fan. He made no noise. (2) He al- 
ways stood very near the edge of the 
log when drumming—as near the edge 
as possible. (3) He squatted down 
upon the log when he drummed. (4) 
His tail was on the log, evidently as a 
brace, each time that he drummed. (5) 
At each beat of his wings he swayed 
Page 581 
forward with his whole body. This was 
not so at the last part of the drumming 
as the beats were run together too 
much. It then appeared to be more of 
a shaking movement. (6) The wings 
were held in a different manner than 
I had formally supposed. The end of 
each separate beat found the wings sev- 
eral inches ahead of the breast and, I 
believe, slightly turned outward at the 
top. (7) The body was almost perpen- 
dicular while drumming. (8) I heard 
the grouse drum only three beats on 
one occasion.” 
I watched the drummer for a number 
of times. After determining the above 
points I tried to climb higher in the 
top to obtain a view of the bird’s head. 
I was unsuccessful, for the grouse saw 
me and promptly walked to the other 
end of the log, there hopping upon the 
ground. As the drummer left, a 
Cooper’s Hawk swooped past and 
perched in a neighboring tree. The 
hawk saw the grouse, made a swoop for 
it and attempted to pursue when it 
flew. The drummer, who was the more 
expert woods flier, dodged in and out 
among the trees and the hawk soon 
turned aside. 
FEW days later I stalked another 
grouse to within thirty feet in 
woods offering no unusual concealing 
cover. I did this by crawling on hands, 
knees and belly over dry and wet places 
alike, with extreme caution. For in- 
stance, at the closest approach I arose 
to my feet, allowing the grouse to drum 
three times before I stood erect. (And 
the intervals between drumming are 
often quite long.) The whole procedure 
took well over an hour. At this time 
I learned these things: 
“(1) The grouse held his head well 
forward, and down. (2) It seemed to 
me that the wings bent in and upward. 
It also appeared that the wings were 
held very low down. (3) This grouse 
did not strut or expand his tail.” I had 
a side, slightly front, view. 
HAVE watched many grouse drum 
but I have learned perhaps most 
from the two drummers told of above. 
These two observations represent far 
more labor than that consumed in the 
actual approach; they are the crowning 
achievements of long hours of practice 
which was invariably unsuccessful. 
The drumming occurs in this manner. 
After remaining motionless for some 
little time the drummer suddenly darts 
his wings downward and forward, hold- 
ing them in this position for a fraction 
of a second—long enough so that there 
is a clearly defined pause. For a reason 
that I am unable to explain, this first 
beat produces no sound. (And, indeed, 
I am unable to explain how ANY beat 
produces sound.) There is, however, in 
the next beat, a pronounced first sound, 
very prominent and distinct. The next 
beats are more rapid, the first few dis- 
tinct and plain. But, as the grouse 
continues, the beats become more rapid 
and finally merge into a continuous, 
rolling drumming in which separate 
beats cannot be distinguished. 
le ends abruptly with a sustained roll. 
The sound is muffled and resonant. 
A friend once told me that he long 
passed the drumming by, believing it to 
be the distant explosion of a gas en- 
gine. A very fair idea of it may be ob- 
tained by expanding one’s chest, hold- 
ing the breath and with closed fists 
beating the chest about as described. 
Of course not much idea as to volume 
or resonance is obtained in this way. 
Early in May, grouse nests are to be 
found in logs, at the bases of trees, 
under old fallen tops and in other some- 
what protected places. The nest is 
merely a hollow in the ground, lined 
with leaves. The eggs vary greatly in 
number. I have records of nine eggs 
in a nest and of as high as twenty-one 
eggs in one nest. They are of a pretty 
buff or brown and are about half the 
size of a hen’s egg. 
ROUSE nests are usually discovered 
only after the old bird has been 
next to stepped upon, and _ leaves 
the nest uttering a long-drawn-out and 
very plaintive cry. She often drags her 
wings or lies fluttering on her side as 
though she were vainly struggling to 
regain her feet. Follow her a few rods, 
however (she will keep just out of your 
reach), and she will suddenly spring to 
life and plunge off into the woods with 
as much spirit as the wariest fall bird. 
Her clever ruse will often have led one 
so far away that unless careful note of 
the exact location of the nest was taken, 
great difficulty will be encountered in 
rediscovering it. 
a) HE young are able to run within a 
few hours after hatching and are 
led away by their mother almost as 
soon as the down has dried. Upon be- 
ing surprised with her brood, the hen 
will likely rush directly at the intruder, 
tail spread above her back and wings 
dragging, like a turkey gobbler. Mean- 
time the young grouse have crouched 
down or scuttled away and a careful 
search will probably not reveal more 
than a fourth of them. They learn 
obedience very early in their lives. 
When the young birds are about the 
size of three week old chicks, they have 
developed the use of their wings and 
fly readily, though their bodies are not 
yet covered with down. Some of the 
(Continued on page 620) 
