producing a sound like that of a large muffled drum. This done, the bird immediately erects itself, refills its receptacles by inhalation and again proceeds with its tootings. I frequently observed in thosePrairie Hens which I had tamed at Henderson that after producing the noise the bags lost their rotundity, and assumed the appearance of a burst bladder, but that in a few seconds they were again inflated. Having caught one of the birds, I passed the point of a pin through each of its air cells, the consequence of which was that it was unable to toot anymore. With another bird I performed the same operation on one only of the cells, and next morning it tooted with the sound one, although not so loudly as before, but could not inflate the one which had been punctured. The sound, in my opinion, cannot be heard at a much greater distance than a mile. All my endeavors to decoy this species, by imitating its curious sounds, were unsuccessful, although the Ruffed Grouse is easily deceived in this manner. As soon as the strutting and fighting are over, the collapsed bladders are concealed by the feathers of the ruff, and during autumn and winter are much reduced in size. These birds, indeed, seldom if ever meet in groups on the scratching grounds after incubation has taken place; at all events, I have never seen them fight after that period for, like the Wild Turkeys, after spending a few weeks apart to recover their strength, they gradually unite, and as soon as the young are grown up, individuals of both sexes mix with thelatter and continue in company till spring. The young males exhibit the bladders and elongated feathers of the neck before the first winter, and by the next spring have attained maturity, although, as in many other species, they increase in size and beauty for several years.
As I have never shot these birds in the Eastern states, and therefore cannot speak from experience of the sport which they afford, I here introduce a very interesting letter from a well-known sportsman, my friendDavid Eckleiy, Esq., residing at Boston, who is in the habit ofshooting them annually.
“Dear Sir, I have the pleasure of sending you a brace of Grouse fromMartha’s Vineyard, one of theElizabeth Islands, which for many years past I have been accustomed to visit annually for the purpose of enjoying the sport of shooting these fine birds. Nashawenna [i.e.,Nashawena] is the only other island of the group on which they are found. This, however, is a sort of preserve, as the island being small and the birds few, strangers are not permitted to shoot without the consent of the owners of the soil. It would be difficult to assign a reason why they are found upon the islands above named and not upon others, particularly Nashann [i.e., Naushon], which, being large, well wooded and abounding in feed, seems quite as favorable to the peculiar habits of the birds.
“Fifteen or twenty years ago, I know from my own experience, it was a common thing to see as many birds in a day as we now see in a week; but whilst they have grown scarcer, our knowledge of the ground has become more extended, so that the result of a few weeks’ residence of a party of three, with which I usually take the field, is ten brace of birds. Packs of twenty to fifty are now no longer seen, and the numbers have so diminished in consequence of a more general knowledge of their value, the price in Boston market being five dollars per brace, that we rarely see of late more than ten or twelve collected together. It is often observed, however, that there is very little encouragement to be derived from the circumstance of falling in with a large number, and that the greater the pack, the more likely they are to elude the vigilance of the sportsman; though it must be acknowledged that it is a most exhilarating yet tantalizing sight to start a large pack out of gunshot. To watch them as their wings glisten in the sun, alternately sailing,fluttering and scooming [i.e., skimming]
As I have never shot these birds in the Eastern states, and therefore cannot speak from experience of the sport which they afford, I here introduce a very interesting letter from a well-known sportsman, my friendDavid Eckleiy, Esq., residing at Boston, who is in the habit ofshooting them annually.
“Dear Sir, I have the pleasure of sending you a brace of Grouse fromMartha’s Vineyard, one of theElizabeth Islands, which for many years past I have been accustomed to visit annually for the purpose of enjoying the sport of shooting these fine birds. Nashawenna [i.e.,Nashawena] is the only other island of the group on which they are found. This, however, is a sort of preserve, as the island being small and the birds few, strangers are not permitted to shoot without the consent of the owners of the soil. It would be difficult to assign a reason why they are found upon the islands above named and not upon others, particularly Nashann [i.e., Naushon], which, being large, well wooded and abounding in feed, seems quite as favorable to the peculiar habits of the birds.
“Fifteen or twenty years ago, I know from my own experience, it was a common thing to see as many birds in a day as we now see in a week; but whilst they have grown scarcer, our knowledge of the ground has become more extended, so that the result of a few weeks’ residence of a party of three, with which I usually take the field, is ten brace of birds. Packs of twenty to fifty are now no longer seen, and the numbers have so diminished in consequence of a more general knowledge of their value, the price in Boston market being five dollars per brace, that we rarely see of late more than ten or twelve collected together. It is often observed, however, that there is very little encouragement to be derived from the circumstance of falling in with a large number, and that the greater the pack, the more likely they are to elude the vigilance of the sportsman; though it must be acknowledged that it is a most exhilarating yet tantalizing sight to start a large pack out of gunshot. To watch them as their wings glisten in the sun, alternately sailing,fluttering and scooming [i.e., skimming]
Similar Books
