. Bird-lore . PRAIRIE SHARP-TAILED GROUSESUNNING THEMSELVES ON A SNOW-COVERED HAYSTACK IN MID-WINTER. 2 Bird-Lore ing backward and forward with erected crests, drooping wings, and head andtail almost meeting, all the time uttering a peculiar clucking or gobbling the distance, these calls sound very much like the confused murmur ofvoices of a far-away crowd of people. Spreadborough says the birds become soabsorbed that it is almost impossible to drive them away at these times—evenby shooting. I have seen as many as forty birds on a knoll at one time, buttwenty-tive or thirty is more usu
. Bird-lore . PRAIRIE SHARP-TAILED GROUSESUNNING THEMSELVES ON A SNOW-COVERED HAYSTACK IN MID-WINTER. 2 Bird-Lore ing backward and forward with erected crests, drooping wings, and head andtail almost meeting, all the time uttering a peculiar clucking or gobbling the distance, these calls sound very much like the confused murmur ofvoices of a far-away crowd of people. Spreadborough says the birds become soabsorbed that it is almost impossible to drive them away at these times—evenby shooting. I have seen as many as forty birds on a knoll at one time, buttwenty-tive or thirty is more usual. The nest is on the ground, concealed among the grass, very often in littlepatches of scrub; but no real nest is made. The eggs number from twelve to. ]RA1R1E SHARP-TAILED GROUSE lifteen, and are brown with dark specks, measuring about x , after being sat upon for a time they become bleached, turningto a dirty-white color. The hen sits very closely, and will allow herself to bealmost touched before rising. Great numbers of these birds are killed forsport during the short open season. When I iirst went to southern Manitoba, the square-tailed PinnatedGrouse {Tympanuchus americanus) was the common game-bird of that portionof the prairie, and it is gradually spreading westward. Atkinson commentsupon the fact that these two species do not agree well together. More recently
Size: 1721px × 1452px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., boo, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectbirdsperiodicals
