. Bird-lore . ere borne to our ears. Suddenly, only a few feet distant, a large bird burst from cover and wentrushing away through the air at a good rate. To my startled gaze it seemedalmost as large as a Turkey, although probably it weighed not more thanfour pounds. Its flight was distinctive. Turning its body to the left it gavefour hastv wing-beats, then sailed on an even keel, only to turn to the rightin another moment and repeat the performance. Thus alternately sailing andflying, while turning its body first to one side and then to the other, it pursuedits course for perhaps a third of a
. Bird-lore . ere borne to our ears. Suddenly, only a few feet distant, a large bird burst from cover and wentrushing away through the air at a good rate. To my startled gaze it seemedalmost as large as a Turkey, although probably it weighed not more thanfour pounds. Its flight was distinctive. Turning its body to the left it gavefour hastv wing-beats, then sailed on an even keel, only to turn to the rightin another moment and repeat the performance. Thus alternately sailing andflying, while turning its body first to one side and then to the other, it pursuedits course for perhaps a third of a mile and dropped again among the had found the object we sought, the great Sage Grouse of the desertplains, the largest Grouse in the world save the Capercaillie of Europe. Frombill-tip to tafl-tip a grown male measures two and a half feet, and the expanseof its wings is a yard or more. This was near the northern boundary of California and at almost thewesternmost limit of the birds range. (112). 9/6 SAGE GROUSE Order—Gallin,*Genus—Centroce Reus Family—Tetraonid/ESpecies—UROPHASi ANUS National Association of Audubon Societies The Sage Grouse 113 The haunt of the Sage Hen corresponds very nearly to that portion ofNorth America where the sage-brush grows; thus it is found in southernBritish Columbia and southern Alberta, and thence southward through easternOregon, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Colorado, Nevada, Utah and easternCalifornia. The southern limit of their range is reached when the desert growthturns from sage-brush to creosote in northern Arizona and New Mexico. Throughout all this vast region this feathered monarch of the plains wasat one time abundant. Formerly it was not extensively shot for the reasonthat antelope, deer, and other larger game were usually to be met with. Withthe passing of the big game and the introduction of breech-loading guns, a sadchange has come over the fortunes of the Sage Hen. In some remote corners ofthe West where hunter
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