New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1865-06-26

The Prsirie Hen.
The prairie hen, or pinnated grouse (Capidomis
espido) viii become extinct unless steps tskss
for its protection where shns 1t IL now common upoa
the prairies Of the West Ten years more of nais-
crrnnato slaughter will make those beautiful birds a.
.iost upon the prsries Of Illinois they
rpon Long Island where they were equally plenty
bat src now nearly extinct The following Is BairdS
description Of Cupido"ia eupidG
"Genera color Of the upper parts brown transvessc
barred with blsckish brovn wings lighter brown;
primaries grayish brown, with spots Of reddish yellow
Oh the outer webs. Til feathers psrpst brown, ns
! two middle ones lighter and notified with b'0wrish
black. Loral space and throat hight Duff The LONG
feathers OF tho neck yegowish Jed, dark brown %
The ouieS webs Urder parts Whit. marked with broad
c. rived bands arranged Ia regular SERIES Of graysh
brown; under tail coverts white CROSSED with brown
and margine,. with Lack. Membrano over the eye
end guiaF sacs oranze yellow Bil uuskr ieet 4ow.
Feathers OF tho Leg lay, infinitely banded With ysl
losish brown"
wlson gives the three following reasons why thAy
prefer an open dry plain shaded by few Trees like the
"oak openings Of Michigan. Indiana and Illinois q
regions ooy partially covered with small bushes instead
o, thick forest aud or swau.ps for their homo and
breeding places;
First tter node Of light il generally direct and
!
a,d thick forest, crowded ana insrscofed with The
IN 20 ana arm Of trees thot regui continual uin
evo..Iio. .f WIS sudden turnings 70 whoa thsg
\ ara nv IN means accustomed.
"Sfcndly their known dislike Of poods marshes and
PAGES, ioh Trey avoid on all CocasDns drnk'
lag ont seldom. and, 1t Is teiiesed never rc" 500:
The last and probably II. strongez iriucsmens 70
their preterri - these pans Is the SIND. scorn Oh tN
slTub-oak. tho Strawberries. hsckie9etnes anu pal~
racs berries with which hoy abound, md winch con-
sttls the principal part Of the loOd OF these D'!ra
Isse brusiy thcAets afford them excellent sheer.
being almost impeleirsbe to dogs or BIRDS ~ prey"
| The Wholesale manner Of their destruction may b
from the fact that they often received In
sgoh quantities in NewYogk as TO be OILY worth from
20 10 W oents apiece, and have known TINS OF then
to sp, upon the hands vi deaiers- NereTeaber when
common prioo for them in Indiana and Illinois was
ak ~ twelve cents zach. aid We have seen them SOD
ready drcssed for tho table within thirty years past
less han fOrsy miles from Chicago at 81 Genus POI
dozen.
III, richness Of the prairie soil end abundance q
prairie hels have both been looked upoa as so great t
they wero perfect inexbaustblo Probably some "
the destroyers Of both will live to learn the error o.
this opinion Whoa the prairie first began to be settled.
the birds actually increased lister than they did when
there were farms. roads. or other improvements b
check the sweeping prairie fires. But as the country
becomes extensively settled the birds not only find
their descyers increase bat the difficulty Of SOLICITING
suitable nesting places. great many farmers too
look upon them as enemies because they come late IN
lsu An upon the shocks and vtest stacks for
few scattering grains which the former should not b
gruSge animals which add much TO the beauty OF w
,udscapc One Of the most remarkable pecuharties d
the prairie hen Is is ability to make singular footing
noise BY means Of the two bsg Of yolowish skin which
n IL q 4ha anha
LITTLE fssthered wings When excited these wings are
raised the sacs are Inflated and exposed 70 view an4
er. .hon Of rich golden color. 1t by filing and ex.
hausting these that the footing sound peculiar "
these birds Is made particularly during the coupling
season. in the Spring Of the year. whom males and TO-
males meet in considerable numbers upon some smooth
poce Of ground and perform their singular ceremonies
Of courtslip marching sad footing and strutng rvund
and round BY the hour II is very singular that per.
son who hears these tootings seldom tell whether
the birds arc within forty rods or arc two miles away.
when at considerable distance the sound more nearly
resembles the oroakng moaning noise made BY the
dry wooden axle Of cart than anything else we can
name By way Of comparison. The action Of the males
at these times much resembles the strutting OF the
turkey cock and they then very pugnacious.
and often engage In fights In the latitnte II 40
the prairie hen usually makes her nest In April con-
strucng it carefully Of leaves and grass In which she
ays about dozen eggs, OF brownish-white color.
measur, ng about II by II inches Whom leading their
brood they counterfeit the action Of wounded bird 10
attract the attention Of the person disturbing them 70
give the young ones opportunity Of hiding In thu
grass; then they rise and fly away to distance from
the broad They have call for their chicks, but DO
not cuck Ike the barudoor fowl The roosting place
of these birds is upon tho ground and generally num-
Der Of thrm in pack, with tails toward the center 20
deposit their droppngs in one pile Considering
the weight Of their bodies they well susainedupcp
the wing. and when flushed or frightened fly rapidly
and strong prcpelling themselves forward by vgor'
ousy daprng their wings three or four times. which
enables them TO sail easily for distance wien the
spping Is renewed Although they visit corn fields In
the daytime they rarely II ever make their rcostins
place upon any cultivated ground In some instances
they have been domesicated and II has been stated
that they breed well In this condition. This may be
the case. but In experiments we have never
ceeded and we know that the rufled grouse (Bonsss
smbelips) cannot be domosiested.
So much for description Now for the cbec. of writ
ing this article. Ii is to urge the Legislators Of all the
States where the prairie hens now abound 10 make
stringent laws for their pro.ectionto make IL the duty
of somebody to enforce these swsto make the penalty
fine and Imprisonment for killing, these birds at any
time between February and November. OF making q
wholesale destruction Of them at any with such
traps and SHARES are used at the West Tor thu
purpose Of supplying the people Of Newyork with THU
delicious game at about tho price Of ordinary scsawA
beef
UMcss ws can have law for the protection Of thss
birds or else csa sRoot public opinion to psevsat n