The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-10-28
THE WAYS OF PARTRmGEs.
A True Game Bird That Is Found In
Many states.
From the Chicago Record.

Many states.
-~ From the Chicago Record.
The ruffied grouse, sometimes called
partridge cock of the woods" or pleas
ant. have a wide range of habitat in the
United States, no less than twenty-six OF
the states mentioning them in their game
laws. They range from Maine on the
north to Dakota on the west, south to
Virginia, and are in most of the Central
and Northern Central states. They are
probably the hardest birds in many re-
spects of the grouse family. / have never
heard of one of them being frozen, how
ever severe the winter, and have been
out hunting when traces of their scratch
ing would be found which indicated that
they were digging down over a foot in the
snow to get at buried rosebuds or the
roots of willows. What they live on
when the snow is deep is a mystery to
those VINO have Travelled in the woods,
where they are found, but live they do,
and apparently thrive. In Illinois the law
has been changed, making the open sea-
son during the month of September only
and this Is going to make these birds
more plentiful If the law is half way OBJ
served.
The reason for this is that the foliage in
September is so thick in the woods (and
the ruffied grouse is rarely found in the
open) that hunting him will be a very
difficult matter. In the places he fire.
quents the trees are usually close enough
together to make practically a sheet OF
leaves during the time he may be shot
And no bird in the timber Is harder to
bring down than this same ruffed grouse
His flight is very swift, strong and hard
to stop as he whizzes through the woods.
He seems to be able 90 get past the trees
without the slightest difficulty, and like
the woodcock, has the happy faculty Of
putting a tree trunk between himself and
the sportsman when opportunity offers
or course they have been relentessly
hunted, but so have the prairie chickens.
1T is not because they have been frozen out
by the severe winters, for the very In
dams themselves have no more endurance
and stoicism than the ruffed grouse. The
woods are here yet, and TO a great extent
the chance for getting a living is as good,
but many thousands Of acres Of timber
land near the railroads running to the
are almost entirely deserted by
the birds 1t may he that the gradual des-
truction of the urderbrush and the clean
ing up of the woods by the habit Of max
ing them pasture grounds has made he
birds leave. At any rate. they have gone.
where twenty years ago they were found
in fairly plentiful numbers Restocking
these woods might be the means of Of
fording ccasional shooting. but where the
timber has been denuded of the brush TIE
ruffed grouse will not stay in any num-
bers They are found in tamarack swImps.
around the lakes in the hiHy portions of
Illinois and in the woods along the streams
and rivers of the northern part OF the
state.
The ruffed grouse is true game bird,
lying well to the dog and giving exciting
sport wherever found in numbers large
enough 10 furnish fair shooting. In Nj Chi
gan. which is a good grouse stale, he is
often found in the same country with the
quail and he hunters here get hem when
hunting for the latter bird. In Illinois, on
the contrary, the quail have nearly all dis
in the grouse country the cold
winters having frozen them out or driven
them to more temperate portions Of the
In Indiana also the ruffed grouse
is found with the bob white" and, gener-
ally speaking, country which is good for
quail cannot support the other bird. Like
the quail, his flesh Is white, inclined to be
a trifle dry, and very delicious eating. Like
the other grouse. they go in hocks, ar
though in Illinois they have become so
scarce that single old cock or pair of
birds Is about all a man viii find.in walk
Ing through the average neck of woods
Their colors are dark brown, blended |
with gray and with black, and they have
a crest on top of the head. The ruffs are
q prominent feature of the birds appear
ance and are two in number, one on each
side of the neck. They are composed of
from twenty to thirty feathers each, and |
The bird takes it's name from them. The |
tail is dong, broad and banded, and when |
stretched out and dried will make quite a
unique fan The ruffed grouse Is about |
sixteen to eighteen inches long, and will |
weigh from two 70 two and a half or |
.hree pounds. He Is an exceedingly hand |
some bird, excelling the pinnated grouse
1r prairie chicken vastly in this respect.