The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-05-06
THE PARTRlDGE'S WOOING.
HIs MYSTERIOUS DRUMMIN0 WOW
HEARD ~ THE WOODS.
Cus,,es a, TO How the Resounding spring
Note OF the Partridge IL Produced -rtercs
Duel, IN the Forest Provoked By 1.-THE
mira a Good Husband and . Had Father.

No,,sr STERLING, Wis. May k-Through
Wisconsin woods, still bare Of leaves. though
budding rauidly, the drum OF the partridge
sounds Tn. mornings are yet chilly. so that
this war call md love call OF the royal bird
does not begin It's rolling until the sun IL two
hours above the horizon. From the middle
OF the forenoon until evening twilight comes
IL NAV be heard thundering from the valleys.
reyerberatinr from the crests OF bosky hills.
or booming over tho wide. brown fields This
sound long drawn, sonorous and majestic.
accentua,es IN. arrival Of spring more than
any coo or twltter from any small songster Of
them all.
The habits OF the king OF northern pinioned
game change utterly with the changing season
All winter no stayed with a flock OF fellows
and worked hard for a living. Sometimes bis
sharp bill was blunted in excavatirg a drift
down through three feet Of hard snow in search
Of the buried berries. Sometimes. when he
crouched under a bush at night. the wet snow
fell for hours. weaving a feecy blanket above
him. then froze hard at the surface and made
him q prisoner. Then his only recourse was
to pickaIe his way upward TO freedom or
else to perish miserably OF starvation. Dur
ing these months be has been greSarious. socia-
BILE. needing the moral and physical support
Of his kind. He has been wstchful and wary,
even timorous Tie has risen In air With rafting
burr when a strange foot crun1a within
a hundred yards Of his resting place. He has
fed upon the ironwood buds only when dusk
fell, being afraid In the full glare OF day TO
mount into the upper branches OF the trees,
afraid Of hawks. though most OF them had
gone south, afraid Of the great brown or white
owl. though that prowler works only in the
~night-afraid Of everything in fact, from the
mall black-headed chick adee which chirped
about him to the stealthy hunter with ?2-cali-
Der rifle. He has had no ambition. no enter
prise, no care for the females OF his covey.
He has been a greedy. selfish. cowardly gour-
mand. laboring only 10 supply his own craw
and ready nj the slightest hint Of danger 10
secrete himself in darkest and most inacces-
siblc thickets
Now. when a livelier IRIS puppies on the burn
ished dove and the wine OF spring Is in his
veins. he is a gallant, a knight errant, a cava-
lier. a trouhadour. a ~petulant duellist and a
warrior stcrnlv anxious 10 battle for his own,
In fact. he is looking for trouble. and will go
some distance out of his way TO find IL. He
fears no hawk. or owl, or fox. or mink. He
rises languidly and under protest when man
draws near. His lance is In rest against the
males Of his kind. His glove is nailed TO the
entrance 10 the lists. for he IL drunken with
love and vigor and would rather fight than eat,
So when the warm sun streams down through
the branches and the sky is as blue as the deep
est sea and a slow breeze wanders among the
grnv trunks. he mounts him upon a huge fallen
oak and there. yaingloriously rerChed, he sends
ont his challenge far ard wide. Why this
remarkable call was first termed drumming
no man ran say. 1t does not initiate the drum
OF civilization, neither snare nor bass. II
has no rattle 10 il aud it lacks sharpness. But
any one who has heard the African war drum
RAPIDLY beaten-the drum made Of skin stretched
tightly over a hollow log will at once recog-
r,ze the similarity. Like the African drum
the 'artridge drum is dull. heavy. insistent
sonorous and fai-rraching. II gets on the
nerves IN n little Nhile. because i seems &c
como from everywhere above, Glow anc
around /, IAN be heard Of ,t.. morning,
a mile from the drummer. and only n quarter
Of a nile away il sounds as If il were within
fifty rn,t. For his reason the tyro vii
have Some difficulty in rlaoing the cock par
fridge by his drumming. lie vii, walk fal
bc:ore he ncars the centre Of the disturbance
aud : even then az to ovcrrun ard flush th'
art,-t. The rartridCc's spring note differ
from that Of The prairie chicken. The latter
produces its challenge ~ initiating the looss
skin about lis neck ard eAreiluG the stored-uI
air. Il Is a long. mourriul boot. not in any
way inspiring. and with nothing warlike about
it. though II j. COM ctenl 10 excite anotho:
pralri. cork 20 'rel"y ard to bring him hurting
20 the challenger ilOU n mile away,
No one ma ever been abb" 10 give a salts
factory eNv!arHt"n Of Just how the partridge
docs its drumming; 4 man may lie Concealed
and watch one for fltern minutes and he VIII
know little about II when the performance IL
| cndnd II hn, been asserted by some observers
beating Ct the wing tips upon the log on which
the bird stands. but i, docs not seem credible
that the mere. contact of light feathers with
| solid wood could produce such volume of noise
from the hammering Of he wings against the
cocks own hollow body, but this can not be
true, for, as may be seen at any tine az this
seasonthe wings do not come into violent
Impact j. broken by their collision with the log.
II is cor tain that the bird engaged in this
liz hil is tightly closed, his head thrust far
forward and bis black eyes shine with desire
Of love and combat 1t is probable thai the
drumming's resonance is due both 80 the beating
| Of tho wing tips upon The wood and the con-
tact Of tho wing bones With the body. " any
rate, however il is done, u Is not Only the loud
est SOUND 10 ne credi"l v" a 'nlnV so SIn'ul
in al The animal kingdom but il Is so strldent
and has such persistent. CARRYING quality that
il will seriously affect any sensitive person
who listens 10 i for awhile
The Object Of the r1al" rgrtridse IN drumming
is twufold. II is Intended fret to attract
any minated, and therefore Susceptible, female
that may be within hearing Its ncNt. intended
TO serve notice on all other males 10 get of
the world Always tho big blvd selects a log
or stump IN a cleared place. lie wants to be
seen M well a. heard. Ire observer haying
won his way stoalthily 10 a point fifty yards
| distant, which affords a fair view, viii see some
The spectacle Afforded him will derend entirely
upon whether a male or n female has responded
TO the call. If T. DO another cock, the man WI
hear first an angry duck;duck, or chuckle,
viii be followed by the rapid patter q; feet
upon the bare leaves. He will not see the on
| coming adversary until the lattc- reaches the
clearing, but he will hear him plainly enough.
| wastes no time IN sounding an answering drum.
Ie comes AZ straight Ms wings and legs Gun carry
him. HeachinC the odCe Of the clearing he
pqnses to take observation Of the challenger,
nov and listening intently. his half-ral.ed
wings, beak thrust forward and semi-crouched
position all expressing the intensity Of cX-
p%ectancy and watchfnlness lie, too, has
heard the patter Of feet and is waiting TO see
whether he is to do battle or to make love.
II the adversary fingers long in conceal.
mcnt. the bird on the log will raise himself
70 full height and once again send his beat.
sides. This second insult will bring the Zoe
man to the front in a JiDy He leaps-thcre
Is no other word Tor it-hall way from the
q INC 6bgH ar to The Re. log ~o,d @i.Sh nn,I% sq,9na ss i
r ras Upon the isrcogna and walks pro8dly II
! circles, in The meantime utterlng steadily hi,
! cluck o. denial that the other fellow is so brave
handsome and strong ns he has been declaring
/ In unDtllrr second five warrior from tho loo