The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-10-11
PHASES OF CUNNING.
Things the Hunters Note IN
the Woods.
TRICKS OF The RUFFED GROUSE.
Wonderful Ability Of the Bird in
Hiding Itself.

Urndoing--Its Rocket-Like Flight and
Strange Quality OF Obedience-Ths
Problem OF Killing It-NOtes of the
Deer Hunters--Flight Of the Ducks
Southwark Fishing still Open.
When the ruffed grouse Pushes from
dog or man and speeding for fifty yards,
alights on spruce hemlock maple, birch
Or pine, it Immediately becomes the hidden
object of picture puzzle. Every man at
some hour of his life has fooled away time
with one Of these things, at which you stare
without seeing the hidden object; then al
at once you find it and thereafter cannot
look at the picture without seeing it first.
The hunter has much the same expert
ence with the grouse He must study 1t
out foot by foot and finally when he sees
the bird-if he ever does--he wonders how
% plain an object could 20 long have es-
capped him.
For this work he needs hrst a pair of
good eyes. then some knowledge OF the
habits of the bird, then practice, and plenty
of it, 1t is practice that does it.. The
guide will find ten grouse to his employer Il
one. To the unused city dweller his dex-
terity seems little short OF the miraculous,
but there is no miracle about it.
When the grouse lights it's manner OF
procedure is invariable. 1t may fly on a
general line as straight as might be drawn
With a rule, but once il is out Of sight of its
enemy and is prepared to stop it swings
from thirty to forty feet to the left and
shoots upward on slant for twenty feet or
20. coming to rest gently.
1t selects limb as thick through as q
man 8 arm or thicker. because on smaller
limb it would he too conspicuous. 1t pre-
fers part of this limb close to the trunk
of the tree. so that its hue may blend with
both limb and trunk
It will rarely sit athwart the limb, with
Ms tail projecting upon one side and its head
on the other, This posture attracts atten-
ton rapidly. Instead the grouse occupies
the limb longtudinally.
1t depresses its tail SO that it lies along
the limb, puts its breast down on the bark.
and. facing either the trunk or the end Of
the limb, turns its head slightly to one side
In the direction whence 1t came. watching
for the approach of its foe. 1t looks like
knot upon the upper surface of the limb
or an excrescence on the bark and the I'M
accustomed eye will run over 1t a dozen
times.
When a grouse has placed itself 40 and
is satisfied with its perch it is slow to learn
that it has been discovered. 1t will squat
without motion while the man below takes
aim carefully with small rife and shoots
it through the head.
II he misses. as he will often, the tiny
pellet passing within half inch OF the
target will not make the grouse wink. II
hears the crack of the weapon and pos
sibly the sing of the bullet, but it still thinks
that il is not seen, and it will sit so some
times while an inexpert gunner empties
a magazine at ii.
Most often two or three shots are suf-
fcient and it comes whirling down, it's
great wings making roll through the
forest. There is always a great deal OF
fitter to grouse shot through the head.
Indeed. when one is hit So it guides the
hunter TO the spot where it has fallen, and
good many of them would be lost in thick
brush hut for the noise they make in the
death struggle.
If a grouse elects to alight cross ways
on large limb az it does once in a while,
its behavior is even more interesting Then
the tail is depressed until it melts into the
bark Of the limb S side the wings are brought
forward until they hide the tetale speckle
of the breast, and the head is stretched
upward and outward in strained and
rigid position. The bird thus becomes
projecting stumpy limb, or one that has
been broken of, or long stubby knot.
It is not especially difficult to zee in this
position, but difficult to identify. Every
forest tree contains a dozen or more of
these projections. and they look as much
like the grouse as the grouse looks like
them The guide will find a grouse in
this position within thirty seconds after
taking his stand near the tree. but the
ordinary sportsman will look for a half
hour without discovering the bird.
The dog proves his value when single
grouse or covey has lit in tree by dane
ing around, barking continuously NOV
ing from side to side of the tree and leap
ing up The bird will sit az rigid as an
iron bar if only men are below. but il a
dog be there it cannot help moving its
head and looking down at its enemy. 1t
will even grow so uneasy as to trot foot
OF so along the limb.
This is because foxes, wolves and wild.
cats have been catching grouse for some
millions of years, and the birds dread
them. They have not nerve enough to
remain quescent when predatory quad
rrped is dancing about below. Wolves
and foxes cannot climb perpendicular
trees but the wildcat can. and the grouse
never knows whether the dog is going
TO start up after it or not
This trick of tree conceament is one oil
the most interesting things in nature
1t has been learned through hundreds
of centuries of bitter experience. and the
deaths of thousands have brought it a,
near as possible to perfe c,ion.
In it's effort to slough distinctive colon
and fit itself in hue to It's surrounding
the grouse has been more successful thar
some Of the members Of the gallinaceoul
family, and less successful than others.
1t is better provided in this way thai
the wild turkey, whose light brown ant
bronze coat, black breast, beard, red wat
ties and blue head make 1t still easy to tn
eye It is better of than the prairie CHECKER
because it has not the bags on each, sid
of it's neck which when II 6ated with al
in the spring make the hooting call of tn,
pinnated grouse.
1t is about on level with the spr1lc
grouse. or fool hen but has much NOR