Bird lore - Project Puffin

2^irb=1tore FES 4 1916
A BI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE
DEVOTED TO THE STUDY AND PROTECTION OF BIRDS
Official Organ of The Audubon Societies
Vol. XVIII January— February, 1916 No. 1
PRAIRTE SHARP -TAILED GROUSE
SUNNING THEMSELVES ON A SNOW-
COVERED HAYSTACK IN MIDWINTER.
Some Canadian Grouse
By H. H. PITTMAN, Wauchope. Saskatchewan
With photographs by H. and E. Pittman
KCCORDING lo the official list,
Canada has many species of
Grouse, but the ranges of some
of tJiem are so difficult of access that
the average traveler or settler is hardly
likely to meet with all of them. The
four dealt with in this article are, per-
haps, the best-known members of the
family, and the ones most likely to be
seen during a tour through the country.
Two are birds of the plains, and two
are to be found in the woods and forests.
The commonest species on the plains
in southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan
is the Prairie Sharp-tailed Grouse
{PedioccBtes phasianellus campestris)
which derives its name from the fact
that the feathers of the tail are graduated so that the middle ones come to
a point. In the two provinces mentioned I have found these birds very
plentiful, and have seen coveys which must have contained at least fifty or
sixty individuals, on many occasions. These birds are also found in Alberta,
but, possibly through not knowing the province so well, I have not seen so
many there.
The courtship of the Prairie Sharp-tailed Grouse is extremely interesting
to watch. They have regular meeting-places, generally on bare knolls, and here
coveys of the birds assemble day after day throughout the spring. When not
resting, the males spend their time displaying to the hens, strutting and danc-