io4 THE CONDOR, VoL. VII ing grounds, the males fly away to their home in the sage until time again calls them to drill. In April many of the females are setting while others have found suitable locations. The courts are not so popular now for the males fail to attract atten- tion. Soon after this the session is brought to a close. The females nest in the parks and valleys usually near some spring or rivulet, though there are excep- tions to this rule. One must look dosely, for the old bird will permit herself to be almost trampled upon before she will disclose the secret of her treasures. ' On be- ing disturbed the hen will usually forsake her nest and seek a location elsewhere. The nest is poorly constructed. consisting of a shallow depression under a sage MACE SAGE GROUSE IN NUPTIAl- Pt. UMAGE (Mounted by L. E. Burnett) bush, lined with blades of grass and a few of the bird's own feathers. The?_hens lay from six to:nine and occasionally ten eggs. These are a dirty olive buff heavily blotched with Van- dyke brown. Badgers and coy- otes destroy many nests while eagles are an important enemy. The young are like httle tur- keys in color and peep similarly. They leave the nest immediately upon hatching. Attemps to raise them have always; failed, though I have secured the very young and put them with hens. The young will tolffrate no foster mother, but escape from the pen, if possible, and wander away uttering their plaintive little whistle "ra-do-ra-do." I believe that they might be reared if one had a turkey brood in a patch of alfalfa where the chicks would feel more at home and be able to eat[the food of their choice. The actions of a sage hen with a brood remind one of a turkey. The presence of the brood is often made evident by the actions of the mother which are wild and fool- ish. In these circumstances one must be very careful lest he tramp on the chicks for they are much the color of the ground upon which they lie very closely. After considerable clucking and muttering the mother will wander off some distance and watch and listen for a signal of distress. If one whistles the notes of a little one in distress it will throw her into spasms of excitement. She will act as if injured in both wings and body as she flutters aronnd uttering a clucking noise. By Novem- ber the young equal the old in size, but the color is not so dark--more of a light brownish, The young feed upon insects, but from November till spring the birds are forced to live upon sage, which strongly taints the meat. When riding in the spring and summer I have often seen single hens and
