Birds from the West Coast of Lower California and Adjacent Islands

Abstract

sometimes bunches of them. They were always bright and in good condition of flesh. They appeared to be idle which leads me to think that the late hatches do not lay the following spring. If this were to be seen only in summer I would believe that they had been robbed of their possessions, but it occurs when the hens should be nesting. The counties of Albany, Converse, Natrona, and Carbon are the places where grouse are most abundant in Wyoming. A single hunter has been known to kill a hundred birds in a day without a dog. The best hunting is found over lands adjacent to springs, down green draws and the bottoms along streams, and the best time to find coveys is in the morning or evening when the birds are feeding. After feeding they hide either on the feeding ground or at some distance from it where the sage is large enough to screen them from enemies and the rays of the sun. Ofttimes a hen with her brood will venture to take refuge in the shade of a ranchman's cabin or barn. It is certain that grouse breed above seven thousand feet but just how much I am unable to say. Hail storms often kill large numbers when they strike the places of hiding. When their feathers are drenched with rain, the birds are often unable to rise, and at such times have been killed with a stick.