PHEASANTS
Pheasants are the largest upland game bird (other than turkeys) and probably the most exciting challenge for upland dogs. Most experts agree that for the lone hunter on foot the best dog for pheasants is the springer. With erratic bouncing strides, springers search like a windshield wiper, coursing left and right at top speed, which helps confuse sitting birds.

Experienced hunters know that pheasants would rather run and hide than fly, but they normally don't run out the other end of a field the moment you enter. They just stay far enough ahead of a hunting party as necessary to feel comfortable.

When a springer crosses fresh bird scent, what I like to call warm body scent, the signs are simple to read. The dog's tail goes crazy in an uncontrolled frenzy to find the bird and make it fly. The action is best described as wanton disregard for body and limbs as the dog throws itself back and forth across the moving scent path.

Springers don't lock up, focused on the source of a strong scent, but rather suck in the live aromas from the air and attack the source. If the frenzy is contained in a small area with the dog lunging in tight circles, the bird is probably hunkering down nearby. Hunters need only wait a few seconds for the flush. If, on the other hand, the action is back and forth but progressing in a direction away from the origin, then the bird has found an escape route. The dog will catch it somewhere up ahead, so it's time to get moving and stay ready.

Springers also use ground scent as well as airborne scent when searching for game. All gundogs miss birds, but springers generally cover the ground more thoroughly than pointers -- just less of it.

RUFFED GROUSE
Ruffed grouse or partridge live in thick cover and even thicker cover. In normally dense habitat, such as alders, poplars or more mature hardwoods, the whole flushing scene unfolds very quickly. Partridges do not hang around for long on the ground when a dog is breathing on their tail. They either fly immediately or jump into a tree and hide. The advantage with a springer is that the story unfolds at closer range than with a big-running dog and at least we get a snap shot.

All dogs have trouble with grouse. Good pointers can handle inexperienced early-season birds that will hold tight, but later in the season it gets more difficult. Even when birds are pinned, grouse will often hold tight until just as you're crossing a log or get tangled in some vines, and then they flush with a startling roar from underfoot. Springers make them fly now!

In the thickest stuff, the kind of cover preferred at times by ruffed grouse and woodcock, a springer spaniel really shows its advantages. Given the choice between flushing a woodcock from a tangled alder patch on my own or with a dog, I'll pick the dog. Because woodcock and grouse in thick cover hold well in their secure hiding places, there is plenty of warning when a springer crosses fresh scent. Springers will do the brush busting regardless of how thick the brambles, and you will see the birds fly instead of just hearing them or wondering where they went.

QUAIL
Quail are a pointing dog owner's dream, at least when they are in good quail cover. They hold beautifully while hunters amble into position and flush in a tight covey for exciting going-away shots.

Pressured quail often seek refuge in the thickest blowdowns and tangles. Springers will not give a hunter one of those classic "point-and-shoot" scenes depicted in sporting art, but they get the job done and are equally proficient following up singles or dealing with pressured birds. They also handle cripples and retrieves better than most pointers.