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 6 
 
GA 
 
GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA 
 
 
" Ask thou the citizens of pathless woods; 
 What cut the air with wings ? " 
 
 — Sandys. 
 
/ 
 

 
 I. Hob White. 
 
./• i r\ '• ' "i.^^'Us 
 
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 H f 
 
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 Kl 
 
 '^;^;-. Mi a;.' !-!u.A 
 
 . I t (t 1 • . !.-.«•: I UMl' ; .- 
 
 .'•; Ill, ».••..■ I I I . t f.M I i t ■ 
 
 •■ itiM Ji • . . 'i I ' I y a <• . , ■>- 
 
 ;• i.:.VK ; -CIl.N' ! il i' N ^.MI■S 
 
 ■') /.)',; . ' »••,'> /^,•.,«• huJs J!i,iJ 'dilh 
 .: .*■ •• ,ihn i.ijt ■ it'j di'-r- U' If I'H /'<, 
 • •,;•.. :;ttu>.'s 'II //'.7/ haunts 
 
 
 I 
 
 > , On; f/o: u li. < ; I.' .i: 
 
 rOi. I }'•>■/ \ j'/.Air^ 
 
 
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 \ - of *■ _. 
 
 
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 Upji JI'TClt (ly t'.i:- . 1' U'-:ln 
 
 I. H*.'. Whif. 
 
THE 
 
 6^ 
 
 GALLINACEOUS 
 
 GAME BIRDS 
 
 OP 
 
 NORTH AMERICA 
 
 I>fCI.UDINO THE PARTRIDGES, GROUSE, PTARMIGAN, 
 AND WILD TURKEYS ; WITH ACCOUNTS OF THEIR DIS- 
 PERSION, HAUITS, NESTINO. ETC., AND FULL DESCRIP- 
 TIONS OF THE PLUMAGE OF BOTH ADULT AND YOUNG. TO- 
 GETHER WITH THEIR POPULAR AND SCIENTIFIC NAMES 
 
 /4 book written both for those who love to seek these birds afield with 
 
 dog and gun, as well as those who may only desire to learn the 
 
 ways of such attractive creatures in their haunts 
 
 BY 
 
 DANIHI. GIRAUD^I.LIOT. F. R. S. F.. ftc. 
 
 Ex- President of the ■nmerican Ornithologists' Union 
 
 Author of the ''^ewand Heretofore Un figured Hirds of Xorth America,^* 
 of the * Worth American Shore liirds," of the Illustrated Mono- 
 graphs of the Ant Thrushes, Grouse Pheasants, 
 Birds of Paradise, Hornbills, Cats, etc. 
 
 WITH FORTY-SIX PLATES 
 
 LONDON 
 
 SUCKLING & CO. 
 
 1897 
 
 ^^^ 
 
 
 .-^^ 
 
 r^"" 
 
Copyright, 1897, 
 
 BY 
 FRANXIS P. HARPER. 
 
 PRINTED IN AMERICA 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 No group of animals is more important to man than 
 the one comprisinfj tlie gallinaceous hinls — the source 
 from which has been derived the countless varieties of 
 domcsti^„:ed fowl distributed throughout the world. 
 
 As articles of food they are of inestimable value, and 
 the birds enter largely into the various accounts of trade. 
 But beside the commercial aspect, which is important 
 enough, the species present other attractions that appeal 
 most strongly to those for whom this book was espe- 
 cially written, the sportsmen — viz., the pleasure they 
 yield in the chase, and the incentive they provide for 
 action and effort, when, in the leafy aisles of the whisper- 
 ing forests, or in the thickets, and along the banks of the 
 leaping stream, or on the open sky-encircled prairie, 
 man in his quest for these game-like creatures, aided by 
 his faithful dog, finds renewed health and strength to 
 wrestle with the toils and troubles of his daily life. For 
 accomplishing this result alone, even if in all their life 
 and death they yielded no other, these birds were not 
 created in vain. 
 
 The favorable reception given to my book on the 
 " Shore Birds " has encouraged me to write the life his- 
 tories (as my opportunities have enabled me to become 
 familiar with them) of possibly the most attractive feath- 
 ered creatures, certainly so from the sportsman's point of 
 view, which our country possesses. The water fowl to 
 some may appear more desirable, a few are really game, 
 and I would be the last to speak or write disparagingly 
 
VI 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 of them; but the environment of the Ducks and Geese 
 suffers in comparison witli that of gaUinaceous birds, 
 and the beautiful pictures of high-bred dogs, seeking and 
 pointing game, are lacking in the pursuit of the web- 
 footed quarry. 
 
 The construction of the present volume is precisely 
 similar to that of the " Shore Birds," and first is given 
 the common name of each bird, or, if there are more than 
 one, that most generally employed. Then follows an 
 account of the habits and economy of the species, and 
 a short life history; after which comes the Latin name 
 succeeded by the geographical distribution, and a de- 
 scription of both sexes when necessary, and of the young 
 whenever possible. 
 
 In the Appendix will be found the Keys to the Families, 
 Subfamilies, Genera, and Species, arranged in the same 
 simple manner as those published in the ** Shore Birds," 
 and which will enable anyone with a little patience to 
 ascertain to what species an unfamiliar example may 
 belong. Excepting perhaps the Ptarmigan, the various 
 species of gallinaceous birds are more easily recognized 
 from each other, in illustrations printed only in black and 
 white, than are those of the " Shore Birds," and the 
 various Keys will be found perhaps less necessary, and 
 only really required in the cases of the group above men- 
 tioned, or in closely allied species of Prairie Grouse. 
 
 The author's experience among the game birds has 
 been very extensive, gained from a familiar acquaintance 
 with them in their haunts extending over many years. 
 With a few exceptions, he has observed all the species 
 contained in this book in the various localities they fre- 
 quent throughout North America, and in the proper 
 season representatives of most of them have fallen to his 
 gun. Unlike the majority of the " Shore Birds," omit- 
 
 I , 
 
PRE/ ACE. 
 
 VII 
 
 tinp^ a few species and those mainly amonp^ the Ptarmi- 
 gan, Partridp^es and Grouse breed within the hmits of the 
 United States, and their habits in the nestinp^ season can 
 be observed by anyone who may be sufficiently inter- 
 ested to visit those parts of our country in which the 
 birds are to be found. 
 
 Their nests are similar in construction, but the egfpfs 
 vary g^reatly in coloration, and some, like those of the 
 Ptarmigan, are strongly characteristic and unmistak- 
 able in their markings. The eggs of the F*artridgcs are 
 usually of one color and unspotted, those of the Grouse 
 and Turkeys more or less covered with spots, which 
 differ in hue from the ground color. 
 
 Having provided in the work on " Shore Birds " a 
 map which gave the position and name of all the differ- 
 ent portions of a bird's plumage, it does not seem neces- 
 sary to issue another for the birds contained in this, a 
 companion volume, for the arrangement of the plumage 
 in all birds is the same, although the shape of the 
 feathers may be very different, and the terms by which 
 these are known do not vary. 
 
 Tile plates which adorn the volume are the production 
 of the clever pencil of Mr. Edwin Sheppard, who illus- 
 trated the " Shore Birds," and like those drawings, these, 
 executed with equal fidelity, will be of the utmost assist- 
 ance in helping those unfamiliar with the species to 
 recognize their specimens without difficulty. 
 
 The Latin names employed, except when reasons are 
 given in the articles or in the Appendix for changing 
 them, are those of the last edition of the Check List 
 issued by the American Ornithologists' Union. 
 
 The author sincerely trusts that this book will prove to 
 be of value to all sportsmen, and help bring to their mem- 
 ories halcyon days amid the game birds in tangled brake 
 
VUI 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 or open prairie, and that the student, desirous of learning 
 the ways of life and variations in dress of one of the most 
 gallant and attractive groups of birds living to-day, may 
 find some profit and instruction in a perusal of its pages. 
 My thanks are due to my friends Professor Allen and 
 Mr. Chapman of the New York Museum of Natural 
 History, to Mr. R. Ridgway of the Smithsonian Institu- 
 tion, and to Mr. Whitmer Stone of the Academy of 
 Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, for the loan of speci- 
 mens of the various species from which the illustrations 
 in this volume have been made. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Preface, v 
 
 List of Illustrations, xi 
 
 Introduction, xiii 
 
 Bob White, 19 
 
 The Florida Bob White, 32 
 
 Texan Bob White 35 
 
 Masked Bob White, .38 
 
 Mountain Partridge, 41 
 
 Plumed Partridcs, 44 
 
 3an Pedro Partridge, 47 
 
 Scaled Partridge, 49 
 
 Chestnut-Bellied Scaled PARTRiorii, .... 53 
 
 California Partridge, 55 
 
 Valley Partridge, 58 
 
 Gambel's Partridge, 62 
 
 Massena Partridge, 69 
 
 Ruffed Grouse, •/'''>J^ 
 
 Oregon, or Sabine's Grouse, 81 
 
 Canadian Ruffed Grouse 84 
 
 Gray Ruffed Grouse, 88 
 
 Dusky Grouse, 90 
 
 Sooty Grouse, 94 
 
 Richardson's Grouse, 98 
 
 Canada Grouse, 100 
 
 Franklin's Grouse, 106 
 
 Prairie Hen, no 
 
 \* 
 
 M 
 
 ft 
 
 \ 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Heath Hen, 117 
 
 Lesser Prairie Hen, 120 
 
 Attwajer's Prairie Hen, 122 
 
 Siiari'-Taii.ed Grouse, 123 
 
 Columuian Sharp-Tailkd Grouse, 126 
 
 Prairie Shari'-Taile'> Grouse, 129 
 
 Sage Grouse, 136 
 
 Willow Ptarmigan, 142 
 
 Allen's Ptarmigan, 149 
 
 Rock Ptarmigan, 151 
 
 Reiniiarut's Ptarmigan, 154 
 
 Welch's Ptarmigan, 157 
 
 Nelson's Ptarmigan, i5g 
 
 Turner's Ptarmigan, 161 
 
 Townsend's Ptarmigan, 163 
 
 Evermann's Ptarmigan, 165 
 
 White-Tailed Ptarmigan 167 
 
 Wild Turkey, 172 
 
 Florida Wild Turkey, 177 
 
 Elliot's Rio Grande Turkey, 180 
 
 Mexican Turkey 182 
 
 Appendix, 189 
 
 Index, 213 
 
PAGE < 
 
 
 "7 
 
 
 1 20 
 
 
 122 
 
 
 123 
 
 
 126 ; 
 
 
 129 j. 
 
 
 136 ] 
 
 
 142 
 
 
 149 
 
 I 
 
 151 
 
 2 
 
 154 
 
 3- 
 
 157 
 
 4- 
 
 159 
 
 5- 
 
 161 
 
 6. 
 
 163 
 
 7- 
 
 165 
 
 8. 
 
 167 
 
 9- 
 
 172 
 
 10. 
 
 177 
 
 II. 
 
 180 
 
 12. 
 
 182 
 
 13. 
 
 189 
 
 14. 
 
 213 
 
 15. 
 
 
 16. 
 
 
 17- 
 
 
 18. 
 
 
 19. 
 
 
 20. 
 
 
 21. 
 
 
 22. 
 
 
 23- 
 
 
 24. 
 
 
 25- 
 
 
 26. 
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Bob White, 
 
 Floriha Bob White, 
 
 Texan Bob White 
 
 Masked Bob White, 
 
 Mountain Partridge, 
 
 Plumed Partridge, 
 
 San Pedro Partridge, 
 
 Scaled Partridge, 
 
 Chestnut-Bellied vScaled Partridge, 
 
 California Partridge, . 
 
 Valley Partridge, .... 
 
 Gambel's Partridge, 
 
 Massena Partridge, 
 
 Ruffed Grouse 
 
 Oregon, or Sabine's Ruffed Grouse, 
 
 Canadian Ruffed Grouse, 
 
 Gray Ruffed Grouse, 
 
 Dusky Grouse, .... 
 
 Sooty Grouse, 
 
 Richardson's Grouse, 
 
 Canada Grouse, .... 
 
 Franklin's Grouse, 
 
 Prairie Hen, 
 
 Heath Hen, 
 
 Lesser Prairie Hen, 
 Attwater's Prairie Hen, 
 
 xi 
 
 Frontispiece 
 Opposite page 32 
 
 " 35 
 
 " 38 
 
 " 41 
 
 " 44 
 
 " 47 
 
 " 49 
 
 " 53 
 
 " 55 
 
 " 58 
 
 " 62 
 
 " 69 
 
 " 74 
 
 " 81 
 
 " 84 
 
 " 88 
 
 " 90 
 
 • 94 
 " 98 
 " 100 
 
 • 106 
 " no 
 " 117 
 
 " " 120 
 
 " " 122 
 
 % 
 
 \ 
 
xu 
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 27. Sharp-Tailed Grouse, 
 
 28. CoLUMiiiAN Sharp-Tailed Grouse, 
 
 29. Prairie Sharp-Tailed Grouse, 
 
 30. Sage Grouse, 
 
 31. Willow Ptarmigan, . . . . 
 
 32. Willow Ptarmkjan in Winter, 
 
 33. Rock Ptarmigan, . . . . 
 
 34. Rock Ptarmigan in Winter, 
 
 35. Reinhardt's Ptarmigan, 
 
 36. Welch's Ptarmigan, .... 
 
 37. Nelson's Ptarmigan, . . . . 
 
 38. Turner's Ptarmigan, 
 
 39. Townsend's Ptarmigan, 
 
 40. Evermann's Ptarmigan, 
 
 41. White-Tailed Ptarmigan, 
 
 42. White-Tailed Ptarmigan in Winter, 
 
 43. Wild Turkey, 
 
 44. Florida Wild Turkey, 
 
 45. Elliot's Rio Grande Turkey, 
 
 46. Mexican Turkey, .... 
 Color Chart at End of the Volume. 
 
 opposite page 123 
 126 
 129 
 136 
 142 
 146 
 
 151 
 152 
 154 
 
 157 
 
 159 
 161 
 
 163 
 
 165 
 167 
 170 
 172 
 
 177 
 180 
 182 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 "T^HE great division of the Class Aves called Galling, 
 * sometimes designated Rasores {Latin rasor, a 
 scraper), from the habit possessed by its members 
 of scratching the ground in search of food, is 
 composed of two suborders and four families. Of 
 tlic latter we have to do at the present time with 
 only two — Tetraonid/E and Fuasianiu/E, contain- 
 ing th >se species which have fozvl-fcct, in contradistinc- 
 tion to the other two families — Megapodid^ and 
 Cracii)^, which have feet like a pigeon. 
 
 These four families comprise between three and four 
 hundred species, distributed throughout the world, and 
 are of the very highest importance in their relation to 
 man, affording food to multitudes of people, and the 
 members of the Phasianid/E are the sources of all the 
 domesticated poultry found in the world to-day. 
 
 In form the birds are usually heavy in body with 
 rather stout legs and feet, small heads and curved bills, 
 with the nostrils placed in a membrane covered by a 
 scale, and the wings are short and rounded. In some 
 subfamilies the males, and occasionally the females, 
 have the legs armed with spurs, and certain species have 
 several spurs at a time upon each leg. The sternum, or 
 breastbone, has a double bifurcation on each side, the 
 fissures wide and deep, and provides but little space for 
 the attachment of the great pectoral muscles, which how- 
 ever are well developed, and give the plump appearance 
 to the breast so characteristic of these birds. The tail is 
 of various shapes, and in the Phasianid^ is sometimes 
 
 35 
 
 '.3 
 
 
 
 
 T 
 
 XIII 
 
XIV 
 
 INTKODUCriON. 
 
 lengthened enormously, and occasionally the feathers are 
 highly decorated by various markings or brilliant color- 
 ation. The flight is labored but rapid, and occasionally 
 protracted. 
 
 In their anatomy these birds have various peculiarities. 
 The esophagus is dilated, forming the crop which re- 
 ceives and moistens the food; while the gizzard, which 
 is present in all save the Sage Cock, is very strong, with 
 a thick, hard, interior wall. To assist this organ in grind- 
 ing the food the birds are in the habit of swallowing 
 small stones and other hard objects. The coeca are 
 highly developed. 
 
 The species of this order are accustomed to lay numer- 
 ous eggs, to go in coveys of considerable numbers, com- 
 posed at times of one or more families, and the young, 
 which are at first covered with down, are able to run and 
 feed as soon as hatched. The family Tetraonid/E, which 
 comprises the great majority of gallinaceous birds inhab- 
 iting North America, contains those known as Quails. 
 Partridges, and Grouse, and is represented in every por- 
 tion of the world. The members differ greatly from 
 each other in many particulars, and form three rather 
 natural groups or subfamilies, one of which, the Per- 
 dicinae, or Old World Quails and Partridges, are not 
 found upon the Western Hemisphere. American Par- 
 tridges have certain peculiarities, more particularly 
 described in the Appendix, which place them apart and 
 distinguish them from their relatives across the sea, 
 while certain species of Grouse have so wide a dis- 
 tribution, retaining at the same time their specific 
 characters, that they are found in high latitudes through- 
 out the world. This can be said of but very few 
 species of birds known to ornithologists at the present 
 dav. 
 
 alll 
 
IN I RODUCTIOX. 
 
 XV 
 
 The three subfamilies — PekdiciN/K, Oiiontopiio- 
 KiN.i:, and TktkaoniN/K — ciimprisiiifj the family Te- 
 
 K.\oNn>/i:, are known in ornitholnj^ical lanjjuape as the 
 Alc'ctoropodous (Greek ilAeKTojp, doctor, a cock -|- itoikt, 
 |)()iis. a foot) (Jallina\ or, to translate it freely, fowl- 
 f(M»ted p^allinaceous birds, characterized by havinp^ the 
 liiiid toe raised above the plane of the front toes and clear 
 r)f the p^round; differinp^ in this respect from the other 
 section of the order, the pip;^eon-footed ^gallinaceous birds, 
 ni I'eristeropodous (Greek Tcpio-Tcpfi, peristera, a pigeon, 
 -|- TToi'rr, pons, a foot) (iallince, which have the four toes 
 
 >tinjT^ on the ground, all on an ecjual plane. The 
 
 irouse are distinguished from all members of the order 
 r)y having the tarsus, or shank, covered with feathers 
 fiiore or less completely, sometimes even the toes are 
 hidden, resembling in this respect certain rapacious 
 hirds, such as Owls and a few species of Mav.>»\-. and 
 |{agles. As they are mostly inhabitants of countr'?s 
 ^vlicre the winters are usually long and severe, this pro- 
 vision of nature affords additional and especial protec- 
 tion against the cold, and guards those parts that are 
 
 )articularly cposed from the danger of becoming frozen 
 uid probably lost or rendered useless. 
 Tile members of the subfamily Tetraonin.ii: have 
 
 Tiany characters that distingush them from other birds, 
 |iot the least of which is the gracefully shaped and thor- 
 
 )itgiily game-like head, high in the rear, or occipital 
 [■cgion, with a broad and ample brain case, sloping gradu- 
 illy forward and contracting toward the junction with the 
 rurvcd and usually powerful bill. The brain is large for 
 [lie size of the birds, and it bestows upon them unusual 
 Intelligence, as shown in their cunning, ability to adapt 
 [hcmselves to their surroundings, and fertility of re- 
 sources in avoiding danger. A Quail, Grouse, or Tur- 
 
 
XVI 
 
 INTlWDVCriON. 
 
 m 
 
 key is far from beinj2^ a stupid bird, and even man, with 
 his wisdom and variety of metho<ls, has often need of 
 all his wits to circumvent these wide-awr.ke feather 1 
 creatures. 
 
 (lalhnaceous birds are terrestrial, but none of them 
 will hesitate to fly into a tree and walk or roost on the 
 branches, and they frequently seek the cover of the foliap^c 
 when pursued, for protection and concealment. They 
 are apparently perfectly at home upon a branch, fence, 
 or similar support, their rather lonjj toes p^rasping 
 firmly the perch on which they have taken their 
 position. 
 
 Grouse and Turkeys arc p^enerally polyp^amous, but 
 the Odontophorinae, or Partridges, are monop^amous. 
 The females of those addicted to the former practice arc 
 usually in the habit of concealing; their nests not only 
 from their natural enemies, but also from the males, 
 some of which would destroy both ep;^gs and younjij \\\ 
 they found the opportunity. In the other class the male! 
 is assiduous in his attentions to his mate when engap^ed 
 in the duties of incubation, not infrequently relieving^ hcr| 
 by covering: the egj^s himself, and always shares in car- 
 ing for and feeding the young. It is a rather singular I 
 fact that in most polygamous species the plumage of the 
 sexes is very dissimilar, while there is usually but little] 
 difference observable between those that are monoga- 
 mous. As a rule the birds contained in this volume moult I 
 once a year in the spring before the commencement of the 
 breeding season, but the Ptarmigan are an exception, 
 and are in a continuous state of moult at all seasons, 
 except, possibly, for a very brief period after they have 
 assumed the breeding dress, and again in winter when 
 robed in white. All Ptarmigan turn white in winter, 
 excepting the Scotch Grouse, so called, which, possibly 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 XVil 
 
 Ifrom the effects peculiar to its insular habitat, retains 
 plumage of the same colors throughout the year. This 
 Ipruvision of nature for the other species, may be 
 (to give an additional security to the birds when the 
 [whole country of their northern homes is covered by 
 (snow, and so assimilate them to the surrounding white- 
 lass, that their presence can only be perceived with 
 jreat difficulty or by merest chance. 
 
 Many Grouse possess a peculiar structure, rarely found 
 in any other species, in the air sac on the side of the 
 luck which is capable of being inflated, and then resem- 
 bles somewhat an orange attached to the neck. By ex- 
 |liausting the air, which can f)e accomplished at the will 
 nf the bird, a booming sound is produced that may be 
 luard at a great distance. Tliis performance usually 
 lakes place at the breeding season, and is one of the 
 nale's allurements to secure the attention and probable 
 ieeting attachment of the females. At all other seasons 
 this sac shrivels up and is mostly concealed under the 
 feathers. 
 One species of another group — Shore Birds — possesses 
 similar sac, but differently disposed and of great extent, 
 which is also exhibited to advantage during the breed- 
 itig season. This is the Pectoral Sandpiper, a descrip- 
 |tion of whose performance on the tundras of the far 
 lorth I have given in my work on the Limicolcr. 
 
 North America has been most favored among the 
 rountries of the earth in the great variety and number 
 )f her gallinaceous birds, many of the species being 
 ?qual to any found in other lands and some surpassing 
 ill others known, in size, magnificent appearance, and in 
 [heir value, commercially and otherwise, to the human 
 race. They are a precious heritage, to be guarded care- 
 fully and used judiciously if we are wise and far-seeing, 
 
 i 
 
 'i 
 
 i 
 
 
XVIII 
 
 ISTRODUCTION. 
 
 bestowing iH'iR'fits on onrsdvcs and on .succecrling gen- 
 erations, or to be recklessly s(|uan(lerc(l like tlie fortune! 
 of the spendthrift, leaving to posterity not even a I 
 memory, but simply a tradition of the noblest race ol| 
 feathered creatures Nature ever produced. Which shall j 
 it be? 
 
 W 
 
GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 BOB WHITE. 
 
 \A/IDELY distributed tliroupfliout the Eastern por- 
 ' ^ tions of the United States, from southern Ontario 
 on the north to Florida on the south, tliis Uiost attractive 
 little bird, called in the Northern and Middle States Quail, 
 and in the South Partridge, is the best known and most 
 eajjerly soup^ht of all our game birds by the lovers of dog 
 and gun who rejoice in the sports of woods and fields. 
 It is a sociable species, frequents cultivated lands, resorts 
 to the vicinity of the farmer's dwelling and barns, and 
 f(»llows the onward ma*-ch of the pioneer as he penetrates 
 the wilderness to conquer the rough places of the land, 
 and produce smiling sunlit fields where once the darken- 
 ing forests stood. In Vermont, New Hampshire, and 
 northern New York it is rare, and occasionally occurs 
 in Maine, but throughout the Eastern States, except 
 Florida, and west of the Mississippi in the States of 
 Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Louisiana, eastern Texas, 
 northern New Mexico, and the Indian Territory it is 
 more or less abundant; and is steadily advancing west- 
 ward in the track of the new settlements and cultivated 
 land. 
 
 It has been introduced into South Dakota, pos- 
 sibly from Florida, as the birds I have seen from that 
 far Western State resemble very closely those from the 
 southern peninsula, and in 1871 some were turned loose in 
 
 S9 
 
 
 
 
Hi'i' 
 
 20 
 
 G/tA/E BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 iiiii; 
 
 t'l 
 
 i! 'i 
 
 
 the Great Salt Lake Valley, Utah, and are now common 
 in various portions of that State. In 1875 a few were liber- 
 ated at Boise City, Idaho, and not many years after the 
 birds were numerous along the Boise River and west of 
 the Snake River. It has also been introduced into Colo- 
 rado, California, quite abundant about Gilroy, .Oregon, 
 in several of the islands in Puget Sound, and wherever 
 the climate is suitable and food abundant. This species 
 will flourish and increase in numbers in most climates, 
 soon adapting itself to its surroundings. As a rule. 
 Bob White is a resident and passes his life in or near 
 the places in which he was hatched, but in the more 
 northern portions of his habitat, even as far south as 
 Virginia, there appears to be a partial migration north 
 and south in the spring and autumn, and when shoot- 
 ing I have often met with coveys that seemed to be 
 traveling, though of course it is difficult to prove the 
 fact. But it is certain that within a district where every 
 CO » ey which inhabits it is known and the place it usually 
 frequents well ascertained, occasionally in the autumn 
 other bevies will appear upon the same ground, appar- 
 ently on the tramp, and which make no stay. 
 
 This bird never goes in packs or large flocks, like the 
 plumed quails of New Mexico, Arizona, or CaHfornia, 
 but individuals of each covey, presumably one family, 
 remain together, and even after they have been decimated 
 by the sportsman or by furred and feathered enemies, 
 the survivors rarely join another bevy, but keep by 
 themselves until the recurring spring. The matinj^: 
 season commences according to the latitude of the birds' 
 habitat, from March to May, and nidification from April 
 to June. As spring begins to temper the keen blasts of 
 winter, and the rays of the returning sun, coming from 
 the southern limit of its journey below the Equator, cause 
 
 ii'i 
 li!l 
 
BOB WHITE. 
 
 21 
 
 the buds to swell upon the trees, and Nature commences 
 to rouse herself from her winter's sleep, the clear, sharp 
 call of the male bird is heard, as perched upon some 
 fence rail or other elevated place in the field, he utters 
 the well-known sounds " Bob White, ah! Bob White," 
 expressing the latent passion of love that begins to 
 awaken in his brave little heart. The united family that 
 happily has kept together throughout the trying winter 
 has become separated, and every male member is occu- 
 pied with the important duty of seeking a mate. Each 
 little feathered breast is swelling with the fires of love, 
 and with proud carriage and eyes flashing with the desire 
 that permeates h's whole body, the cock endeavors to 
 secure the attention of the object of his choice, to win 
 her admiration, to attract her by his proud bearing, to 
 cause her to listen to his sweet, earnest tones, and to 
 reciprocate the love he offers so ardently. Ah, but she 
 is coy, the little bufif-throated hen! only looks at her 
 lover from beneath the shelter of some bush, and makes 
 no reply to his ringing love song, that is uttered with in- 
 creasing power and passion. He leaves his coign of 
 vantage and runs toward her, pufifs up his fea4;hers for 
 an instant, and then leaps upon some low stump and 
 pou)s out the clear " Bob White," like a challenge to all 
 the world to come and dispute his love. Again he draws 
 near, but she shyly moves away, looking back at him 
 meanwhile, as if half inviting him to follow. No persua- 
 sion is needed for such an ardent knight, and he is by her 
 side, telling his love in sweet, low tones that cause her 
 to listen with less reserve to her gallant cavaHer, who 
 ever presses nearer, and bows before her, until capti- 
 vated by his handsome presence and melodious voice, 
 and with an answering love springing up in her own 
 breast at length she yields a timorous consent. 
 
 I»V 
 
 I 
 
9|» 
 
 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 !hlll. 
 
 l!li 
 
 liiiii 
 
 illliii 
 
 The nest, placed upon the ground, is not much of 
 a structure, merely a cavity hollowed out in the soil 
 under a bush or fence, in pastures, or in the cotton rows 
 in Southern States ; in fact, in any spot where the locality 
 affords the required concealment and privacy. It is well 
 hidden and lined with grasses or stubble and sometimes 
 arched over at the top with an aperture at the side, or 
 again, entirely open. The eggs, which are a brilliant 
 white, sharply pointed at one end, vary in number from 
 twelve to twenty, and sometimes as many as thirty-two 
 have been found, but, in such a case, more than one hen 
 must have laid in the nest, or it may be that, when only 
 one brood is raised in a season, the usual number may 
 be considerably exceeded. The eggs are packed in 
 closely with the pointed ends downward, and so skillfully 
 are they arranged that once removed it is practically 
 impossible to put them back again. In about twenty- 
 four days the young appear, incubation having been per- 
 formed by both sexes, chiefly, however, by the female, 
 as is natural, and the comical little downy balls, which the 
 chicks resemble, run about as soon as they escape from 
 the egg. It is not often that the female is seen while 
 incubation is progressing, but the male is frequently 
 heard as from some stump or fence in the vicinity he 
 whistles his clear " Bob White." In New England this 
 call is interpreted as " more wet " or " no more wet," 
 according to the views of the wiseheads as to the proba- 
 ble future condition of the weather. 
 
 The young are faithfully cared for by both parents, and 
 scatter immediately at the note of alarm sounded by the 
 old birds, hiding themselves in the grass or under leaves, 
 while the parents, by the usual artifice of lameness or 
 inability to fly, draw the intruder away from the place, 
 to return again when all danger has passed. The note 
 
BOB WHITE. 
 
 23 
 
 by which the young are called together is very low and 
 soft, a kind of twitter. Should the nest be disturbed 
 before the young are hatched, or if the eggs are handled, 
 it is usually deserted by the birds. The chicks are able to 
 I fly a little almost as soon as they emerge from the Qg^, 
 I and (except in the northern part of the birds' dispersion) 
 when they are a few weeks old the male assumes the en- 
 tire charge of his little family, and the female begins to lay 
 [again her second complement of eggs, which, as a rule, 
 [does not average as large a number as the first. In the 
 north one brood is generally all that is raised. The 
 Iciiicks are fed by the parents on insects, but, like all 
 young gallinaceous birds, they are constantly in motion 
 and pick at everything, trying this and that small object 
 vvith great and ceaseless industry, and they soon begin 
 to swallow seeds, grains of different sorts, and berries. 
 As they grow older they become habituated to the usual 
 food of the adults, which consists of grain of all kinds, 
 especially buckwheat, of which this bird is particularly 
 [fond, wild pease, and the seeds of various plants, with 
 berries, when there are any. Quail will also eat grapes, 
 small acorns, and beech-nuts. The parents lead their 
 brood to the stubbles and pick up the grain that had 
 [been dropped during the harvest of the previous sum- 
 mer, and return at night to the thickets for conceal- 
 jnient and protection. They usually visit the fields in the 
 early morning and again in the afternoon, but late in 
 the year, if the weather is cold, they frequent' ')ass the 
 entire day in the open, huddled together after feeding, 
 [basking in the comfortable warmth of the sun's rays. 
 
 The young attain their full growth in the autumn, the 
 
 [period varying according as the spring has been favora- 
 
 jble or not for incubation, as sometimes the winter 
 
 lingers so late as to prevent the nesting season from 
 
 
 ft 
 
a4 
 
 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 i 1 
 
 i!':ii:i 
 
 beginning as early as usual; but from September in the 
 South to November in the North the broods have become 
 indistinguishable from their parents. Of course there 
 are exceptions to this, and the first brood may have 
 been hatched late, or the second brood delayed for some 
 cause. I have met young birds unable to fly any dis- 
 tance and covered with pin-feathers as late as the last 
 of November and beginning of December. Quail are 
 affectionate birds, and each little family keeps always 
 together, no member ever leaving the main body unless 
 under compulsion, and then is very restless and unhappy 
 until it has regained its companions. 
 
 When flushed the birds rise in a bunch, with a resound- 
 ing whir of the rapidly moving wings, very disturbing 
 to the young sportsman, and fly usually together in 
 a straight line, and alight all at once not far from each 
 other, when they lie close and motionless, permitting 
 the sportsman to flush them singly. If disturbed more 
 than once they then become widely scattered, occasionally 
 alighting in trees, and seek the deepest thickets and most 
 impenetrable places they can find. After they have 
 remained unmolested for some considerable time they 
 begin to move, and some little brown clump or tuft will 
 stir and disclose a bird, its bright black eye glancing 
 in every direction, the little creature all alert to every 
 sound and motion. It gathers confidence in the stillness 
 of its retreat, and gently utters a low Qnoi-i-hee and 
 listens. No response is heard, and again the same call 
 is uttered, perhaps a little louder, and this time a similar 
 faint cry comes in reply. Our little friend takes a few 
 steps in the direction of the sound and calls again, and 
 now from various parts of the field and thicket comes 
 the cry Qtioi-i-hee, quoi-i-hee, until, guided by their j 
 voices, the little band is again united, and their plaintive 
 
 '^iii 
 
 ' J 
 
BOB WHITE. 
 
 25 
 
 notes are heard no more, as they wander away to safer 
 feeding grounds or place of concealment and repose. 
 
 Where the birds are much hunted they become " edu- 
 cated," and whenever flushed fly at once to the densest 
 tliicket in the vicinity, impenetrable perhaps to both man 
 and dog, and are safe. With such coveys one shot, as 
 tliey rise before the dog, is all that can be expected. 
 They exhibit their cunning in various ways. Some 
 bevies, if feeding well out in the field, will begin to run 
 toward cover as soon as a man or dog climbs over the 
 fence, and frequently reach a place of safety before the 
 dog has caught the scent and apprised his owner of 
 their presence. Or, they will feed near to the fence, 
 rarely going far from it, and slip into cover at the first 
 alarm. Little can be done with Quail so well " edu- 
 cated " as these. 
 
 There is no member of the gallinaceous birds more 
 " game " than the brave little " Bob White," and 
 none affords more diversion to the sportsman. The 
 autumn morning breaks clear and still, and the air is 
 crisp with the frosty breath of advancing winter as the 
 sportsman, accompanied by his well-trained dogs, starts 
 out for a battle with the Quail, to be waged with skill 
 and cunning on both sides, but with unequal results, 
 for against the pleasures of the chase, an ardent love of 
 which is inherent in man, we must place wounds and 
 death for the gallant birds. The dogs know as well as 
 their master what is to be the business of the day, and 
 as they express their delight with many a gambol and 
 queer contortion, are observant of every field, and fre- 
 quently toss up their heads and snifif the pure air as 
 though the well-known scent of wandering birds was 
 borne to their quivering nostrils. Soon the desired 
 place is reached and, with a wave of the hand, the dogs 
 
 I 
 
 .3 
 
 1: 
 
 ft. 
 
26 
 
 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA, 
 
 IIH ' 1 
 
 are bidden to go forward. With a bound the fence is 
 cleared and, regularly as the working of some faultless 
 machine, the noble animals beat the fields on a gallop, 
 with heads carried high and nostrils open, crossing each 
 other's tracks at regular intervals. Suddenly one checks 
 himself and swings around halfway, and his pace is re- 
 duced to a walk, and with careful steps and head carried 
 on a line with his body he draws slowly forward, uncer- 
 tain as yet where the birds, whose strong scent has dis- 
 covered to him their presence, are located. Carefully 
 the dog moves on, and his tail, which had been beat- 
 ing his sides with rapid strokes, is straightened and 
 becomes rigid. His companion, who had overrun the 
 scent, not being so near, sees the careful movement, and, 
 knowing the cause, turns, and with equal care follows 
 the direction of his mate. The first dog has now reached 
 the vicinity of the bevy, and what a picture he presents 
 to his master's gaze! With crouching body and tail 
 rigid, one foreleg half raised and the paw turned back- 
 ward, eyes set in a stony gaze, a frowning brow, and jaws 
 half open, with the saliva dropping from his tongue as the 
 hot scent wells up into his sensitive nostrils, he seems as if 
 carved in stone, while behind him, afraid to move another 
 step, in a similar attitude, stands motionless his mate. 
 The sportsman moves forward and speaks in low tones 
 words of encouragement to his four-footed friends, but 
 the dogs stir not, and soon their master is close to the 
 leader, when from beneath his very nose, with a whir 
 like muffled drums, hurtling and jostling each other in 
 their headstrong flight, rises the bevy of full-grown birds. 
 At the sound of wings the dogs drop to the ground with 
 their heads on the outstretched paws, and the reports 
 of the gun ring out, stopping short some swift-flying 
 birds that fall inert and lifeless to the earth, while the 
 
BOB WHITE. 
 
 «7 
 
 lunwounded ones seek the nearest places of safety. Fresh 
 
 Icartridges inserted, at the snap of the barrels returning 
 
 [to their place the dogs spring up, and, taking the dead 
 
 Ibirds carefully in their mouths, bring them and place 
 
 Ithem in the hands of their master. What lover of 
 
 the sports of the field but has witnessed some such 
 
 Iscene as I have so vainly tried to describe — a scene 
 
 Istaniped upon the memory to be recalled again and again 
 
 lin the days when failing strength and numbered years 
 
 Ihavc necessitated that the old gun, the treasured com- 
 
 jpanion of many a happy day, be laid aside forever, and 
 
 the sports of the field be enjoyed only in the recollections 
 
 )f the past! 
 
 In many localities where Quail were formerly abun- 
 dant they have become very scarce or C4uite extinct. 
 various causes have brought about this undesirable state 
 jf things, among which are the depredations committed 
 Iby their natural enemies of the air and forest ; but man is 
 Ithe chief culprit, and by shooting the birds in and out of 
 jseason, murdering the half-grown young hardly able to 
 ly before him, and by catching whole bevies in snares and 
 traps of all descriptions, he has been most successful in 
 exterminating the race from many a favorable locality. 
 F'ortunately, by introducing into such a barren spot birds 
 from other places where they are still abundant, the evil 
 nay be remedied, for Quail soon accustom themselves 
 to new surroundings and multiply rapidly; but as the 
 )opulation increases in the land, districts from which 
 lew stock can be drawn will become fewer in num- 
 )er, and those places, where Bob White through man's 
 fapacity and foolishness has been exterminated, will 
 remain tenantless of the bravest game bird in the 
 land. 
 As an article of food the Quail is a very delicate and 
 
 ■; 
 
 
 V' 
 
 
 m 
 
28 
 
 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 palatable morsel, but late in the winter the flesh is apt 
 to be dry and rather tasteless; while those birds which 
 are kept from year to year in enormous cold-storap^e 
 houses, and thousands of them are, have about as much 
 flavor as a chip of dried wood. It is a pity that those 
 cemeteries, at least for wild game, could not be broken 
 up and done away with. 
 
 Quail are in the habit of roosting in or near the same 
 spot so long as they remain in any one locality, and such 
 places can frequently be determined by the droppings 
 on the ground. When settling for the night they 
 arrange themselves in a circle, each bird close to his 
 fellow, and with all the tails inward. This method is 
 advantageous for the warmth derived from the close 
 contact of so many little bodies, and also if alarmed or 
 attacked during the night by any foe, each bird can 
 spring directly forward and take wing unimpeded by any 
 of his fellows. Of course the bevy becomes greatly scat- 
 tered, as each one goes away in a different direction. 
 In such a case they remain quiet until the day begins | 
 to break, and then the Qtioi-i-hee will be heard re- 1 
 sounding from every side, as the birds gradually draw 
 together into a once more united family. Quail are able | 
 to stand cold very well, provided food is abundant, but 
 when this is scarce and the winter severe, they sufiferj 
 greatly, and many a covey is frozen to death. 
 
 When the snow begins to fall they huddle close I 
 together,, and are frequently entirely covered with a white 
 mantle. If no crust is formed they easily break through. 
 but should they remain in their warm quarters until 
 the sun has partly melted the snow and it becomes frozen 
 again, they are unable to escape from their prison and 
 perish miserably. Many a covey has been found in such 
 a situation after the snow has melted in the spring, the 
 
BOB WHITE. 
 
 99 
 
 V- 
 
 |hinls huddled closely together in the position in which 
 thi' impenetrable drift had imprisoned them. 
 
 This species is credited by some with the power of 
 
 ivohtiitarily withholdinfj the natural scent of the body 
 
 loti alighting, after having been flushed. Certainly in- 
 
 j stances are numerous, when the best dogs have been 
 
 hrouglit to a place where the birds were seen to settle, 
 
 aiul although the ground was thoroughly covered in 
 
 every direction, nothing was found. And yet after a little 
 
 while, if that same ground was beaten over, the dogs 
 
 \v(nild come to a point at every few moments and the 
 
 birds would flush, usually singly. Again it is not 
 
 iimisual that when a bevy is followed immediately, when 
 
 mu' ground on which they settled was favorable, the birds 
 
 have been flushed without difficulty. If the scent was 
 
 vohuitarily withheld it is natural to suppose that there 
 
 Iv.ould be no exception to the rule, and that it would 
 
 never be permitted to indicate the bird's presence after 
 
 it had been flushed and thoroughly alarr-.ed. But the 
 
 linstances wiien this is not the case arc very numerous, 
 
 laiul have been experienced by every sportsman, and they 
 
 Iwould seem to prove that the bird has not the power 
 
 Ito withhold this evidence of its presence at will. When 
 
 la bevy alights after having been flushed there are no 
 
 Itell-tale footsteps to give notice to the keen nostrils of 
 
 Ithe dog that any quail is near. Each bird, as it alights, 
 
 [remains motionless in a compact mass, every feather 
 
 pressing close to the body, and occupying the smallest 
 
 [space possible. Unless it is almost stepped upon by the 
 
 Idog its presence would not likely be detected, for the 
 
 bird would not move unless trodden on, and naturally 
 
 Ithcre would be little or no scent from its body to betray 
 
 jits position. But the instant a movement was made then 
 
 Ithe tell-tale effluvia would escape, and the bird's locality 
 
 s» 
 
 
 VJ 
 
 ^ 
 
so 
 
 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 be discovered. When they are reachly found it may be 
 on account of one having stirred after ahghting, anxl, 
 when flushed by the dog, the noise of the wings caused 
 the others to start or change their positions, and as any 
 movement would permit the scent to escape, they would 
 also be quickly discovered. 1 do not think it at all prob- 
 able the birds have any power over the natural scent of 
 their bodies, but its absence at times is probably caused 
 in some such way as that stated above. 
 
 COLINUS VIRGINIANUS, 
 
 \\ \{ 
 
 Geographical Distribution. — Eastern United States from 
 Southern Ontario and Maine to the Gulf States, but not in Florida, 
 where it is represented by an allied race. West of the Mississippi 
 to South Dakota (possibly introduced in the last named State 
 from Florida), Missouri, and eastern Texas. Its range westward 
 is being gradually extended with the settlement of the country. 
 It has also been introduced into New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, 
 Idaho, and on the Pacific into California, Oregon, and Washing- 
 ton. Breeds everywhere in its range. 
 
 Adult Male. — Forehead and stripe over the eye, extending 
 down the side of the neck, white ; in some specimens, notably one 
 from Massachusetts before me, this stripe and the forehead are 
 buff, like the throat of the female. The upper side of this line is 
 bordered with black. Top of head and neck, chestnut, with black 
 interspersed on the former, and the feathers of the latter, with 
 white on the webs; the chestnut being confined to an arrow-shaped 
 mark at the tip, margined on either side with black. Sometimes j 
 this mark is all black. The amount of white seen on the neck j 
 varies greatly among individuals, and sometimes there is much 
 buff instead of white shown. Upper part of back, light chestnut 
 margin of webs of some feathers, blue-gray, vermiculated with { 
 black and more or less conspicuous. Back, rump, and upper tail- 
 coverts varying from a grayish to a yellowish brown, blotched on I 
 middle of the back with black, and with dark brown or black 
 triangular or arrow-headed markings along the shafts of the 
 feathers at their tips, and irregular narrow black bars across the 
 
BOB WHITE. 
 
 31 
 
 webs. WitiRS, rufous or grayish, blotched with black like the back, 
 with buff edRcs on scapulars and inner secondaries forming a 
 continuous rather broad line down either side of the l)ack. Pri- 
 maries, dark brown. Throat, white, a narrow black line under 
 tlic eye. Ear-coverts, chestnut, sometimes black ; a black ring 
 si:rrounds the white of the throat, commencing at ear-coverts, 
 [breast and under parts, white or buffy white, crossed with 
 irregular narrow black lines. Flank feathers, rich chestnut, with 
 white edges barred with black. Some specimens have a bani of 
 chestnut across the breast beneath the black ring. Vent, w' 'te. 
 Under tail-coverts, varying from pale to deep chestnut, \\X\\. 
 white on webs near their tips and a V-shaped black mark, but 
 this last is sometimes absent. Tail, blui.sh-gray, sometimes ver- 
 niiculated with black or brown near tips. Bill black. Legs and 
 feet yellowish brown. Total length about 9J inches; wing, 4^ ; 
 tail. 2\ ; tarsus, \\ ; bill, g. 
 
 There is much individual variation in the markings of Quail, 
 although they may have a clo.se general resemblance to each 
 other, and birds from different sections of the United States, not 
 inhabited by subspecies, present numerous differences both in 
 color and style of markings. But this is only what may be 
 expected when a species is scattered over so large a portion of the 
 continent as is this one, and subjected to such a variety of climate 
 as is experienced with) i the boundaries of its distribution. The 
 above description will, however, answer for the average style of 
 " Bob White " generally met with. 
 
 Adult Female. — There is not any especial difference in the 
 plumage of the sexes, but the female can always be recognized 
 by the buff stripe over the eye, and the buff throat. In other 
 respects she closely resembles the male, and has about the same 
 dimensions as are given above for him. 
 
 Downy Young. — Head, buff, with a chestnut line on forehead 
 broadening to a patch on occiput. A black line behind the eye, 
 and a spot of the same color at the corner of the mouth. Upper 
 parts, chestnut ; lower parts, grayish buff, brownish on sides. 
 
THE FLORIDA BOB WHITE. 
 
 I r 
 
 'X'HIS is a small, dark race of the common Bob White, 
 arifl is found throughout Florida, save possibly the 
 extreme southern portions. It was formerly very abun- 
 dant, and is still in some parts of the State, but froiv 
 man's persecutions and indiscriminate slaughter the birds 
 have, in many districts, been greatly reduced in numbers. 
 It is a very tame and confiding little creature and, like 
 its Northern relative, prefers to live in the vicinity of 
 man's habitations, and rarely leaves the locality in which 
 it was hatched. It keeps to the open woods or cultivated 
 grounds in the neighborhood of clumps of bushes or 
 thickets of various sorts, into which it can escape from 
 its pursuers. The nesting season in some localities be- 
 gins very early, sometimes by the middle of February, 
 but probably April is the month when incubation gen- 
 erally commences, and young birds have been met with 
 early in July. Two broods are raised in a season, and 
 the nest is placed in some retired spot hidden by a pal- 
 metto or by thick grass and weeds. 
 
 Their habits are the same as those of the Northern 
 bird, and they lie well before the dog, and have all tlie 
 game qualities of our familiar Bob White. The average 
 number of eggs is not so large as that found in the nests 
 of their relative, and from ten to fourteen may be con- 
 sidered the extremes, though sometimes many more 
 than the maximum given are obtained. They resemble 
 in every respect those of Bob White. 
 
 On account of the number of broods each pair wi 
 
 39 
 

 
 .3 
 
 f ' 
 
 .J 
 
 •0 
 
 in: 
 
 ^'iwuv, ^^At*jiban\, 
 
 Citinjriijhti'ii i.y fraiicix I'. Ilnrjwr, ,s:i; 
 
 2. Fhn-idii Hob White 
 
raise i 
 
 no rca 
 
 the (lis 
 
 for mu 
 
 permit 1 
 
 eyes, tl 
 
 scarce 
 
 The wii 
 
 out cea 
 
 they see 
 
 only tw 
 
 then ne 
 
 or (lest 
 
 Qiiaii, i 
 
 at a bei 
 
 therefor 
 
 illegitim 
 
 by furn 
 
 I Florida ' 
 
 of the ra 
 
 seeds ar 
 
 i of Bob \ 
 
 CC 
 
 ••m 
 
 mi 
 
 '11 I! 
 
 HP 
 
 Geograj^ 
 
 Adult A 
 
 Irelative " ] 
 
 jniuch dark 
 
 jblack, and 
 
 l^lack, and 
 
 ^vebs with 
 
 [white bartf 
 
 those of th 
 
 ■xcept pert 
 
 lue from tt 
 
 i!ii 
 
 iiiilji 
 
 iWilHi 
 
THE FLORIDA BOB WHITE. 
 
 33 
 
 raise in a season, and their considerable size, there is 
 no reason why this bird should not be abundant in all 
 the districts in which it is found, affording food and sport 
 for multitudes of people. But so long as each person is 
 permitted to do with them as seemeth good in his own 
 eves, the time cannot be far distant when it will become 
 scarce in many parts of Florida and extinct in some. 
 The winter brings many men to the State who hunt with- 
 out ceasing, and this little bird is one of the chief objects 
 they seek. The same covey is followed day after day until 
 only two or three, or perhaps no birds at all are left, and 
 then new localities are sought and frcoh coveys decimated 
 or destroyed. The negroes also snare multitudes of 
 Quail, and on every occasion that offers take potshots 
 at a bevy huddled together on the ground. It cannot 
 therefore be surprising, that from man's legitimate and 
 illegitimate killing, in connection with that accomplished 
 by furred, feathered, and scaly foes, the lives of the 
 Florida Quail are constantly sacrificed, and the existence 
 of the race threatened. The food of this bird consists of 
 seeds and berries, and its notes are the same as those 
 of Bob White. 
 
 CO LIN US VIRGINIANUS FLO R WAN US. 
 
 Geographical Distribution. — State of Florida. 
 
 Adult Male. — In its general markings this bird resembles its 
 
 [relative " Bob White "of the Northern United States, but is very 
 
 jmuch darker in all its coloration. The top of the head is almost 
 
 jblack, and the white under parts are barred irregularly with jet 
 
 |black, and the chestnut flank feathers are marked on their outer 
 
 kvebs with white and jet black. Lower abdomen and vent, dusky 
 
 [white barred with black. The back, wings, and tail are similar to 
 
 those of the typical style, but much darker in all the colors, 
 
 except perhaps the tail feathers, which are not much different in 
 
 uie from those of the Northern " Bob White." Throat and line 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
llilii! Ill 
 
 34 
 
 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 over eye, pure white. Total length about 7i inches ; wing, 4| ; 
 tail, 2j ; tarsus, i^ ; bill, \. 
 
 It will be seen from the above that the Florida bird is both 
 darker and ratl.er smaller than C. virginianus. 
 
 Adult Female. — In her coloring this sex of the Florida Quail 
 bears the same relation to the male as the hen of the Northern 
 •' Bob White " does to him, and is arrayed in hues of various 
 shades, as much darker as those of the male Florida bird are 
 darker than those of the Virginian species. She has the bufi 
 throat and stripe over the eye, and her dimensions are about the 
 same as those of the male. 
 
 iiiii 
 
 ii 
 
 t 
 
« « 
 
 »g. 41 ; 
 s both 
 
 Quail 
 rthern 
 various 
 rd are 
 e bufi 
 mt the 
 
 
 f 
 

 t'opuri'iflited by Friiiirin P. Ilarpt'r, is-.n 
 
 3. Texan Bob White. 
 
 
TEXAN BOB WHITE. 
 
 CXCEPTING the Stakcd-Plains in the northwest part 
 "^ of the State, th s bird is a resident of the greater por- 
 jtion of Texas, and grades in the east into the true Bob 
 [White of the Atlantic States. It has a general resem- 
 blance to the Northern bird, but is lighter in color, and 
 Itlic male has usually a pale cinnamon chestband beneath 
 itlic black collar. In habits it does not differ from Bob 
 [Wliite, and the notes and calls it utters are the same as 
 those of the common Quail. In most parts of the State 
 Ithcy are tame and unsuspicious, hardly. taking the trouble 
 Itf) get out of the way of approaching danger. The males 
 [arc pugnacious, though, and frequent battles occur be- 
 Itueen rivals for the affection of some shy female, who 
 jail the time regards the combatants with seeming indif- 
 [fcrence, as if not caring especially which one came oflF 
 nctorious. 
 
 The Texan Bob White is a bird of the lowlands, 
 [not going above 2000 feet, and is very common in 
 the Rio Grande Valley, where it visits the ranches and 
 feeds about the buildings. On the open prairies, where 
 ft is very numerous, it feeds on the seeds of the various 
 grasses, grain, berries, and different species of insects 
 from grasshoppers to ants, and, if alarmed, seeks to 
 lide in mesquito bushes and dense thickets. Two, some- 
 [inics three broods are raised in the season. The nest, 
 slight cavity made in some thick grass and lined with 
 Straws and arched over with the same, contains usually 
 [rem twelve to fifteen eggs, in shape and color no way 
 
 35 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 r I ^ 
 
3« 
 
 GAAfE BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 different from those of the common Bob White. Occa- 
 sionally very much larger numbers are found in one nest, 
 but this is probably the production of more than one 
 hen. Eggs have been found in May, and again as late 
 as September, which would show that the entire summer 
 has been passed in hatching and tending the young. 
 Being so prolific, the wonder is not so much that the 
 birds are plentiful but rather that they are not more 
 numerous. This (^uail, when flushed, rises with the usual 
 loud, whirring sound and flies in a straight Hne, and will 
 lie close and well to the dog. When undisturbed, like 
 the northern Bob White, it takes flight quite noiselessly, 
 without any of the whirring made when suddenly 
 startled. 
 
 The Texan Bob White has many enemies, but proba- 
 bly none so formidable as the rattlesnake, numbers of 
 which are found in the country it inhabits. Whether 
 the serpent crawls slyly up to the bevy when feeding or 
 resting, or lies in ambush and strikes the luckless birds 
 when passing, I know not, having never caught one 
 in the act of making a meal of Quail, but whatever the 
 method be, it is a fact that these reptiles kill many; five 
 having been found at one time inside of a dead rattler. 
 Other enemies among the wild creatures also make them 
 their prey, and so their number is kept from becoming j 
 too great. 
 
 - \ '.(1 ! 
 
 iiii 
 
 !:;,';;'|| 
 
 COLIN US VIRGINIANUS TEXAN US. 
 
 Geographical Distribution. — Distributed throughout western 
 and southern Texas. In Mexico from Guadalajara in the west, to| 
 Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon in the south. 
 
 Adult Male. — With the general style of markings seen in the I 
 Northern " Bob White " this bird is lighter in coloration, and lias 
 a tinge of olive-gray prevailing over the upper surface, which is 
 
TEXAN BOB WHITE. 
 
 37 
 
 not, as a general thing, blotched with black to any auch extent. 
 The lines formed by outer edges of scapulars, tertials, and inner 
 secondaries are very pale buff, almost white, and the bars on the 
 feathers are in many cases of the same color. On the upper part 
 of breast, beneath the black that surrounds the white throat, is a 
 narrow pale cinnamon band, and the white of the rest of the 
 under parts is irregularly barred with jet black. Rest of plumage 
 like the Northern bird but paler. Total length about 9 inches ; 
 wing, \\ ; tail, z\ ; tarsus, \\ ; bill, \. 
 
 Adult Female. — General plumage marked like the male but 
 very pale in its general hues, in some specimens the lower back 
 and rump being a light olive-brown barred with buff. A band of 
 very pale cinnamon crosses upper part of breast, and the white 
 under parts are barred with dark brown. Line over ej'es, pale 
 buff, and the throat also pale buff, becoming almost white in the 
 center. Dimensions about the same as those of the male. 
 
 As in the other forms of " Bob White," there is considerable 
 variation among individuals of the Texan Quail, and a description 
 of one bird would not be equally accurate for all, but this form 
 can generally be distinguished by its pale colors and narrow 
 cinnamon breast band. 
 
 Young. — Top of head, rufous, with a black spot in the center, 
 and a narrow black line from behind the eye. Upper part and 
 wings, rufous, mottled with blackish brown feathers, streaked and 
 tipped with white. Secondaries, pale brown, mottled with black- 
 ish brown on outer webs, and barred with buffy white and tipped 
 with same. 'Throat white. Breast, f ale brown, streaked along 
 the shafts of the feathers with white and vermiculated on breast 
 with dark brown ; rest of under parts, whitish brown, faintly 
 barred in the flanks with darker brown. Bill, light horn color. 
 
 
 iri! 
 
MASKED BOB WHITE. 
 
 'T^HIS singularly colored Quail is unlike any other 
 species inhabiting America north of Mexico. It is 
 found in southern Arizona, Sonora, and Mexico, espe- 
 cially in the district lying between the gulf coast of 
 Sonora and the Barboquivari range, and is abundant 
 between the last-named mountains and the Plomoso. 
 Mr. Herbert Brown of Tucson, Arizona, was the first 
 to obtain this bird within the limits of the United States, 
 and he says that it is found on the Sonoita Creek, about 
 sixty miles north of the Sonora line, and from the 
 Sonoita Valley it ranges in a westerly direction within 
 Arizona Territory for a hundred miles through a strip 
 of country not thirty miles wide. In a wild state this 
 Quail does not appear to be nearly so abundant in the 
 country it inhabits (at least on our side of the line), as 
 are the other species of quail that are indigenous to our 
 soil and inhabitants of the same States. The Masked 
 Quail found in Arizona are apparently but an overflow 
 across our border from the main body of birds in Sonora. 
 They are met with in the valley, on the table-lands, 
 and even as high as 6000 feet, two having been killed 
 at that elevation in the Huachuca Mountains, in a canon 
 about fifteen miles north of the border ; but nowhere can 
 they be considered abundant. 
 
 Although so totally different in appearance from our 
 common Bob White, the Masked Quail has a call note 
 which resembles exactly that of the Northern species and, 
 while uttering this, it perches on rocks, bushes, or other 
 
 38 . \. 
 
low 
 )ra. 
 ids, 
 
 ion 
 
 m 
 
 , ;i 
 
 ■ ? 
 
 i?; 
 
 4. Masked Bob White. 
 
 )Ur 
 
liiliH,,:,!: 
 
I 
 
 MASKED BOB WHITE. 
 
 39 
 
 slight elevations. It has a second note, resembling^ }\oo- 
 i^r, which like the Quoi-i-hcc of Hob White, is uttered 
 wlR'n the birds are scattered and desirous of again 
 coming together. The habits of the two species are 
 very similar, and the present one feeds on insects of 
 various kinds, many sorts of seeds, and sometimes small 
 leaves. It is a very handsome bird, and in the sun the 
 breast of the male appears red and makes him a 
 vtry conspicuous object. The body is very plump and of 
 about the same size as Gambel's Quail. The eggs are 
 exactly like liob White's in size, color, and shape, and 
 the nest is also a similar structure, a depression in the 
 ground hidden amid the grass, or in some retired equally 
 well-screened position, withdrawn from the prying eyes 
 of its enemies. 
 
 From having been taken at as lofty an elevation as 
 6000 feet, it would seem that this handsome species 
 was hardy and able to withstand quite severe weather, 
 and it might be a profitable bird to introduce in the 
 Northern States in those localities where the original 
 stock from various causes had disappeared. Until, how- 
 ever, they had become thoroughly acclimatized, the birds 
 would require considerable attention and care, especially 
 in severe winters and times of heavy snows. 
 
 J: 
 
 t'f, 
 
 COLIN US RIDGWAVI. 
 
 Geographical Distribution. — Southern Arizona to Sonora, 
 Mexico. 
 
 Adult Af ale.— Head, black, mixed with chestnut on top, passing 
 into nearly all chestnut on occiput and hind-neck, the latter with 
 occasional spots of white. Upper part of back, chestnut, sparsely 
 mottled with black, but rest of upper parts and wings closely 
 barred with black and buff ; central tail feathers like the back, 
 remainder bluish gray slightly mottled with buff near the tips. 
 
 I' 
 
40 
 
 GAAtE BIRDS OF NORTH A Af ERICA. 
 
 White line over the eye ; sides of face and throat, jet black ; 
 entire rest of under parts, uniform cinnamon rufous ; bill, black ; 
 legs and feet pale brown. Total length, 8i inches ; wing, 4^ 
 inches ; tail, 2| ; tarsus, i^ ; bill, \. 
 
 Adult Female. — The female resembles very closely that of the 
 Texan Quail, but is much paler, especially on the upper parts, 
 which have a good deal of light buff markings in bars and mot- 
 tling. The wings are particularly noticeable for their pale color- 
 ing. The under parts are very much alike in the two birds, but the 
 present species has a narrower and paler cinnamon band on the 
 breast, and the bars on abdomen and upper breast are darker, 
 consequently more conspicuous. The buff throat is very pale in 
 the center and toward the chin. In dimensions the sexes are 
 about the same. 
 
 "''"^IIISI!,.. 
 
 il!liiiJ,;i.t 
 
lack; 
 lack; 
 g. 4i 
 
 >f the 
 )arts, 
 mot- 
 :olor- 
 It the 
 n the 
 rker, 
 lie in 
 3 are 
 
'li . ! 
 
 iiijilllllil 
 IIIB 
 
 !lhr lill 
 
 mi 
 
 
 y.iNyyiu SiVP(»j.iU.Cll. 
 
 li'!' 
 
 5. Mountain Partridge. 
 
MOUNTAIN PARTRIDGE. 
 
 A LONG the western slopes of the Coast Range in Cali- 
 ** fornia and Oregon, the line of its habitat inclining 
 more to the eastward as it goes north, this beautiful bird 
 has a rather restricted dispersion, even in the States which 
 are its home. It has been introduced into the State of 
 Washington, and appears to have secured a permanent 
 foothold north of Seattle. A few crossed to the north of 
 the Columbia, but on the south bank of that river the 
 species has worked its way down as far as Astoria. 
 
 This Quail is rather abundant in the Willamette Valley, 
 Oregon, and common in certain parts of California, but 
 is very rare south of San Francisco, though it is occasion- 
 ally met with in flocks of the California Partridge. It 
 seeks moist districts and places where the rainfall is fre- 
 quent. It is a shy bird, not easily found, and the flock 
 runs along the ground for quite a distance before taking 
 wing, and then scatters in every direction. The male 
 has a kind of crowing note, and when a flock becomes 
 separated its members call to each other in tones similar 
 to the note of a hen turkey. This species is not very gre- 
 garious ; that is to say, it goes in small companies of per- 
 liaps twelve to twenty, but is never seen in such great 
 congregations as those in which the California Partridge 
 is ace stomed to assemble. The female calls her brood 
 by clucking like the common hen, and the little creatures 
 are great adepts at hiding on the least approach of danger. 
 The food of the Mountain Partridge is like that of all its 
 relatives, seeds and insects of various kinds, and it some- 
 
 4« 
 
 1 'i, • 
 ■i'l f ; 
 
 i 
 
 I 
 
 m 
 
 4 ('• 
 
Jiiliii 
 
 49 
 
 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 times approaches the farmers' buildings for the grain that 
 may be scattered about. Its flesh is very palatable, and 
 many are sold in the markets of the cities on the Pacific 
 Coast, where I have frequently seen them hanging in 
 large bunches. Many are shot by sportsmen over dogs, 
 but more are taken, both alive and dead, in traps and 
 snares of many kinds. The nest is the usual slight 
 depression in the ground, hidden in the grass or under 
 bushes or logs, or anything that will afiford the requisite 
 privacy and shelter, and the eggs, in number from eight 
 to perhaps a dozen, are ovate in shape, grading from a 
 pale cream to a rich buff in color, and without spots. In 
 size they average, according to Bendire, 34.5 by 26 milli- 
 meters. 
 
 OREORTYX P ICTUS. 
 
 Geographical Distribution. — From the Bay of San Francisco, 
 California, through Oregon and Washington. Introduced on 
 Vancouver Island. 
 
 Adult Male. — Top of head, sides of neck and breast, plumbe- 
 ous; entire upper parts, upper tail-coverts, and wings, deep 
 olive-brown, in some specimens with a rufous tinge, especially 
 upon the wings ; crest of lengthened straight feathers, black ; 
 chin, white ; entire throat, rich chestnut, bordered on the sides 
 with black, and separated from the olive ear-coverts and bluish 
 neck by a conspicuous white line ; a white spot behind the eye ; 
 flanks, deep chestnut, broadly barred with black and white, the 
 latter widest and most conspicuous ; middle of belly, white ; 
 under tail-coverts black, the feathers with a central line of deep 
 chestnut ; tail, olive-brown, mottled with black ; inner edges 
 of tertials broadly marked with ochraceous, forming a line on each 
 side of the rump ; bill, black. Total length about 10 inches, 
 wing, 5| ; tail, 3^ ; tarsus, if ; bill on culmen, f . 
 
 There seems to be considerable variation in the color of the 
 inner edges of the tertials, some birds having them white tinged 
 with deep buff or ochraceous, and this is confined mainly toward 
 the tips of the feathers ; while in others the white portion is more 
 
MOUNTAIN PARTRIDGE. 
 
 43 
 
 or less suffused with ochraceous, and I am inclined to think it is 
 rather unusual to find examples with these lines entirely buff or 
 ochraceous. My examination of specimens seems to show that 
 there is always more or less white visible, and that the buff rarely 
 is the dominant color. 
 
 Adult Female. — Birds of this sex have little to distinguish 
 them from the males, but the crest is shorter ; in color of plumage 
 there is hardly any noticeable difference. 
 
 : I IT 
 
 ; li;;; 
 
 mi 
 
 iffli; 
 
 I 
 
 I i 
 
 

 PLUMED PARTRIDGE. 
 
 II 
 
 I INLIKE its relative the Mountain Partridge, which it 
 closely resembles, this species only approaches the 
 seacoast in the southern parts of its range, but is essen- 
 tially a bird of the drier regions of the interior, and a 
 dweller of the mountains; and the name of " Mountain 
 Partridge " would be much more applicable to it than 
 it is to the one living to the westward of its habitat. It 
 is found on both sides of the Sierra Nevada in eastern 
 Oregon, and southward to northern Lower California. 
 It ascends high upon the mountains, having been met 
 with at an altitude of 7000 feet in the Sierra Nevada, 
 and Bendire found it on Mount Kearsage in Inyo 
 County, California, at an elevation of 10,000 feet. The 
 most easterly point of its range is the Argus Moun- 
 tains in southeastern California, where Dr. Fisher met 
 with it. In winter it descends toward the valleys and 
 passes this inclement season in a milder climate, but 
 on the return of spring travels upward again, often not 
 stopping until the snow line is reached. It is shy like the 
 Mountain Partridge, so called, and like it goes in small 
 coveys, and escapes by running, if possible, rather than 
 trusting to its wings. This is the inveterate habit of all 
 the plumed and crested Partridges, lessening very much 
 the sport of hunting them, very trying to the human, and 
 perfectly exasperating and bewildering to the dog. In 
 spring the male utters a loud clear call, something like 
 Pheu-i-e, Phen-i-e, while mounted upon some stump 
 or rock, and the mating season commences about April. 
 
 44 
 
all 
 lich 
 uid 
 
 In 
 like 
 |mp 
 )ril. 
 
 6. Plumed Partridj^e, 
 
 
 II" 
 
 
 'hi 
 
 I 
 
i; 
 
 The ne 
 wcll-co 
 about t 
 trid^i^e. 
 pak' cr 
 any spo 
 of the li 
 
 The 
 
 the Ian 
 
 upright 
 
 stroug < 
 
 gallant 
 
 in color 
 
 guished 
 
 color as 
 
 brown c 
 
 not con 
 
 their ha 
 
 best to 
 
 bird utt€ 
 
 repeated 
 
 for its 3 
 
 leigning 
 
 time a si 
 
 deavorin 
 
 busily ta 
 
 tions an( 
 
 squat an 
 
 their clo: 
 
 jects. T 
 
 leaves of 
 
PLUMED PARTRIDGE. 
 
 45 
 
 The nest, a slightly contrived affair, is placed in some 
 will-concealed spot on the ground, and the bird lays 
 about the same number of eggs as the Mountain Par- 
 tridge. These are smooth and glossy, varying from a 
 pale cream to a reddish-buff in color, and are without 
 any spots. In size they average a'^ DUt the same as those 
 of the last species. 
 
 The Plumed Partridge is a beautiful bird, one of 
 tlie largest members of the Tribe, and with its long 
 upright slender plumes decorating the head, and its 
 strong contrasting hues, presents a very handsome and 
 jrallant appearance. Although resembling very closely 
 in coloration the Mountain Partridge, it can be distin- 
 guished by its hind-neck, which has the same plumbeous 
 color as the breast, while its relative has this part olive- 
 brown or umber. By some, however, the two forms are 
 not considered even as subspecifically distinct, but as 
 their habitats can be fairly well defined, it would seem 
 best to recognize the two races. When alarmed this 
 bird utters a sharp quick note like " quit " several times 
 repeated; and evinces the same anxiety and solicitude 
 for its young as do other members of the Family by 
 leigning lameness and inability to fly, uttering all the 
 time a shrill, plaintive cry. While the old bird is thus en- 
 deavoring to draw the intruder away, the young are 
 busily taking care of themselves, scattering in all direc- 
 tions and hiding under leaves or in bushes, where they 
 squat and remain motionless, effectually concealed by 
 their close resemblance in color to the surrounding ob- 
 jects. Their food consists of insects, seeds, buds, and 
 leaves of various plants, and grain if obtainable. 
 
 i 
 
 n 
 
46 
 
 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 fell 
 
 ]ip!lilfl'Liiii 
 
 OREORTYX P ICTUS PLUMIFERUS. 
 
 Geographical Distrihtition. — Both sides of the Sierra Nevada, 
 and in eastern Oregon and to the Panamint Mountains and 
 Mount Magruder, Nevada. In California from San Francisco 
 Bay to the Argus Mountains. 
 
 Adult Male. — Forehead and chin, white ; head, hind-neck, 
 upper part of back and breast, plumbeous ; long black crest from 
 occiput ; throat, deep chestnut, bordered on sides with black, out. 
 side of which is a line of white ; wings, back, and upper tail- 
 coverts, grayish olive ; flanks, deep chestnut, barred broadly with 
 white, beneath which is a narrow black bar ; abdomen, chestnut i 
 under tail-coverts black, the feathers having a central line of 
 deep chestnut ; inner edges of tertials, narrowly lined with white, 
 forming two lines on back ; dimensions about the same as those 
 of the O. pic t us. 
 
 There is no particular difference in the coloring of the sexes, 
 and the female is recognizable chiefly by her shorter crest. 
 
 liili^''- 
 
■ada, 
 
 and 
 
 :isco 
 
 leck. 
 from 
 out- 
 tail- 
 with 
 nuti 
 ;e of 
 hite, 
 hose 
 
 ;xes, 
 
 ) i 
 
 
 % 
 > 
 
 i 
 
San Pedro Partridge. 
 
 [ HA\ 
 ' to be 
 
 Cell i fori 
 
 of tlic 1 
 
 lici^Hit. 
 
 to Capt 
 
 fee! of c 
 
 " Chay « 
 
 alarm ik 
 
 increase 
 
 " kee-ke 
 
 ber of th 
 
 a loud " 
 
 race, Mi 
 
 dant fro! 
 
 wlierevei 
 
 (" seekin 
 
 their dec 
 
 infi:, so SI 
 
 so out of 
 
 Flocks 
 
 miles froi 
 
 feet, and 
 
 had disap 
 
 nest was 
 
 filled witli 
 
 eggs are ( 
 
SAN PEDRO PARTRIDGE. 
 
 I HA\'E never seen this bird alive. Its rang^e appears 
 * to be restricted to the San Pedro Mountains, Lower 
 California, where it is found from the fcx>thills to the tops 
 of the loftiest peaks, estimated to be over 12,000 feet in 
 liei^dit. The discoverer of this race, Mr. Anthony, writes 
 to Captain Bendire that it is not common below 2500 
 feci of elevation, that the call notes are a soft, far-reaching 
 " Ciiay chay," like the notes of a flute in sweetness. The 
 alarm note was a soft *' ch-ch-ch-c-e-ea, ch-e-e-ea," which 
 increased with the appearance of danger to a harder 
 " kce-ke-ea," and this last cry is taken up by every mem- 
 ber of the covey as they draw away. When taking wing 
 a loud *' pit pit " is often heard. In his remarks on this 
 race, Mr. Anthony says he found this bird quite abun- 
 dant from 6000 to 10,000 feet above the sea, occurring 
 wherever water and timber afforded it drink and shelter 
 {" seeking the shelter of the manzanitas, from whence 
 their clear, mellow notes were heard morning and even- 
 inp^, so suggestive of cool brooks and rustling pines, but 
 so out of place in the hot, barren hills of that region "). 
 
 Flocks wintered around this camp at Valladores, six 
 miles from the base of the range at an elevation of 2500 
 feet, and a few pair bred there, but by March nearly all 
 had disappeared, moving higher up the mountains. The 
 nest was a mere hollow under a manzanita bush, and 
 filled with dry leaves of the lilac and manzanita, and the 
 eggs are creamy white and unspotted. 
 
 47 
 
 
 (ft- 
 
 •II 
 
 'I 
 
48 
 
 GAME BINDS OF JVORTII AMERICA. 
 
 I 
 
 ■ m 
 
 ,M 
 
 MP' 
 
 III ' 
 
 OREORTYX PICT US CON FINIS. 
 
 Geographical Distribution. — " Mountains of San Pedro range 
 Lower California, reachinj; to valleys in winter." — Anthony. 
 
 Adult Male. — " Back wings and tail, ashy brown with sli^'ht 
 olive wash ; inner secondaries and tcrtials bordered with 
 white, forming, when wings are closed, two parallel bars of white 
 foreparts above and below, slaty blue, slightly grayer abdvt 
 belly, rich chestnut, banded on the sides with bars of white and 
 black ; flanks, rufous ; tibia, ashy ; crissuni, velvety black 
 streaked with chestnut ; throat, chestnut, bordered laterally 
 with a narrow black line, which in turn is bordered with wliitt 
 a white mask surrounding the bill and changing to grayish on 
 forehead. Arrow plumes \i\wi\i."— Anthony. 
 
f 
 
 } ■ 
 
 
 ■\ 
 
 I' •! *:•! 
 
!•;.! 
 
 
 
 
 
 8. Scaled Partridge. 
 
 CCA] 
 ^ Cr 
 
 known 
 
 Mexicc 
 
 also s( 
 
 the W 
 
 to go, 
 
 River i 
 
 dispersi 
 
 this bei 
 
 the sou 
 
 gallon 
 
 not fre(^ 
 
 plateauj 
 
 is some 
 
 be inde 
 
 districts 
 
 almost ; 
 
 either fr 
 
 cacti, yu 
 
 the plaii 
 
 the more 
 
 This s 
 
 size, seve 
 
 always fo 
 
 Jng: to rui 
 
 usually w 
 
 liii! 
 
 Itllil! 
 
i'J 
 
 fii' 
 
 It 
 
 SCALED PARTRIDGE. 
 
 CCALED Partridge, Blue, V/hite Top-Knot, and White 
 *^ Crested Quail, by all of which names this species is 
 known, is found from western Texas, through New 
 Mexico to southern Arizona in the United States, and 
 also south into northern Mexico. North and east of 
 the White and Mogallon mountains it does not seem 
 to go, while Fanin County, Texas, and the Colorado 
 River in Arizona, are the eastern and western limits of its 
 dispersion within our boundaries. My experience with 
 this beautiful bird has been gained in New Mexico, in 
 the southern portions, on the mesas lying near the Mo- 
 gallon Mountains, and westward into Arizona. It does 
 not frequent timber, but dwells in the open, on the high 
 plateaus, where the cactus grows, and for this reason it 
 is sometimes known as the Cactus Quail. It seems to 
 be independent of water, and frequents dry and sandy 
 districts, where vegetation is exceedingly sparse, indeed 
 almost absent, and where there is nothing to shelter it 
 either from the heat or its enemies, save a few clumps of 
 cacti, yuccas, and similar stunted plants, scattered over 
 the plain; and the more spiny and thorny the bushes 
 the more the Blue Quail loves to frequent them. 
 
 This species goes in flocks sometimes of considerable 
 size, several broods probably joining together, and I have 
 always found them exceedingly shy and wary, commenc- 
 ing to run as soon as my presence was discovered. They 
 usually went in Indian file, following some one bird that 
 
 Ik 
 
 V 
 
 I- / 
 
 M 
 
 . ■ 11 
 
 fyH, 
 
 49 
 
5© 
 
 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 
 \i 
 
 pww 
 
 appeared to act as a leader, though occasionally in their 
 haste the main body would overtake him, and then for 
 a space they would continue on bunched up all together, 
 gradually straggling out again into a long line. The 
 body was held very erect and stiff while running, the tail 
 almost touching the ground, and the white crest was 
 spread out in a fan shape, showing very conspicuously. 
 This bird runs with great speed, and seems to be able to 
 keep it up for a long distance, and flies with much reluc- 
 tance, alighting almost immediately and beginning to run 
 at once. When compelled to take wing, it rises with the 
 usual whir-r-r, and proceeds on a slightly curved line, 
 rarely straight ahead, and if, on alighting, it should stOp 
 for a moment, it is always under the cover of some cactus 
 or other low bush, which affords a place of concealment, 
 and from which it can watch its pursuer, before starting 
 to run again. 
 
 A dog is practically useless for hunting the Scaled 
 Partridge, for if he is well broken and attempts to point a 
 covey, the birds will run several hundred yards while he 
 is standing, and then will add several hundred more, 
 while he is trailing them, and the poor animal becomes 
 bewildered and disgusted and is apt to run also. I know 
 nothing so trying to the patience of a sportsman as the 
 tactics of this species, unless it be the similar habits of 
 other Crested Quail. As a rule this species was not very 
 much hunted in the localities I met with it, and it always 
 seemed to me rather singular that they should be so 
 wary, for that is an attribute that wild creatures usually 
 acquire after having made the acquaintance of man and 
 learned that his presence always brought wounds and 
 death, and that safety to themselves was only to be ob- 
 tained by leaving his vicinity as soon as possible. But 
 these birds seem instinctively to have ascertained this 
 
•'' I 
 
 SCALED PARTRIDGE. 
 
 5« 
 
 fact before they ever saw a human being, and decamp at 
 
 ^ce whenever a man appears. 
 
 This Partridge is a dweller of high table-lands and is 
 found at an altitude of 6ocx) to 7000 feet, and subsists 
 mainly upon various kinds of small seeds, grain if any is 
 grown in the vicinity, berries, buds or tender parts of 
 plants, and insects of different kinds. When alarmed it 
 utters a curious low ftoom-like sound, at other times 
 a short, quick note, difficult to indicate by letters. There 
 is no diflferencc in the plumage of the sexes, the female 
 being as gayly clad as the male, and in this respect the 
 species constit'*l;es an exception among the other varie- 
 ties of Partridge inhabiting the United S' s, for in all of 
 these, the females are rather differently ai rayed from the 
 males, with conspicuous markings indicating their sex. 
 The nesting season begins about May, and generally two 
 broods are raised, and sometimes even three. The 
 slightly formed nest is placed on the ground under some 
 j sheltering bush, or in a corn, or other grain field, in alfalfa 
 I grass, and sometimes in potato fields. The eggs, in num- 
 ber usually about a dozen, vary from creamy white to 
 pale buflf in color, and are covered with various-sized red- 
 [dish brown or fawn-colored spots, regularly distributed 
 over the shell. Sometimes these spots are so small that 
 they are barely distinguishable. The shape is subpyri- 
 form. This species seems to prefer to make its nest on 
 the upper mesas, even among the foothills of the moun- 
 tain ranges, returning in winter, if the weather is severe, 
 to the lower lands and river bottoms. I have never met 
 the coveys in thickets, or amid underbrush, or in timber 
 even if very open, but it is evidently a bird of the treeless 
 country and ca^ti-covered plains. Doubtless, like many 
 janother species, its habits vary in different localities, and 
 it suits itself to its surroundings. If by chance Gambel's 
 
 I i; 
 
 
 :!'•§' 
 
 : t if. 
 
 illiii 
 
 ill 
 'I. 
 
~ 
 
 T 
 
 ( 
 
 '!' 
 
 i 
 
 ,■■ 
 1' 
 
 '!!'' 
 
 i 
 
 52 
 
 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 Partridge should inhabit the same district as the Scaled 
 Partridge, the two species associate together apparently 
 on most amicable terms, but the kind of ground each 
 prefers is usually of so different a character that they are 
 not often found together. The Blue Partridge is a hand- 
 some bird and attractive in spite of its unsportsmanlike 
 habits, the markings of its plumage causing it to appear 
 as if covered with imbricated scales, a rather unique dress 
 among its brethren. 
 
 CALLIPEPLA SQUAMATA. 
 
 Geographical Distribution.— V^^^toxn Texas, New Mexico, 
 and Southern Arizona. Valley of Mexico. 
 
 Adult. — Head, brown or brownish gray, varying in depth of 
 hue among individuals ; tip of crest, white ; throat, pale buff. 
 Hind-neck, upper parts of back and breast, bluish gray, each 
 feather bordered with black, giving the plumage a scaly appear- 
 ance ; scapulars, wings, lower back, and rump, pale brown; 
 upper tail-coverts and tail, bluish gray; flanks, bluish gray, 
 streaked with white; rest of lower parts, pale buff; feathers, mar 
 gined with blackish brown; bill, black. Total length, 9^ inches; 
 wing, 5 ; tail, 4^^ ; tarsus, i|. There is no difference whatever 
 in the coloring of the plumage in the sexes, and males and 
 females are indistinguishable except by dissection. 
 
 '^^m 
 
• -1 
 
 iiii 
 
 ■ '! 
 
!i 
 
 
 J !1 
 
 9. Chestnut-Bellied Scaled Partridge. 
 
 Iiiiii i;li 
 
-^, 
 
 CHESTNUT-BELLIED SCALED PARTRIDGE. 
 
 'THIS subspecies, at times indiflferently distinguishable 
 * from the Scaled Partridge, has a very restricted 
 range, being found within our limits only in the lower 
 Rio (irande V^alley, in Texas, and across the border in 
 eastern Mexico. Among the foothills of the Rio Grande, 
 about one hundred miles from the coast, as stated by my 
 (fiend Mr. Geo. B. Sennett, is the eastern limit of this 
 bird. In its habits, selection of food, and character of 
 tbe country it dwells in, it closely resembles the Scaled 
 Partridge. Some specimens are strongly and broadly 
 marked with chestnut on the belly, this at times being 
 very dark in color; but this varies greatly, both in hue 
 and in the space it covers, until some individuals are met 
 witb tiiat are very difificult to assign to either the species 
 or the race. They grade in a large series of examples, 
 directly from one to the other, so as to make it impossible 
 to say where one form begins and the other ends. This 
 jbird raises two broods in a season and commences to lay 
 as early as March, depositing from twelve to twenty eggs 
 in a slight cavity in the ground scraped out under some 
 thick bushes or clump of grass, and lined with grass. 
 The eggs vary from a pale creamy white to a rich buflf, 
 covered all over with reddish brown spots, from the size 
 of a pin's head to a considerable blotch. There is great 
 Ivariation in both color and markings, and it is very diffi- 
 cult, if not impossible, at times to distinguish those be- 
 longing to the two forms apart. 
 
 
 i|iH 
 
 „ I 
 
 if i!M 
 
 53 
 
54 
 
 GAkfE BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 CALLIPEPLA SQUAMATA CASTANEIGASTRA. 
 
 Geographical Distribution. — Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas, 
 Northeastern Mexico. 
 
 Adult. — Head, brownish gray, darker than that of C. sqm- 
 mat a, and the throat is also a darker buff; the blue of the breast 
 and back is more of a decided tint, as is also the brown of the 
 wings and lower back ; lower parts, dark buff, ochraceous in some 
 specimens, with a more or less extensive patch of rusty chestnut 
 on the belly; upper tail-coverts and tail, bluish gray; there is 
 more white on the crest, in certain examples, the feathers being 
 nearly all white; in general appearance this is a darker bird than 
 the typical style, but the chestnut patch varies greatly in extent 
 among individuals, being reduced at times to barely a trace, and 
 the two styles grade into each other by imperceptible degrees, 
 until it is impossible to designate where one ends and the other 
 begins; in size the two forms are about equal, and there is no 
 difference in the color of plumage or style of markings between 
 the sexes. 
 
f 
 
 * 
 
 
T 
 
 lo. California Partridge. 
 
CALIFORNIA PARTRIDGE. 
 
 'T' HIS is the species found in the coast region of Cali- 
 fornia, northward to Vancouver's Island, as sepa- 
 rated from its paler relative of the interior of Oregon, 
 southward to Cape St. Lucas. 
 
 It is a very handsome bird, perhaps not quite equal in 
 this respect to its beautiful cousin Gambel's Partridge, 
 with which the uninitiated frequently confound it, but 
 with this solitary exception no other species can dispute 
 successfully its claim to be the handsomest member of 
 the family. 
 
 It was not indigenous to the State of Washington, its 
 range not extending farther north than Oregon, but it 
 was introduced both there and in the islands of Puget 
 Sound, and also in Vancouver Island (where I met with 
 it), and has increased greatly in all these places. It is a 
 resident species, does not migrate, frequents canons and 
 bushy hillsides, also fields, is often seen in enormous 
 flocks, as if many broods had united together, and runs 
 rapidly over the ground, preferring to escape if possible 
 by this method than to make use of its wings. These 
 great flocks or packs are only formed in the fall of the 
 year after the breeding season is over, and occasionally the 
 number of birds gathered together will amount to several 
 hundred, and they are then wilder than ^t other times. 
 In the spring these packs gradually break up, and the 
 birds commence to mate in March, if the winter has not 
 lingered longer than usual. 
 
 This species, like many others that have been persist- 
 
 55 
 
 I 
 
 f, 
 1 
 
56 
 
 GAAfE BINDS OF NORTH AMERICA, 
 
 ently hunted and trapped, lias p^reatly decreased in num- 
 ber in many localities where it was formerly very abundant, 
 and the large packs mentioned above are not very often 
 seen at the present time, except in districts far removed 
 from towns or villages, in which every man carries a gun. 
 The average number of eggs in the nest is about fifteen, 
 and they have a creamy white, or buff ground color, 
 minutely dotted or blotched with chestnut-brown, olive- 
 gray, or pale rufous. The nest is almost always placed 
 on the ground, sometimes without any attempt at con- 
 cealment, but usually under some log or bush, or close 
 to a stump. Instances are known, however, where this 
 species has nested in trees at no great height from the 
 ground. Incubation is carried on for about three weeks, 
 and the young run as soon as hatched. 
 
 The California Partridge is naturally of a tame and 
 confiding disposition, and, when not molested, will ap- 
 proach farm buildings and remain near the dwellings 
 feeding among the poultry, but, when much hunted, soon 
 becomes wild and wary, shunning man and all his belong- 
 ings. The food consists of seeds, berries, and tender 
 plants, and various insects, and it is upon these last that 
 the chicks are usually fed. The male does not assist the 
 females in incubating the eggs, but mounts guard close 
 at h .id, and utters his call note at intervals. The old 
 birds tend the young carefully, and are very watchful of 
 any danger threatening their chicks, which at the first 
 note of warning scatter in all directions and hide under 
 anything that will afford a cover, from a dried leaf to a 
 log or bush, and if nothing of the kind is at hand, will 
 squat upon the ground, remaining motionless until the 
 cause of their fear has departed. 
 
 :ii:' "i? 
 
CA i IFORNIA PA R TRIDUE. 
 
 57 
 
 LOP no R TYX CA UFORNICUS. 
 
 Geoc^raphical Distribution, — California coast region, as far 
 south us Monterey. Introduced into Oregon, Washington, and 
 British Columbia. 
 
 Adult yl/rt/^*.— Forehead, buff; shafts of feathers, black ; occiput, 
 (lark chestnut bordered anteriorly, and on the sides with black. 
 followed by a line of pure white; line from bill to eye, white; 
 chin and throat, jet black, bordered all around from behind the 
 eye with white, which is again margined narrowly with black; 
 back of neck and upper part of back, blue, the feathers 
 margined with black and a minute bluish white spot at tip; 
 entire upper parts, deep smoke brown; the inner edge of tertials, 
 deep buff or ochraceous, forming two conspicuous lines; some- 
 times the outer edges of the secondaries are margined with 
 ochraceous; primaries, dark brown; breast, deep blue; belly, deep 
 buff, the feathers margined with black; flanks, smoke brown, 
 streaked with white; abdomen, dark chestnut, the feathers with 
 black margins; vent and under tail-coverts, deep buff, with broad 
 central streaks of dark brown; bill, black; crest, black, very nar- 
 row at the base, widening out and curving forward at the tip; all 
 the feathers, of which there are about six, inclosed between the 
 webs of the anterior plume. Total length of bird, lo inches; 
 wing, 4*; tail, 4; tarsus, i^; bill, \. 
 
 Adult Female. — With certain resemblances to the male, the 
 female differs in having a shorter, chestnut brown crest; head, 
 smoky gray without white or black markings; no chestnut patch 
 on abdomen, and the scaly markings less pronounced; otherwise 
 she resembles the male, the colors, however, being less clear 
 and more subdued. 
 
 i 
 
 •f 
 
 4 :i 
 
 i ^ 
 
 'OTR' 
 
VALLEY PARTRIDGE. 
 
 pALER in color than its relative of the coast, the 
 present race inhabits the interior of Oregon, Nevada, 
 and California as far to the southward as Cape St. Lucas, 
 frequents the valleys and foothills of the mountains, and 
 ascending the latter in Lower California to an eFevation 
 of about 8000 or 9000 feet. It is found on both slopes ot 
 the Sierra Nevada, and goes east to Death Valley, and 
 along the Mojave River until it reaches the western limits 
 of Gambel's Partridge. In the upper part of the Willa- 
 mette Valley, OrcT^^n, it is abundant, but in the lower 
 part is supplanted by the California Partridge. It has 
 been introduced into Utah, and flourished there in all 
 suitable localities. It withstands cold very well, for Ben- 
 dire states (Life Hist. N. Am. B, p. 2y), that in the upper 
 Klamath \"alley, Oregon, he found a small covey, 
 which passed successfully through the winter of 1882, 
 though the thermometer registered more than once con- 
 siderably below zero, and the next spring there were two 
 coveys of half-grown birds. In Lower California very 
 dry seasons occasionally occur, and it is a rather singular 
 fact, and this has been proved by several careful 
 observers, that during such periods the Valley Quail do 
 not breed, but the large flocks that are formed during the 
 autumn reniain unbroken all summer. The cause of this 
 curious condition of affairs may be the scarcity of seeds 
 and tender grasses, which from lack of moi^..are have not 
 appeared in the customary abundance. However, if the 
 winter rainfall has been of the usual quantity, then the 
 
 58 
 
n •'! 
 
 do 
 
 I the 
 
 this 
 
 [eds 
 
 not 
 
 the 
 
 the 
 
 582, 
 on- 
 
 ! 
 
 two 
 
 
 erv 
 
 
 liar 
 
 1 
 
 eful 
 
 
 
 i L_1.I 
 
 II. Valley Partridge. 
 
 J 
 
 Hi 
 
 la ■■■ 
 
 
 4 V *: 
 
 li 
 
cove 
 
 is a ' 
 
 the c 
 
 ofth 
 
 usual 
 
 woul 
 
 But i 
 
 to do 
 
 ter tc 
 
 indiv 
 
 durin 
 
 slight 
 
 begin 
 
 portic 
 
 pugnc 
 
 the pi 
 
 leiige 
 
 low, t 
 
 the fe 
 
 nest i: 
 
 deposi 
 
 by the 
 
 selecte 
 
 colorir 
 
 of the 
 
 The 
 
 alike, ; 
 
 as swif 
 
 a dog, 
 
 same i 
 
 If the 
 
 sounds 
 
 intrude 
 
 hurled 
 
VALLEY PARTRIDGE. 
 
 59 
 
 coveys break up in March, and mating begins. This fact 
 is a very remarkable one, as it shows the suppression of 
 the amatory instinct (we can hardly imagine at the will 
 of the bird), at a time when, if it was allowed to have its 
 usual sway with the consequent result, the probability 
 would be that the young would perish from lack of food. 
 But it would seem that the birds' volition had nothing 
 to do with the case, for, as Mr. Anthony states (in a let- 
 ter to Captain Bendire given in the work already cited), 
 individuals obtained by him in April, May, and June, 
 during one of these dry seasons, exhibited but a very 
 slight development of the ovaries. The nesting season 
 begins in March, perhaps a little later in the northern 
 portion of its habitat, and the males at this time are very 
 pugnacious, and frequent battles occur among them for 
 the possession of some particular fair one. The chal- 
 lenge call of the male is clear and loud, and he also has a 
 low, tender note, which seems to be uttered solely for 
 the female, and resembles the syllables ah-hooh. The 
 nest is a very primitive affair; very often the eggs are 
 deposited on the bare ground, under some bush, log, or 
 by the side of a rock, or in similar situations as are 
 selected by the California Partridge, and the number, 
 coloring, and marking of the eggs are the same as those 
 of the species just named. 
 
 The habits and food of the tvj birds are very much 
 alike, as would be supposed, and the present race runs 
 as swiftly, exhibits the same unwillingness to He before 
 a dog, takes to a tree or bush quickly, and evinces the 
 same indisposition to fly as is displayed by its relative. 
 If the flock is met suddenly, the birds utter a cry that 
 sounds very much as if they were trying to swear at the 
 intruder in Spanish, and many an angry ca-raho is 
 hurled at his head in earnest tones, as if the startled birds 
 
 •I 
 
 iM 
 
6o 
 
 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 were indignantly warning the trespasser away from their 
 premises. This race is fond of frequenting thickets, 
 hedge-rows along the cultivated fields, and is naturally 
 tame and of a sociable disposition. This trustful nature, 
 however, is rapidly changed to one of suspicion and alarm 
 after the birds have had a short experience with their great 
 enemy man, and when that is the case his appearance is 
 announced by a sharp note, resembling pip-pip-pip, 
 and the flock is off on a quick run ending, if closely pur- 
 sued, in a short flight and a general scattering all over 
 the locality. As a game bird, to hunt with a dog, they 
 are very unsatisfactory and disappointing, in no way to 
 be compared to the brave little Bob White of the Eastern 
 States. 
 
 LOPHORTYX CALIFORNICUS VALLICOLA. 
 
 Geographical Distribution. — Interior of Oregon, California, 
 and Nevada, East to the Panamint Mountains, South to Cape 
 St. Lucas. 
 
 Adult Male. — In general appearance this bird resembles the 
 California Partridge; the pattern of markings and distribution of 
 colors being almost precisely similar, but there is a consistent 
 variation in the hues themselves; the color and markings of the 
 heads of the two forms are alike, and the crests are the same, 
 but the upper parts of the Valley Partridge are grayish brown, and 
 the inner margins of tertials are white; the belly is white or 
 buflfy white, and the flanks grayish brown; it is altogether a 
 bluer or more grayish blue bird, and much lighter beneath when 
 contrasted with the typical styles; in size it equals the L. cali- 
 fornicus. 
 
 Adult Female. — Forehead, bluish gray; occiput, rusty brown; 
 crest, very short, snuff brown; in the color of the upper parts she 
 resembles the male, and the margins of the tertials are buffy 
 whjte ; throat, brownish white, streaked with darker brown; 
 breast, bluish gray, flanks, same color, streaked with white; lower 
 breast and abdomen, white, the feathers margined with black; 
 under tail-coverts, bronzy brown, margined with pale buff or 
 
VALLEY PARTRIDGE. 
 
 6i 
 
 whitish; the female is conspicuous beneath by the amount of 
 white exhibited, and like the male she is lighter in color than the 
 corresponding sex of the typical form; there are no black or 
 white markings on the head. 
 
 Young, Half Groiun. — Forehead, bluish gray, streaked with 
 white ; feathers margined with black, rest of head on top, dark 
 rusty brown; short crest, rusty brown, black in center; back of 
 neck, bluish gray, vermiculated with light brown, rest of back 
 bluish gray, feathers margined with blackish brown; wings, 
 rusty brown, barred and vermiculated with black; sides of head 
 and throat, buff, streaked with bluish gray; breast pale bluish- 
 gray; rest of under parts, buffy white, indistinctly barred with 
 bluish gray; tail blue, barred and mottled on edge of webs with 
 black. 
 
 I 
 
 .■".)■ 
 
 ■v. 
 
GAMBEL'S PARTRIDGE. 
 
 \A/HILE disputing the palm for beauty of dress and 
 gallant appearance with its relative the California 
 Partridge, the present species possesses all of the same 
 disagreeable traits when he is regarded in the light of 
 a game bird. In his legs does he trust, and the rocky 
 canons and hillsides are his delight, and when met with 
 at the base of these often lofty and steeply ascending 
 cliffs, instead of flying as any well-mannered Quail would 
 do, he runs with all his might, leaping from stone to 
 stone, dodging behind one bowlder after another until 
 he becomes a mere speck above one, or disappears 
 altogether. The range of this handsome bird extends 
 from western Texas, through New Mexico and Arizona 
 to California, where it meets the Valley Partridge in San 
 Bernardino County, the Colorado desert proving an 
 effective barrier to its extension farther westward. It is 
 also found in southeastern Utah, and was introduced at 
 Fort Union in northern New Mexico. It also crosses 
 our southern border and is a resident of northwestern 
 Mexico. Any kind of a locality within its dispersion 
 seems to be perfectly satisfactory to this bird; whether it 
 be a dry and sandy stretch blistering in torrid heat, or a 
 place rocky and bare of leafy covering, or tracts hidden 
 by the densest and most impregnable thickets — they are 
 all the same to Gambel's Quail. From my experience, 
 however, in hunting them, I should say, if they had any 
 choice of locality it lay between dense clumps, matted 
 with vines and bristling with thorns, into and through 
 
 6a 
 
■i 
 
 1 I 
 
 \r' 
 
 ii 
 
 ■>:;! 
 
 i\ I 
 
 m- 
 
which n 
 or moui 
 which ar 
 ders, uvi 
 effort, st( 
 strugglin 
 quer the 
 at the s 
 had run 
 flew at th 
 the ascen 
 hunter ga 
 twccn. I 
 tahzing a: 
 lost to all 
 form to t 
 I happily 
 with it, if 
 This sp( 
 away fron 
 sure indicc 
 at hand. 
 in the loc 
 gay-lookin 
 ing insect! 
 spots, and 
 When alar 
 leader in 01 
 looks out 
 stone, and j 
 or some ro^ 
 "Iff rapidit 
 tlieni take > 
 do so by 
 
GAM BEL S PARTRIDGE. 
 
 63 
 
 which nothing Hving" could penetrate save themselves, 
 or mountain sides that ascend in a direct line and 
 which are covered with japged stones and slippery bowl- 
 ders, over which the light-footed birds pass without 
 effort, stopping occasionally to look down and jeer at the 
 struggling, panting mortal below who is striving to con- 
 quer the ascent, and when the pursuer had arrived 
 at the summit, the Quail, it would be discovered, 
 had run to the edge of another canon, into which they 
 flew at the first appearance of the sportsman, and began 
 the ascent from below on the opposite side, leaving the 
 hunter gazing at them across the great gulf that rolled be- 
 tween. If there is another species of game bird more tan- 
 tahzing and vexatious in its manners, and more utterly 
 lost to all the finer feelings that should compel it to con- 
 form to the recognized rules that govern field sports, 
 I happily do not know of it, and have no wish to meet 
 with it, if existing. 
 
 Tliis species is dependent upon water, never going far 
 away from brook or spring, and its presence is a pretty 
 sure indication that a supply of the necessary fluid is near 
 at hand. Gambcl's Quail is generally very abundant 
 in the localities it frequents, and the coveys of trim, 
 gav-looking birds are seen daily running about chas- 
 ing insects, dusting themselves in the roads or sandy 
 spots, and uttering all the while a soft low qucc\ or zuocct. 
 When alarmed, they commence to run, following some 
 leader in outstretched line, or else in bunches when each 
 looks out for himself, dodging behind every bush and 
 stone, and generally striving to reach some dense thicket, 
 or some rocky hillside up which they climb with surpris- 
 ing rapidity. It is, at first, almost impossible to make 
 them take wing, and they will only fly when compelled to 
 do so by their pursuer appearing right among them, 
 
 11 
 
 m 
 
 'A' 
 
 tS- 
 
 m ■ 
 
 :il 
 
64 
 
 GAME B/A'DS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 and then they proceed but a short distance before alipht- 
 inp^, and coninience to run again. If the ground per- 
 mits the covey to be followed rapidly and continuously, 
 and the birds find that running is of no avail, they can 
 then be flushed, and they fly swiftly, generally on a Kvcl 
 about six or eight feet above the ground, but in a curving 
 direction, not straight forward for any distance, and if 
 the covey becomes well scattered the birds will some- 
 times lie well and flush singly; but thii; is exceptional, 
 and a state of affairs only arrived at by a long, persistent. 
 and fatiguing pursuit. I imagine that most of the birds 
 that are obtained by the gun arc shot upon the ground. 
 Very unsportmanlike, but after one learns their tricks 
 and their manners the natural feeling of denunciation 
 against such a practice that is possessed by all lovers of 
 dog and gun, somehow does not seem to be so easily 
 aroused in those who have followed these birds for f^nd 
 or recreation. If, however, the sportsman fails to obtain 
 either of these, there is one thing he does get without 
 stint — exercise. 
 
 Gambel's Partridge bears well great extremes of tem- 
 perature and is apparently quite as comfortable where 
 the thermometer indicates ioo° in the shade, as in 
 the keen, rarefied air that blows around the mountain 
 tops at an elevation of 8000 or 9000 feet. When tlie 
 heat is as great as that mentioned above, this species 
 seeks the bottoms of the cafions, or the banks of tlie 
 creeks, and keeps in the shade of the dense thickets 
 usually found in such situations, or, as is frequently 
 the case, perches in the trees. This custom is habitual 
 to it, for it is quite an arboreal bird, taking refuge 
 on the branches of trees or bushes if suddenly 
 alarmed, or when the members of a flock become scat- 
 tered after having been compelled to take wing. Tlie 
 
 > \\M 
 
« »»■ 
 
 ■ %■* 
 
 GAMBELS PARTRIDGE. 
 
 65 
 
 mating season commences quite early in the spring, say 
 the month of April, and the male presents a very hand- 
 suiiie appearance as with erect body, dignified move- 
 im Ills, puffed-out feathers atul trailing, trembling wings, 
 lie moves sedately before the gaze of his shy lady-love. 
 Slie is a modestly attired little body, similar, but still quite 
 (litkrent in dress to her lord, lacking the strongly con- 
 trasting colors upon the head, and the great black patch 
 oil the belly. The glossy, jet black, graceful plume of 
 many feathers tiiat decorates the head of the male, open- 
 ing and closing, as his fre(|uent changes of feelings exert 
 their influence, is in the female reduced to small propor- 
 tions, and dusky in hue. 
 
 The nest is simply a hollow scratched out in the soil, 
 sometimes lined with grass or leaves, and concealed 
 from view by tall grass, or by some overhanging bush, 
 or else hidden away amid the vegetation that springs up 
 in the dry beds of the creeks. In fact any spot that will 
 afford the necessary protection and concealment is taken 
 advantage of, and the eggs removed from the view of 
 prying enemies. Doubtless, however, many are taken by 
 reptiles such as snakes of various kinds, and even the Gila 
 Monster has been known to have made a meal on the 
 eggs of this species. The usual number found in a nest is 
 from twelve to fifteen; and these have a ground color 
 varying from a creamy white to a pale buff, irregularly 
 spotted and blotched with dark seal, sometimes almost 
 blackish, brown, drab, or rufous, all suffused with a 
 peculiar purplish bloom. Occasionally a nest is found 
 placed in a tree, or cactus, a few feet from the ground, 
 the bird, doubtless, having lost the eggs previously laid, 
 had sought a more secure refuge from her terrestrial foes. 
 The period of incubation extends to about four weeks, 
 and probably two broods are raised in a season. The 
 
 
 
^, 
 
 
 IMAGE EVALUATION 
 TEST TARGET (MT-3) 
 
 
 \5^ 
 
 « 
 
 1.0 
 
 I.I 
 
 u* — "2.0 
 
 IL25 in 1.4 
 
 1^ 
 
 <^ 
 
 y] 
 
 
 
 /; 
 
 >^ 
 
 '■^ 
 
 '/ 
 
 Photographic 
 
 Sciences 
 Corporation 
 
 23 WEST MAIN STREET 
 
 WEBSTER, N.Y. 14510 
 
 (716) 873-4503 
 
 

66 
 
 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 birds do not seem to have any regular time to commenci 
 laying, some being much later than others, and on this 
 account, and the number of broods raised, young or half- 
 grown birds are met with nearly throughout tht entire 
 summer. The pretty little downy chicks run as soon as 
 hatched, and soon become exceedingly expert in hiding, 
 which they arc quick to do at the warning chirp of the 
 mother, squatting close to the ground and remaining 
 absolutely motionless, or crawling under leaves, or any 
 shelter that is available. Danger past, at a cluck from 
 the anxious mother, who all the time has probably been 
 crouching near by, watching her brood, the chicks gather 
 around her, and are led to a more retired and secure 
 locality. When able to use their wings and fly with some 
 degree of freedom, the young take refuge in the trees 
 and perch on the branches, but as they grow older the 
 one particular habit they have inherited prevails over all 
 the rest, and their legs arc depended upon for escape 
 more than upon any other means at their disposal, and 
 they run with considerable swiftness, only using the 
 wings as the last resort. 
 
 Gambel's Partridge has niiiny enemies, foremost 
 among which is man, both white and red, who destnivs 
 vast numbers both with gun and snares of various in- 
 genuity. Hawks, wolves, foxes, and other predatory 
 animals kill numbers, and doubtless many fall a prey to 
 rattlesnakes and other reptiles. Still if the species only 
 had to combat with its natural enemies, it would probably 
 be able to maintain itself in undiminished numbers, but 
 whenever man, especially Caucasian man, takes a hand 
 in destroying, the time of diminution and final extinction 
 of any wild creature is near at hand. 
 
 This Partridge has a number of calls, which it utters 
 at various times and on especial occasions, some of which 
 
 W-. 
 
GAAfBEL'S PARTRIDGE. 
 
 67 
 
 are very difficult to represent on paper. At the com- 
 mencement of the pairing season it gives voit p to a clear, 
 ringing note, usually uttered from some slight eminence, 
 wliich has been compared to the syllables yuk-kiic-ja 
 by Captain Bendire and killink by Dr. Coues, each 
 syllable distinctly uttered and the last two somewhat 
 lengthened. These notes strike each hearer so differ- 
 ently that it is impossible to w rite them down and convey 
 to each the impression he has received. To me the three- 
 syllabled word given above more clearly describes the 
 note as it was heard by me, but doubtless many others 
 would recognize it better by the word of two syllables as 
 given by Dr. Coucs. This note, or cry, is equivalent to 
 the Bob White of our Northern bird. The alarm note is 
 well indicated by Captain Bendire as criicr, criicr, fre- 
 quently repeated; a rasping, harsh sound, in uttering 
 which many members of a covey join. At other times, 
 when undisturbed, a soft pcct is heard, followed on 
 the slightest alarm by a sharp quit, succeeded by the 
 pattering of little feet upon the dry leaves as the covey 
 hurries away. It is a gentle, beautiful little creature, and 
 without Gambel's Partridge, with all its unsportsmanlike 
 ways, many an arid and rock-strewn district would be 
 deprived of its chief attraction. 
 
 
 
 
 
 LOPHORTYX GAM BELL 
 
 Geographical Distribution. — Western Texas, New Mexico, and 
 Arizona to San Bernardino County, California. Also in Southern 
 Utah and Nevada, and Northwestern Mexico. 
 
 Adult Male. — Top of head and nape, bright chestnut; forehead, 
 black, interspersed with grayish above the bill, and crossed by a 
 narrow white line between the eyes; a white stripe from behind 
 the eye to back of ear-coverts, bordered above with black; chin, 
 throat, and side of face beneath the eyes, black, bordered all 
 
 ^ 1 
 
1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 68 
 
 G/IAfE BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 around with white; back and sides of neck, lead color, each 
 feather narrowly bordered with brownish black; entire upjur 
 parts, grayish blue, darkest on upper tail-coverts, where tlm 
 feathers are faintly margined with white; tail, pale blue; winj^'s 
 like the back, but with a brownish tinge; the inner webs of the 
 tertials broadly margined with white, and the outer webs of tlmsc 
 nearest the primaries na. rowly margined with yellowish wliitt', 
 forming a horizontal bar when the wing is closed; primaries, 
 brown, grayish on the outer webs; upper part of breast, pale 
 blue; lower part to abdomen, bright buff; flanks, dark chestnut, 
 with a conspicuous white stripe along the shaft; abdomen, black, 
 flanked by bright buff feathers, with a white stripe in the center, 
 bordered with chestnut; vent and under tail-coverts, pale buff 
 with grayish brown central stripe tinged with chestnut ; an up- 
 right plume composed of five or six black feathers, curving for- 
 ward, and the webs turned backward, each overlapping the one 
 behind, rises from the forehead, sometimes bending over the 
 bill; bill, black ; feet and legs, horn color. Total length, lo inclics; 
 wings, 4|; tail, 4i; bill. \\ legs, i^. 
 
 Adult Female. — Differs from the male in having the upper 
 parts tinged with olive-green; top of head, olive-brown; throat. 
 dark buff, streaked with bluish gray; upper part of breast, gray- 
 ish blue, rest of under parts pale buff, the feathers narrowly 
 margined with blackish chestnut; flanks, chestnut with central 
 white stripe ; under tail-coverts, bronzy brown, margined with 
 pale buff; wings as in the male, the tertials less conspicuously 
 margined with white; tail, purplish blue; a short brownish black 
 bunch of feathers rises from top of head, but does not bend for- 
 ward; bill, black; legs and feet, horn color. Total length, 9i 
 inches; wing, 4|, tail, 4^; bill, \\ legs, i^. 
 
ach 
 per 
 ihfi 
 iiKS 
 the 
 osc 
 itc. 
 ies, 
 )ale 
 int. 
 Ilk. 
 ter. 
 
 lUff 
 
 up- 
 for- 
 one 
 the 
 les; 
 
 iper 
 Dat, 
 ray- 
 wly 
 tral 
 nth 
 I sly 
 ack 
 for- 
 
 .91 
 

MASSENA PARTRIDGE. 
 
 1/ NOWN in the territories it frequents within our bor- 
 ders as the Black, Black-beUied, and Fool Quail, the 
 Massena Partridge is the most fantastically colored of all 
 the family to which it belongs, with a head striped and 
 marked like that of the clown in a pantomime. It is 
 however, a very handsome bird, though bizarre in its 
 pattern of coloration, and would attract attention wher- 
 ever seen. It ranges in more or less abundance from 
 western Texas in the vicinity of San Antonio, through 
 New Mexico, and into Arizona as far as Fort Whipple, 
 which is about its western limit. It has been observed 
 in the upper Rio Grande valley near Taos, and south of 
 our limits inhabits northwestern Mexico, ranging upon 
 the mountains at varying elevations of from 4000 
 to over 9000 feet. It seems to be more of a bird of the 
 hills than are most of the other species of Partridge, 
 and prefers the high mesas and valleys that lead up 
 into the lofty mountain ranges. In the United States 
 I do not think this Partridge can be called abundant 
 anywhere, and the localities in which it is found are 
 apparently restricted ; whether or not on account of some 
 especial food it subsists upon I am unable to say. When 
 met with it is generally in small bunches, as if composed 
 of one family, and the birds are extremely gentle and 
 confiding, hardly moving out of the way of either man 
 or beast. At times this species seems to be entirely 
 insensible to fear, and when approached suddenly, either 
 squats down on the ground or walks a few steps to one 
 
 69 
 
 ^ ! 
 
 II 
 
70 
 
 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA, 
 
 side, sometimes merely standini^ perfectly still and rt- 
 parding the intruder with a jijlance that may mean incjuiry 
 or curiosity. It does not run like Gambel's and otlier 
 plumed Partridges, but if wishing to escape, and this 
 resolution is not often taken without considerable delib- 
 eration, a covey will rise with a whir and fly very rapidly 
 in a direct line; usually the birds uttering a cluckinp; 
 note as they speed along. As a rule, they do not Hy 
 very far, but scatter and remain in the place where tluy 
 alight, and can then be flushed singly. In this respect 
 their habits are far superior from a sportsman's point of 
 view to those of the other Partridges that dwell in the 
 same countries. From its gentle disposition and apparent 
 unwillingness to move, frequently when almost trodden 
 upon, this bird has gained the sobricptet of " Fool Quail,' 
 and it has often been killed with a stick in the hands of 
 its pursuer. It may be that it is more numerous in 
 a locality than indications would warrant the supposition. 
 for, on account of its habit of crouching or remaininj:: 
 motionless, a covey could easily escape unnoticed in the 
 grass, although the passer-by was but a very short dis- 
 tance away. 
 
 The Massena Partridge is fond of dusting itself in the 
 roads if there are any, or in sandy places, and when so 
 occupied does not resort to cover until closely ap- 
 proached. In summer they ascend high upon the moun- 
 tains, coming down, when snow begins to fall, to low- 
 altitudes, and occasionally the birds breed at as lofty 
 an elevation as 7000 feet. Although I have never seen 
 the two species actually together, yet I have known 
 the Massena and Gambel's Partridge to occupy the same 
 district in winter, and it is not an unusual thing in New 
 Mexico to obtain both species in one afternoon by the 
 same gun. The reason that the Fool Quail is so con- 
 
AfASSEI^A PARTRIDGE. 
 
 71 
 
 fiding is probably that the waste places it frequents are 
 not much resorted to by man, and hence its acquaintance 
 with its chief enemy and destroyer has been of too 
 limited a character for it to acquire that shy and wild dis- 
 position a full knowledjje of the ways and power of the 
 human biped always brings to every creature of the 
 woods and plains. It may be that in some places where 
 the Massena Partridp^e has been much hunted that it 
 is as wild and wary as arc the other species of this group, 
 but wherever I have seen it, the birds have always pos- 
 sessed the gentle disposition already mentioned. So 
 far as I am aware it never goes in large flocks, but is 
 met with in small companies, and not infrequently three 
 or four birds only are seen together. It appears to be 
 as altogether diflferent in its ways from other Partridges 
 as it is from them in general appearance. It is a plump 
 little bird, and has a manner of walking with a rounded 
 back and humped up body, and exhibits very little of 
 the elegance of form and gracefulness of carriage so char- 
 acteristic of Gambel's and the California Partridge, or 
 even the B!ue Quail. But its fantastically colored head, 
 flanks dotted like the plumage of a guinea fowl, and short, 
 stumpy tail give to it an appearance peculiarly its own 
 and in no way approached by any other Partridge. The 
 nest is a hollow scratched out of the soil, lined with 
 Rrass, and hidden by the grass growing around, or else 
 placed under a bush or some dead limb lying near the 
 ground, surrounded by grass. The eggs are pure white, 
 very glossy, and about ten in number. 
 
 When there are any grain fields in the vicinity of its 
 habitat this Partridge will pick up the kernels lying 
 about, but its chief food, at least in certain localities, 
 seems to be small bulbous roots, and perhaps the re- 
 stricted area in which these are found may in a measure 
 
 i^: 
 
 m 
 
 :« 
 
■V 
 
 71 
 
 GAAfE BIRDS OF NORTH A Af ERICA. 
 
 account for tlic bird's apparently scattered dispersion 
 in the districts it frequents. Its indolent ways would 
 seem to offer it a prey to any active animal, and doubt- 
 less it is easily secured by Hawks, Owls, and four-foottd 
 depredators always on the watch for a toothsome morsel. 
 In some localities where, nut long since, it was fairly 
 abundant, as in New Mexico in the vicinity of the (lila 
 River and around Silver City, it has now become scarce, 
 as it proved to be such an easy victim that the coveys 
 were soon decimated or quite exterminated, and unless its 
 disposition becomes preatly chanpfed and it learns how 
 more effectually to protect itself from its enemies, it will 
 probably soon cease to exist after its habitats have bocn 
 invaded by those who shoot either for pleasure or profit. 
 
 CRVTONVX MONTEZUAfA. 
 
 Geographua} Dtstrifmtiott.—V^Q<rXeru Texas, New Mexico, and 
 Arizona. Table-lands of Mexico, 
 
 Adtilt Male. — Forehead, black; with white stripe passing 
 upward from nostril; top of head, pale brown, birred with black; 
 occiput, richer brown, unmarked, feathers forming a short thick 
 crest; rest of head, white, with a plumbeous stripe from angle 
 of mouth, extendin?3f in a curved line to beneath the ears, meet- 
 ing a broader line that crosses it at right angles, and extends 
 from above ears to the lower margin of the black throat; a 
 small triangular curved black patch beneath the eye; the 
 brown color of head is separated from the white by a nar- 
 row black line ; the white, on side, and fore-neck, is margined 
 beneath by a rather broad black band ; upper parts, reddish 
 brown, barred with black, and streaked with buff; secondaries, 
 pale purplish gray, spotted with black; primaries, dark brown, 
 the outer webs spotted with white; sides of breast and flanks, 
 dark plumbeous, almost black, spotted with white; line through 
 middle of breast, and the belly, dark chestnut; rest of under 
 parts and thighs, velvety black; maxilla, black; mandible, black, 
 with yellowish spot on the side. Total length, 8| inches; wing, 
 5; tail, 7.\\ tarsus, i^; bill, along culmen, f. 
 
 iSJu,' 
 
 :;!:': i: 
 
MAHSRNA PARTRIDGE. 
 
 73 
 
 Aduit ^^*^^^^' — General color, light pinkish cinnamon, upper 
 parts bal"^®*^^'"' black, more inclined to blotches, the bars fre- 
 <itientl\/ *^^"^® together in places, and streaked with buff; head, 
 w'iilif^^' black or white stripes, barred on top and on crest with 
 h\i\cir^'' ^^^^^^' pinky white; a few black spots on flanks, and 
 I ..Aver parts of chest; abdomen and anal region, buff; secondaries, 
 brownish black, barred with pale cinnamon; primaries, dark 
 brown, spotted with white on outer webs; maxilla, black; mandi- 
 ble, pale horn color; claws, horn color. Total length, 8f inches; 
 wing, 5; tail, aj; tarsus, ij, bill, along culmen, g. 
 
 Voun^, about Half Grown. — Similar on upper parts to the 
 female; throat and chin, pure white; under parts, brownish 
 white, spotted with blackish brown, and streaked with buffy 
 white; some black feathers appearing among the brown on the 
 anal region; top of head rich brown, barred with black, and 
 streaked with buffy white along the shaft ; wings, pinkish cinna- 
 mon, streaked with white, and occasional blackish bars across 
 the feathers; primaries, as in the adult. Bill, light horn color. 
 
 Downy Young. — Head, pale brown; becoming gradually 
 whitish on the throat, the occiput with a broad patch of chest- 
 nut; a blackish streak behind the eye; upper parts rusty brown- 
 ish, indistinctly spotted with dusky, the rump bordered along 
 each side by a whitish stripe; lower parts nearly uniform dull 
 white . —Ridgway. 
 
 % 
 
 ■■i 
 
 # 
 
\ 
 
 1% 
 
 \ 
 
 RUFFED GROUSE. 
 
 'T^HIS well-known game bird, the Birch Partridge of 
 certain portions of the British Provinces, Partridge 
 of the Northern Atlantic States, and Pheasant of Virginia 
 and the more Southern States, is distributed throughout 
 the eastern portion of the Union from Massachusetts 
 to Georgia and westward in the wooded regions of Ohio, 
 Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota to the Dakotas. 
 North of Massachusetts it intergrades with its subspecies, 
 the Canadian RufTed Grouse, and it is not always an 
 easy task to decide as to which form specimens obtained 
 within this range really belong. In the Southeastern 
 States it is confined mainly to the mountainous parts, 
 rarely descending into the valleys or lowlands. 
 
 The habits of this fine bird are pretty well known by 
 all lovers of dog and gun, and its wary nature, exceeding 
 cunning, and general ability to take very excellent care 
 of itself cause it to be regarded as one of the most thor- 
 oughly game members of the feathered race. The male 
 Grouse drums at all times in the year: in the spring 
 as a defiance to his rivals or as a call to the hens to come 
 and admire him as he struts in magnificent form upon 
 his chosen log; and in summer and autumn, or even 
 winter, as an indication of his lusty vigor and general 
 satisfaction with himself. The sound heard on these 
 occasions is like a deep muffled roll of a drum, even 
 likened by some persons to low thunder, and has a great 
 ventriloquial power. It is produced solely by the wings,! 
 and these are not permitted to touch the body. The! 
 
 74 
 
by 
 
 lale 
 ring 
 )me 
 
 kven 
 ieral 
 lese 
 iven 
 [reat 
 ngs, 
 The! 
 
 1 I I 
 
of ei 
 
 cult 
 
 tliinj 
 
 Groi 
 
 of b( 
 
 poise 
 
 and, 
 
 as ui 
 
 wintc 
 
 two b 
 
 Th« 
 
 seasoi 
 
 specie 
 
 down. 
 
 agains 
 
 covers 
 
 in the 
 
 I e\^in 
 
 [warm 
 
 at day 
 
 form u 
 
 [recjuer 
 
 thaw 
 
 Its fl 
 
 If'n the h 
 
 pn accc 
 
 llder, ai 
 
 Ipite of 
 
 }nd the 
 
 juitc pi 
 
 \ou\(\ 1 
 
 v^arice 
 
 |ould di 
 
 our la 
 
RUFFED GROUSE. 
 
 79 
 
 of enemies of the air, such as Hawks and Owls, it is diffi- 
 cult to explain, unless it is on the principle of doing one 
 thing at a time, if it is to be done well. The adult Ruffed 
 Grouse feeds on various kinds of nuts, acorns, all sorts 
 of berries in their season (some of them even of the 
 poisonous kind, such as the sumach), and wild grapes, 
 and, when these fail, eats the foliage of many plants, such 
 as wintergrcen, buttercup, partridge berry, etc. In the 
 winter the food consists mainly of buds of the apple, the 
 two birches, and other trees. 
 
 The males of this species keep apart after the breeding 
 season is over, joining the coveys toward winter. This 
 species bears the cold well, its f^athgjxd-coat, cr^xx'x^A 
 Hmvn the leg to fhf hool, affording ample p rotecl inn - 
 against th^ seventy of the weather. When the snow 
 covers the ground, or during a snowstorm, this bird is 
 in the habit of diving headlong into the driitstQWaid 
 e^gjiing, where it remains frequently entirely covered up, 
 [warm and sn ug, during the night, and^flyifig out again 
 it daybreak. But if during the night a crust should 
 [orni upon the snow the poor Grouse is imprisoned and 
 [requently dies of hunger, as escape is impossible unless 
 thaw speedily comes. 
 
 Its flesh, as is well known, is white and tender, but 
 
 l^n the late fall or winter becomes very bitter occasionally, 
 
 )n account of the bird having fed on the leaves of the 
 
 |lder, and to many persons is then quite poisonous. In 
 
 Ipite of the persistency with which this Grouse is hunted, 
 
 Ind the vast number yearly taken in snares, it is still 
 
 kite plentiful in many parts of its dipersion, and It 
 
 kuld be sad indeed if unbridled persecution and 
 
 /arice should ever cause its extermination, for then 
 
 [oiild disappear one of the noblest game birds known 
 
 our land. 
 
 
GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 BONA S A UM BELL US. 
 
 ^1 
 
 Geographical Distribution. — Eastern United States and South- 
 ern Canada, from Massachusetts to Northern Georgia; Missis- 
 sippi and Arkansas, and westward to the Dakotas. 
 
 Adult Male. — Upper parts varied with yellowish brown and 
 gray, barred on head, neck, upper part of back and wings, witli 
 black and rufous; lower part of back and rump gray, interspersed 
 with dark red, and ovate spots of pale buff, surrounded with 
 black; conspicuous, rather broad, streaks of buffy white on scapu- 
 lars and wing-coverts; primaries, grayish brown, outer webs 
 barred with ivory white; upper tail-coverts, gray, mottled, and 
 barred, with black; tufts of broad, lengthened feathers on either 
 side of neck, black, tipped with light brown and metallic green; 
 throat, buff, faintly barred with brown; lower parts, buff on tlie 
 chest, white on remaining parts, barred with brown, darkest and 
 most conspicuous on the flanks, and just beneath the throat; 
 under tail-coverts, buff, barred with blackish and with a V-shaped 
 white mark at tip; tail, gray or yellowish brown; sometimes 
 rusty, mottled with black, and crossed by irregular buff bands, 
 bordered above by black, and a broad, subterminal black band 
 bordered above and below, with gray, mottled with black, the 
 upper gray bar bordered above with a narrow black bar; lej;s, 
 feathered to middle of tarsus; maxilla, black; mandible, horn 
 color. Total length, about 16 inches; wing, 7^; tail, 6J. 
 
 Adult Female. — Not to be distinguished from the male, save 
 she is slightly smaller, and has either very small neck tufts or 
 none at all. 
 
 Downy Young. — Upper parts, chestnut, darkest on front and 
 top of head; rest of plumage, light buff, darkest on sides of 
 head, with a conspicuous black line from back of eyes, across 
 ear-coverts; bill, pale yellowish. 
 

 ■ ,'' 
 
 
 *<i 
 
 
 'i' 
 
 
 >.J 
 
 J4 
 
 
 ' 1 
 
 ' -i*;^* 
 
 
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•IF 
 
 '] 
 
 l' ;im } 
 
 .11 
 
 I 
 
 15. Oregon, or Sabine's Ruffed Grouse, 
 
OREGON OR SABINE'S GROUSE. 
 
 'T'HIS is the handsomest member of the genus which 
 includes the Ruffed Grouse of America. It is found 
 on the mountains between the Coast Range and tlie 
 Pacific, from northern British Columbia to California. 
 Wherever its habitat approaches or overlaps that of an- 
 otlier member of the genus it intergrades with it, and 
 breeds wherever found. It is a beautiful bird, its rich 
 red plumage relieved by black markings, and the orange, 
 red, black, and white under tail-covertj render it a very 
 attractive object, alive or dead. It is very plentiful in 
 certain parts of British Columbia, and it is difficult to 
 find a more striking object than this bird as it walks 
 sedately before you, flipping out, with quick repeated 
 jerks, the feathers of the tail, occasionally spreading it 
 out to the fullest extent, and elevating and depressing 
 the crest of lengthened feathers on the head. 
 
 Great numbers are killed by the Indians, mostly 
 snared, and brought into the towns and cities lying along 
 the Eraser and other rivers, and to Vancouver Island. 
 Its habits are like those of the Ruffed Grouse, and the 
 males drum from some fallen log, and fight furiously 
 in the pairing season, as has already been described. 
 If the season is mild they begin to drum in certain locali- 
 ties on the Pacific Coast in January or February, and 
 frequently at night. Whenever I have heard this solemn 
 roll after dark, which then has a peculiar weird sound, 
 I wondered at the bird's willingness to disclose its posi- 
 tion at an hour when many of its most active enemies 
 
 8i 
 
 ? I 
 
 , w ! 
 

 83 
 
 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 \l-% 
 
 m- 
 
 were abroad and searching for just such a toothsome 
 morsel as a fat Grouse, and I pictured to myself his 
 appearance, as, holding an evening reception, he dis- 
 played himself to the admiring gaze cf his hens, as in 
 all the pride of conscious power and possession he 
 strutted about in the moonlight upon his favorite log. 
 Well for him that his rolling call did not bring some 
 prowling Owl gliding on swift and noiseless wing, or 
 stealthy, keen-scented fox to sweep him out of the scene 
 and life together. The males fight like gamecocks, with 
 lowered head and outstretched necks, the feathers 
 rufifled and standing out in all directions. I doubt if 
 these battles ever terminate fatally to either combatant, 
 the weaker giving way to his conqueror and takinj^ 
 refuge in flight, recuperating his energies and both his 
 wounded body and spirit in the quiet retirement of the 
 deeper woods. 
 
 Sabine's Grouse is never found in large flocks, but 
 each family keeps by itself, and they feed upon all kinds 
 of seeds, insects, berries, nuts, leaves, and buds, and the 
 flesh is white and palatable save in the winter, when it 
 is often bitter, occasionally flavored with turpentine from 
 eating the buds of the fir tree. Nidification takes place 
 from April to June, the time somewhat depending on the 
 locality, and the eggs range from six to ten, perhaps 
 occasionally exceeding the latter number. They re- 
 semble those of other Ruffed Grouse and vary in a simi- 
 lar manner, and the nest is the usual cavity in the 
 ground, lined with almost anything lying about, such as 
 dead leaves and grass, or needles of the spruce or pine. 
 
 It is a large bird, and possesses all the game qualities 
 of its race, but from the localities it frequents can be 
 rarely hunted with well-broken dogs satisfactorily. 
 
OREGO.V OR SABIXE'S GROUSE. 
 
 BO NASA UMfiELLUS SAlUNI. 
 
 83 
 
 Geographical D/sf r/duti'on.— CoacfX range of mountains from 
 Northern British Columbia to California. 
 
 Adult Male. — Upper parts, mostly dark, rusty chestnut, 
 mingled with black blotches and mottling; rump and upper tail- 
 coverts inclined to gray in some specimens; feathers of wings 
 have a central streak of yellowish white; flanks, rusty, bar'-ed 
 with black; tail, deep rust color, barred irregularly, with black, 
 tipped with Tay, and having a subterminal black band, above 
 which is another bar of gray; under tail-covert:., orange, barred 
 with black and V-shaped white mark at tip; feathers f)f thighs 
 and tarsus, rusty. Total length, about 17^ inches; wings, 7I; 
 tail, b\. 
 
 Adult Female. — Resembles the male. 
 
 - <. 
 
m 
 
 CANADIAN RUFFED GROUSE. 
 
 'T^HIS bird, a subspecific form of the Ruffed Grouse, 
 ranges in the northern half of Maine, throuj^h- 
 out Canada as far west as the New Caledonia cHstrict 
 in British Columbia, and is also found in nortlicrn 
 Idaho, Oregon, and Washington on the eastern slopes 
 of the Cascade Range, but does not enter the coast 
 districts. It is very numerous in the thick forests 
 that still cover a large portion of the Dominion of 
 Canada, and is usually quite tame and confiding in dis- 
 position. When a covey or single bird is met with, fly- 
 ing is rarely resorted to, at least at first; the Grouse 
 either walking perhaps a little more rapidly in front or 
 to one side, or else they mount upon the lower branches 
 of a tree close at hand and, motionless, gaze at the in- 
 truder. If a number have perched on the branches of 
 different trees, frequently the majority can be shot before 
 the survivors take alarm and fly deeper into the forest. 
 The usual way of hunting them in these woods is to go 
 with a little dog, which, striking the scent of a Grouse, 
 follows it up until the bird is flushed, and flies usually 
 immediately to a tree, at the foot of which the dog 
 barks frantically, jumping against the trunk, and in 
 many ways exhibiting the excitement under which he 
 labors at seeing the most desired one so near and yet 
 so far. The attention of the Grouse is entirely taken up 
 with the antics and noise of the dog, and pays no heed 
 to the approach of her more formidable and deadly 
 enemy, the sportsman, who at short distance, with either 
 
 84 
 

 
 
 if). Caniulian RutTed Gn^use. 
 
^'iii'^^ 
 
CANADIAN RUFFED GROUSE. 
 
 \'- 
 
 shotgun or rifle — very frecjuently the latter is used — 
 knocks the bird off the hnib. Sliould tliere he other 
 Grouse perched in the near vicinity the report of the 
 weapon does not frighten them, and the firing is contin- 
 ued until a number of birds are tossing upon the ground, 
 and the remainder, at length reahzing that so nuich noise 
 means serious danger, betake themselves to more secure 
 retreats. VVhen the rifle is employed for this kind of 
 shooting, it is dc riguciir that the head alone should be 
 cut off, and any marring of the body by the bullet is 
 to be condemned, and the marksman adjudged to be 
 more lacking in skill than if he had missed the bird alto- 
 gether. This shooting away the head by a single ball 
 is not such a difficult feat as it may seem ; for, in the first 
 place, the distance between man and bird is usually quite 
 short, possibly averaging not over ten yards, and the 
 bird does all it can to insure a successful shot by stand- 
 ing bolt upright, and, with its neck stretched to the 
 fullest length, remains as if carved in stone. The habits 
 of the Canadian Grouse are the same as its relative of 
 the Eastern part of the United States, and the description 
 of one will answer for botii. On account of the wooded 
 character of the country it inhabits, it is not as commonly 
 shot over a dog " at point " as is the Ruffed Grouse, 
 but in any favorable locality it would lie as well, flush 
 and present as favorable a mark for the sportsman, and 
 show as much dexterity in evading his shot, by placing 
 trees between itself and the gun, as does its relative of 
 more southern climes. 
 
 Like all gallinaceous birds this Grouse rises with a 
 resounding whir-r of the wings, but, as is the case with 
 all the species, it can also take wing and steal away with- 
 out making the slightest sound whatever. It seems to 
 be almost an act of volition on the part of the bird 
 
 1 
 
 •■ I 
 
 I «i'-. 
 
(■ 
 
 
 GAMF. BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 whether it shall licrahl its departure with a burst of 
 thundering sound, or omit it altogether. The noise cer- 
 tainly serves for a moment to unsettle the nerves of its 
 enemies, unless experienced and accustomed to its ways, 
 and many a Grouse has preserved its life by the shock 
 the thunder of its wings has given to the startled nerves 
 of the novice in tield sports. Like oth^r memlK^s of 
 the tribe this CJrouse is very courageous in defending its 
 young fnjin any enemy. If its nest and eggs are dis- 
 covered it usually slinks f|uietly away, remaining, how- 
 ever, in the vicinity; but if the hen has a young brood 
 with her, she is utterly forgetful of self, and rushes to 
 meet either man or beast, and enck'avors to lure him 
 by feigned lameness and other i)itiful o«.*vices away from 
 the spot, sounding at the same time tb warning notes 
 to the young to scatter and hide. It hr.s been known in 
 its frenzied anxiety to peck at a man's trousers, as if 
 its feeble eflforts could compel its huge enemy to flee. 
 If the intruder should happen to be a fox or other 
 quadruped there is a good deal of method displayed by 
 the hen in her attempts to entice him away from lier 
 young, and although she may flutter and flounder about 
 within a few inches of the animal's nose, she is very 
 careful not to go fjuite near enough to be caught, but 
 evades easily the <lesperate efforts the beast makes to 
 spring upon her. And when she has succeeded in draw- 
 ing her foe a sufficient distance away, she suddenly rises 
 on sounding wings, and with swift flight returns to her 
 brood, leaving her defeated pursuer foolishly looking 
 about him and probably lamenting the loss of all earthly 
 hopes and joys, in this case typified by the vanishing 
 prospect of a much-desired meal. But one brood is 
 raised in a season, and the period of incubation, nest, 
 its composition and position, number, color, and mark- 
 
CANADIAN RUFI ED GROUSE. S? 
 
 inpf of the CR^pfs, all closely resemble those already dc- 
 scrihcd in the article on the Riiflfed Grouse. 
 
 no NASA UMIiEIJMS TOG ATA, 
 
 Geoc^raphual Piatribution. — Northern New Yj)rk, and New 
 I'lixlan'i, and in Northern Idalio, Oregon, and Washinj^ton in 
 tlu' ITnitecl Slates, and throuj^hout the Dominion of Canada, to 
 tlir district of N»^»vr Caledonia, in British Columbia. 
 
 Adult Ma'c. — Upper parts ^^rayer than in the typical style, 
 the 1)r«»\vn markings especially on lower back and rump very 
 cMiispicuoU!'., and the ^ray ovate spots rather broadly surrounded 
 witli black; upper tail featiiers, dark bluish }<ray, mottled and 
 barred with black; under parts hardly distinguishable from the 
 typical RufTed (Irouse, thou^^h perhaps the bars on Hanks are 
 usually darker; tail, mostly ^ray, irre^ul.nrly barred, and mottled 
 with black, the median feathers inclined to a ydhtwish brown, 
 and a subterminal black band; larjjje tufts of feathers on each 
 side of neck, smoke-brown edyjed with metallic j^reen. Measure- 
 nitiits about the same as those of />*. umbtllus. 
 
 Adult l'\'tnaU. — With the excepticm of the neck tufts, which 
 are either wantinj? or very small, there is no difference observa- 
 ble in the plumavje of the female. While the birds found within 
 the limits of distribution jjjiven above may properly be consid- 
 ered as representinj^ a well-marked race of the typical Ruffed 
 Grouse, it is very doubtfid if the ordinary observer would detect 
 anything in their plumage to indicate that they were different 
 from the more southern species, and would probably consider 
 them as all of the same kind. Specimens vary considerably, and 
 it is not alwaj's easy for the expert to recognize the present race; 
 knowledge of the locality from which the bird comes being often 
 essential for a determination of its identity. 
 
 
GRAY RUFFED GROUSE. 
 
 .1, •. 
 ■i 
 
 I ■ ,i jsmm 
 
 ANOTHER subspecies of the Ruffed Grouse is the 
 present bird, which dwells in the central Rocky 
 Mountain region, from the valley of the Yukon in 
 Alaska, through British Columbia, and Idaho, Montana, 
 and western Dakota south to Colorado. It possesses 
 a plumage of a gray color, and is somewhat smaller 
 than its relatives. Like the other Ruffed Grouse it is 
 not migratory, and where it is found there it resides and 
 breeds. It is fond of resorting to dense thickets and 
 undergrowth that flourishes so luxuriantly along the 
 mountain sides, and on the banks of streams, ascending 
 at times to the loftiest heights, having been met with 
 at 10,000 feet of elevation. Its habits are similar to those 
 of its relatives, and the nest and eggs resemble those of 
 the species already described. 
 
 It differs from the other Grouse of the Eastern portion 
 of the United States and Canada by the uniform gray of 
 tl:'^ ground-color of its plumage and by its gray tail. 
 When writing my monograph of the Grouse I thought 
 that a good character consisted in the fact that the termi- 
 nal black bar on the tail did not include the middle 
 feathers, but th presence of more abundant material 
 than was then o. ainable proves that this supposition 
 was not well founded. At best it is only a race of very 
 questionable value. This bird was found abundant in 
 the vicinity of Behring Straits at the head of Norton 
 Sound wherever the woods occurred. It is common at 
 
 88 
 
V f 
 
 17. Gray Ruffed Grouse, 
 
I 
 
 (M 
 
 a 
 
 U< 
 
 II 
 
 I i.i '1 
 
 If .^1 
 
 II 
 
 J 
 
GRA Y RUFFED GROUSE. 
 
 89 
 
 various points on the Yukon, and feeds upon the spruce 
 buds, which give a disagreeable flavor to the flesh. 
 
 BON AS A UMBELLUS UMBELLOIDES. 
 
 Geographical Distribution. — Rocky Mountt:in Region from 
 Colorado, through Western Dakota, Monlana, Idaho, and Brit- 
 ish Columbia to the Yukon in Alaska. 
 
 Adult Male. — Upper parts, mostly gray, some chestnut and 
 black markings upon the neck, upper back, and wings; pale gray 
 spots upon rump, all the feathers vermiculated with black; neck 
 tufts, black, with metallic green reflections; under parts, white 
 and buflf mixed, especially so upon the chest, crossed with brown 
 bars, changing to black on the flanks; under tail-coverts, gray, 
 mottled with black and tipped with white; tail, pure gfray, nar- 
 rowly barred and mottled with black, and a subterminal black 
 band. Total length about 14^ inches; wing, 7i; tail 6. 
 
 Adult Female resembles the male, and is without neck tufts. 
 
 !M; 
 
r 
 
 ,1 '^i 
 
 t 
 1 ' 
 
 . ";!i 
 
 DUSKY GROUSE. 
 
 n^HIS species and its two races are, next to the Cock- 
 of-the-Plains, the largest Grouse in the United 
 States. The three forms range from New Mexico in 
 the south, to Sitka, Alaska, in the north, and grade into 
 each other at different points of their dispersion. Various 
 names, besides the one at the head of this article, sucli 
 as Pine Hen, Blue, Pine, and Gray Grouse are applied 
 to these birds, no particular one being confined to any 
 especial form, but in several localities the same name is 
 given to the different races. The present species, the 
 Dusky Grouse of naturalists, ranges from southern 
 Idaho, east to western South Dakota, and then through 
 portions of Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, and Colorado, 
 through the northern half of Arizona to the southern 
 part of New Mexico. It is not found in California. It 
 is essentially a bird of the high mountains, and ranges to 
 the limits of timber, coming down in winter to perhaps 
 an altitude of 2000 feet, and dwells mainly in the forests 
 of the thick spruce and fir. Solitary in its habits it is 
 frequently found alone or in small parties of perhaps half 
 a dozen individuals, and is of a roving, restless nature, 
 and delights in rough hillsides and mountain summits, 
 frequently changing its abode. The food consists of 
 leaves, berries, buds of the pines — resorting to these last 
 only in winter when the snow is deep — insects of all 
 kinds, especially grasshoppers, worms, and grubs. In the 
 spring the male struts exactly like the Turkey Gobbler; 
 puffing out his feathers, dropping the wings, spreading 
 
 90 
 
IS 
 
 laU 
 
 Ire, 
 Its, 
 of 
 ist 
 lall 
 [he 
 ler; 
 
 1 8. Dusky Grouse. 
 
an 
 bai 
 
 by 
 an< 
 plo 
 spr 
 by 
 lar^ 
 roil 
 e\h 
 a sti 
 a si 
 tin's 
 vicii 
 keel 
 cult 
 muci 
 and 
 of th 
 dowr 
 ness 
 safet} 
 brief 
 passii 
 siiot. 
 At 
 resort 
 up th 
 and u 
 shy b 
 may t 
 ties, it 
 where 
 man. 
 
DUSKY GROUSE. 
 
 ) 
 91 
 
 and elevating the tail, and drawing the head toward the 
 back, he steps gingerly along, overcome for the moment 
 by the extent and force of his amatory feelings. He has 
 another method also of declaring his love, which he em- 
 ploys when perched in the midst of some thick fir or 
 spruce. At such times he inflates a small sac, covered 
 by a bare skin on either side of the neck, until it is half as 
 large as an orange and something like it in color, sur- 
 rounded by a fringe of white feathers; and suddenly 
 exhausting the air, emits a low, booming sound having 
 a strange ventriloquial power, and which can be heard for 
 a sir ularly long distance. If met with on the ground 
 tiiis Grouse immediately takes to a tree if any are in the 
 vicinity, and remains motionless on its perch, watching 
 kecnlv every movement of its pursuer. It is very diffi- 
 cult to discover it when it is so en garde, aind if, after 
 much peering into the somber depths of the foliage 
 and many contortions of the neck, one catches sight 
 of the bird, it is aware of the fact at once, and plunges 
 down the mountain side with a roar of wings and swift- 
 ness of flight that almost always carries him away in 
 safety. The speed at which the bird travels and the 
 brief momentary glimpses that are afforded of his 
 passing form, give but a slight chance for a successful 
 shot. 
 
 At times when there are any grain fields near its 
 resorts, the Dusky Grouse will enter the stubble to pick 
 up the scattered kernels, and then is often quite tame 
 and unsuspicious. I do not consider it a very wild or 
 shy bird, at least I have never found it so, but this 
 may be because I have mostly seen it in retired locali- 
 ties, in the depths of the forest, or on high mountains, 
 where the bird had probably been seldom molested by 
 man. When suddenly started it flies off with great 
 
 'I ; 
 
 !it 
 
^■^m?'^ 
 
 I T'-ir 
 
 93 
 
 GAAfE BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 '](!;: 
 
 rapidity, uttering a loud, cackling note, and if there are 
 several together, the noise they make at such a time is 
 very considerable. The nesting season begins in May or 
 June, according to the elevation at which the birds may 
 be, and but one brood is raised in a season. A depres- 
 sion is made in the ground by a fallen log, or bcneatli a 
 bush, or perhaps in thick grass, or it may be right in the 
 open without any concealment, and this is lined witiiout 
 much care with grass or any material that can be pressed 
 down by the bird, and about eight eggs are deposited. 
 Sometimes this number is greatly exceeded, and then it 
 is a question whether they have not been laid by more 
 than one hen. The eggs have a ground color varyinjr 
 from a creamy white to a rather deep buff, dotted, 
 spotted, and sometimes blotched with chestnut or choco- 
 late brown, and these markings are pretty evenly dis- 
 tributed all over the shell. The female remains on the 
 nest for about three weeks, when the young appear. 
 The chicks are exceedingly pretty little creatures, very 
 active, running as soon as they leave the shell, and are 
 adepts in hiding at the first alarm. The mother appears 
 to have the sole charge of their welfare, and clucks to 
 them in a similar manner as does the domestic hen to 
 her brood. When frightened the young scatter in every 
 direction, and the old bird usually takes refuge in some 
 tree. As soon as the chicks are sufficiently grown so as 
 to be able to fly, they also immediately take to the trees 
 if alarmed, but make no farther effort to escape, seeming 
 to believe they are quite out of danger as soon as they 
 have left the ground. From the habit which these 
 birds have of remaining motionless on the branches 
 until sometimes the entire covey is shot or killed 
 with sticks, they have received the name of Fool 
 hen or Fool Grouse. The flesh of this bird is white 
 
DUSKY GROUSE. 
 
 \ 
 
 93 
 
 and well-flavored, and sometimes individuals are met 
 with tl, will weigh as much as three pounds and a half. 
 
 DENDRA GA P US OBSC UR US. 
 
 Geographical Distribution. — Rocky Mountains from Southern 
 Idaho, Montana, and Western South Dakota to New Mexico 
 and Arizona. 
 
 Adult Male. — Forehead, dull rufous ; back of head brownish 
 black, feathers tipped with rusty; in some specimens the top of 
 head is all slaty gray like the back; back of neck and upper 
 parts, blackish brown, vermiculated with lighter brown, and 
 gray, sometimes coarsely mottled with the same, especially on 
 the wings, which are occasionally blotched with black; scapulars 
 streaked with white along the shafts to the tips; white space on 
 sides of neck; throat,white,mottled with black; sides of head.black; 
 lower parts, slate gray, mottled with brown upon the flanks, the 
 feathers of which have streaks along the shafts, and terminal spots 
 white; under tail-coverts, blackish brown, with subapical bar of 
 gray, mottled and bordered with black and tipped with white; 
 tail, rounded, black, and tipped with a broad gray band; pri- 
 maries, dark brown, outer webs and tips, mottled with gray; legs 
 covered to the toes with pale brow.i feathers; bill, horn color. 
 Total length, about 20 inches; wing, about 'y^; tail, 8; tarsus, if. 
 Weight, about 3 pounds. 
 
 Adult Female. — Upper parts, mottled with black and buff, 
 these frequently taking the form of bars and blotches; feathers, 
 usually tipped with white; wings, slaty brown or gray, barred 
 and mottled with buff, central streaks and terminal points, white; 
 primaries, dark brown; throat, mostly buff; sides and front of 
 neck and chest, dark brownish gray, barred and tipped with 
 buffy white, sometimes only a spot of white on the tip; rest of 
 under parts, slaty gray, the flank feathers tipped with white 
 and mottled with buff and black; central tail feathers, blackish 
 brown barred with pale grayish brown, the bars mottled with 
 blackish ; rest of tail, black, slightly mottled with gray, and a gray 
 band at tip. Total length, about 17 inches; wing, Sf; tail, 6. 
 
 !il! 
 
 «)• 
 
SOOTY GROUSE. 
 
 'T^HIS race of the last species ranj^es throup^h the 
 * northern Rocky Mountains from the southern Sierra 
 Nevada in CaHfornia to nortliern Alaska in the Coast 
 Range. Like the Dusky (irouse the present bird is a 
 mountain dweller and is found at altitudes of (jooo feet, 
 descending in winter 6000 or 7000 feet lower, it is much 
 darker than the Dusky (jrouse and has a narrower band 
 on the tail, while the female has a dark rusty wash on the 
 upper parts of her plumage. In its habits it does not 
 differ from the preceding species and haunts the dense 
 spruce and fn forests, taking refuge in the dark foliage of 
 ihe trees and remaining motionless. I have met with this 
 bird on the very summit of the mountains in the Coast 
 Range, above the forest, and where the only covering 
 was stunted trees and small clumps of bushes. I was 
 riding along such a place one morning, my horse picking 
 his way carefully over the rocks and broken ground and 
 winding in and out among the low trees and bushes that 
 stood plentifully about, when I saw a covey of about 
 eight individuals of this Grouse upon the ground a short 
 distance in front of me. Although they saw me and my 
 horse very well, and nuist have heard his iron shoes 
 striking the stones long before we came into view, they 
 were not at all alarmed but continued to feed, running 
 about without the least concern. Dismounting, I ad- 
 vanced toward them, when they drew together and 
 looked at me in a wondering kind of a way, and one or 
 two flew up into a low tree that was near by, but no effort 
 
 94 
 
l_.. 
 
 )Ut 
 
 ,*'\wi" Sarp).'",r.^ 
 
 I 
 
 
 19. Sooty Grouse. 
 
I 
 
 J 
 
 n I 
 
SOOTY GROUSE. 
 
 9S 
 
 was made to escape. Drawinp^ nearer, I tired at one as 
 he rose, when the rest took winj; luit flew only a short 
 distance before ahghtin^, and then hejijan to run. They 
 t( ok winjT^ again as I advanced, when I secured two more, 
 and with httle troul)le and heing ohhged to walk but a 
 sl'.ort distance 1 shot all but one, and he, finding the place 
 altogether unhealthy, flew down the mountain side, after 
 1 had fired several times at his companions, and escaped. 
 This was in the month of September, but snow had not 
 yet fallen, and berries of various kinds were plentiful on 
 the bushes and vines, affording ample fcod for the birds. 
 They were fat and in fine condition, and made a most 
 acceptable addition to our camp larder. 
 
 In the thick firs it is practically impossible to see these 
 birds, as they not only remain motionless, often squatting 
 close to the limb or to the trunk itself, but their dark, 
 sooty plumage helps very much to conceal them; so, if 
 one's eyes do light upon a bird, it is usually deemed to be 
 only a knot or a bunch of some kind attached to the limb 
 or trunk. The males have the same habit in the spring, as 
 that already described in the article on the Dusky Grouse, 
 of blowing up the yellow sac on the side of the neck, and 
 emitting a sound that is heard for a considerable dis- 
 tance, a sort of boom, and from its ventriloquial powers, 
 it is impossible to determine whence it comes, or where 
 the bird is located. At such times, could you catch 
 a glimpse of the performer he would present a curious 
 appearance, for his neck would be puflfed out until it 
 seemed as large as his body, or as if he was suflfering 
 from a severe attack of the goiter, while the head, 
 apparently reduced in dimensions, would be perched 
 upon these yellow globes, and the bright eyes, half closed 
 from the pressure below them, would be surmounted by 
 a conspicuous semicircle of brilliant orange. The air 
 
 P »'!: 
 

 96 
 
 (7^;j/^ BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 exhausted in the globes, he would resume for a brief 
 space his normal shape, although the skin on the neck 
 would seem flabby and wrinkled, when he would again 
 proceed to inflate himself out of shape. The courting 
 season over these sacs shrink entirely away, and the 
 bare place is covered over by the feathers of the neck. 
 
 The time of love-making, period of nesting, style, and 
 position of the nest, and number and color of the eggs, 
 are almost precisely the same as has been described in 
 the article on the Dusky Grouse. In fact there could 
 not well be any difference of consequence between birds 
 so closely related as are the above-named species and the 
 present race, for practically they are the same bird; the 
 probable greater amount of moisture in the districts in- 
 habited by the Sooty Grouse causes its plumage to 
 assume a darker, more somber hue; a fact known to 
 occur in the coloring of all animals which dwell in coun- 
 tries visited by a great amount of rainfall. A belief is 
 entertained among some that these Grouse remain in a 
 somnolent state during the winter, regaining their 
 activity in the spring; not like the old tale of the swal- 
 lows, that they buried themselves in the mud, but that 
 they went to sleep somev.^here in the tree tops — hiber- 
 nated in fact among the obscure depths of the firs and 
 spruce. No doubt they do pass much of the winter amid 
 the thick foliage of these trees, but the birds are far from 
 being asleep, though for hours during the severe weather 
 they may remain immovable. At such times the snow 
 is usually very deep, and all food obtainable from the 
 ground is hidden from sight, and the Grouse subsist on 
 the buds and leaves of the trees amid which they have 
 taken refuge, and have very little occasion to come from 
 out their chosen resorts. Even the water they may need 
 can be obtained from the snow lying on the branches. 
 
 :! ;i 
 
SOOTY GROUSE. 
 
 97 
 
 In size this bird equals the Dusky Grouse and Uke its 
 relative does not migrate, unless ascending and descend- 
 ing lofty mountains at certain periods of the year can be 
 called rrigrating, and breeds wherever found. 
 
 DENDRAGAPUS OBSCURUS FULIGINOSUS. 
 
 Geographical Distribution. — Coast Range of Mountains from 
 California eastward to Nevada, Western Idaho to Northern 
 Alaska. 
 
 Adult Male. — Above, brownish black, lighter upon the back 
 of neck, which is more of a slate color, and mottled, especially 
 upon the wings, about the tips of the feathers, with brown and 
 pale gray; rump and upper tail-coverts, mottled also with the 
 same; no white central streaks on the scapulars, nor any very 
 distinct white space on the side of neck; throat and sides of face, 
 usually black, with a few small white spots on the former; breast 
 sooty black, grading into very dark slate on rest of under parts; 
 under tail-coverts, black, with white tip and a gray subapical bar 
 mottled with black; tail, black, with a dark gray band at tip. 
 Total length, about 21 inches; v/ing, 9J; tail 8. 
 
 Adult Female. — Resembles the female of D. obscurus, but is 
 much darker in hue, with a good deal of dark rusty on the upper 
 parts. 
 
 iil' 
 
RICHARDSON'S GROUSE. 
 
 :!:^^;i 
 
 ':!. i 
 
 T'HIS bird, which is another race of the Dusky Grouse, 
 inhabits the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains 
 from central Montana northward, through the interior 
 of British North America, and is known as Richardson's 
 Grouse. It is almost precisely similar in plumage to the 
 Dusky Grouse, but lacks the distinct gray band on the 
 tip of the tail, or has it very slightly indicated. The tail 
 seems to be more square at the tip, and the feathers are 
 much broader. Wherever its habitat overlaps that of 
 either of its relatives, such as in Wyoming and Idaho, the 
 present bird intergrades with them. It inhabits the same 
 kind of country, high mountains, and breeds whenever 
 found in spring, and passes much of the autumn in the 
 bottoms, along creeks where the cover is plenty and 
 berries abundant. 
 
 This Grouse builds a nest similar to its relatives, if 
 scraping a slight hollow in the ground can be called 
 building, but the eggs are smaller, although marked and 
 colored in the same way. It did not seem to me to be 
 as numerous in *he places it frequented as were its rela- 
 tives in their habitats, and in certain portions of Montana 
 I have rarely met with it, but in other sections, as in the 
 Big Horn Mountains, it is common. Its habits do not 
 differ from those of the Dusky or Sooty Grouse, and the 
 description of these already given will suffice for this bird 
 as well. In size it equals the others, and its flesh is as 
 white and well-flavored. 
 
 98 
 
/Aw'iiu ol\pJjlim-(\. . 
 
 20. Richardson's Grouse. 
 
 liiii 
 
 m 
 
,r' 
 
 tijsiit 
 
RICHARDSON'S GROUSE. 
 
 99 
 
 DENDRAGAPUS OBSCURUS R/CHARDSONI. 
 
 Geographical Distribution. — Eastern slopes of Rocky Moun- 
 tains, from Northern Wyoming, and Southeastern Idaho to the 
 Liard River, latitude 6i in British North America. 
 
 Adult Male. — In general coloration this race resembles the 
 D. obscurus, or Dusky Grouse, but has a differently shaped tail, 
 which is much more square, and without any distinct terminal 
 gray band, merely an edging of pale brown; the feathers also 
 are much broader than those of the other two forms. In dimen- 
 sions there is little, if any, difference. 
 
 Adult Female. — A specimen of this sex, which belonged to my 
 collection, and is now contained in the American Museum of 
 Natural History, number 2901, while resembling closely the 
 female of the Dusky Grouse on the upper parts, presents certain 
 differences beneath : it is much lighter upon the throat, being a 
 buffy white, speckled with brown, and there is a good deal of 
 white exhibited on lower breast, and on the flanks, the feathers, 
 which are slaty gray, being broadly tipped with this hue ; the 
 abdomen is slaty gray, the feathers only edged with whitish. 
 Tail has the median feathers broadly barred with buff, and all 
 are edged with whitish, the ground color being brownish black. 
 
 nil 'i-.;"*. 
 I"' '' lit I. 
 
p r 
 
 m 
 
 
 CANADA GROUSE. 
 
 DANCING from the Pacific Coast at Kadiak in nortli- 
 western Alaska through the British Possessions to 
 the Atlantic Ocean, and from the Rocky Mountains east- 
 ward through the upper portion of the northern tier of 
 States in the Jnion, the Black Partridge, Spruce or 
 Canada Grouse as it is variously called, is one of the best 
 known, and, in the localities it frequents, one of the com- 
 monest members of the Family. It dwells in the tam- 
 arack swamps, or where the spruce and fir grow thickest, 
 and is tame and unsuspicious, permitting one to approach 
 within a few feet of it as it stands upon a limb or on the 
 ground, gazing at the intruder with fearless eye, perhaps 
 simply uttering a soft cluck, as it steps on one side to let 
 him pass. Many are caught by a noose fastened to the 
 end of a stick, the Grouse permitting this to be placed 
 around its neck without moving, when it is jerked off 
 its perch. I have seen birds push this noose aside with 
 their bills without changing their position, when through 
 awkwardness, or unsteadiness of hand on account of a 
 long reach, the noose had touched the bird's head but 
 had not slipped over it. 
 
 This bird does not migrate, in the real sense of the 
 term, but may change its locality on account of the lack 
 or abundance of food in particular places, and it seems 
 able to withstand the severest weather; finding ample 
 shelter and protection from cold and storms in the dense 
 foliage of the trees amid which it lives, and subsistence 
 from the buds of the spruce, about their only food in 
 
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ith 
 
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 Ithe 
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 hnis 
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 71 
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 CANADA GROUSE. 
 
 lOl 
 
 winter. The Spruce Grouse is found usually in small 
 flocks consisting generally of one family, but also old 
 males are frequently met with alone, and I have always 
 regarded it as a bird that was rather fond of solitude. 
 Frequently, even in autumn, when the nights were be- 
 coming frosty, and snow flurries would hide the sun by 
 (lay, heralding the coming winter, I have seen an old 
 male, in the recesses of a swamp, strut about with ruffled 
 feathers and trailing wings, as if the air were balmy and 
 mild and spring were at hand to awaken in his breast the 
 all-controlling passion of love, instead of being near the 
 freezing point. He may have been going over the per- 
 formance to keep himself in practice, or to impress me, 
 possibly, with a proper sense of his own importance, for 
 all his movements were calm and dignified in the ex- 
 treme, and there was not the slightest evidence of fear, or 
 of his being in any way incommoded by such an unim- 
 portant event as my presence. 
 
 I have never known the Canada Grouse to assemble 
 together in large numbers or " pack " as it is called in 
 the Western States, and if this has ever happened, it 
 would be, I should imagine, a very unusual occurrence, 
 and a large number of birds would find it very difficult 
 to obtain sufficient food in any one locality even for a 
 day. 
 
 The mating season begins in April, sometimes in the 
 far north May is the earliest month, and at this time the 
 male appears to the greatest advantage, and no Turkey 
 Gobbler, in all his magnificence of gleaming scarlet and 
 gold, is a prouder creature than this small Grouse. He 
 tries by every means in his power to attract attention to 
 himself and gain the admiration of anybody that is look- 
 ing at him, whether it be the object of his affections, the 
 demure and quiet little hen, or perchance his mortal 
 
wt 
 
 ^R' 
 
 102 
 
 GAA/H BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 enemy and persecutor, man. Mis head is drawn back and 
 the bright blood-red combs stand erect and stiff above 
 each eye; the feathers of throat and breast are raised 
 and puflfed out, and the wings are lowered and slightly 
 open; while the outspread tail, occasionally closed with 
 a swift movement, is elevated above the body. In this 
 apparently uncomfortable but proud and striking atti- 
 tude, the bird moves slowly about with mincing, jerky 
 steps, highly impressed with his own importance and the 
 imposing display he is making. Certainly, at such a 
 time he is a beautiful object and well worth seeing. He 
 has a method of drumming also that is peculiar to him- 
 self, and is effected in the following manner: When in tlic 
 act of strutting he suddenly flies upward but not very 
 high, keeping the wings moving at a very rapid rate, and 
 after holding himself stationary for a moment in the air, 
 descends again slowly to the ground. The drumming 
 sound is produced by the rapid movement of the wings. 
 I have seen certain Pheasants, of the genus Euplocamus, 
 drum in a somewhat similar manner, although they did 
 not rise from tlie ground entirely. The wings would be 
 beaten violently and rapidly for a few moments, and the 
 bird would be raised on to the tips of its toes, sometimes 
 the nails just touching the ground, but I never saw it 
 entirely quit the earth ; and the noise made by the wings 
 was a low, deep rumbling with a strange ventriloquial 
 power, and although I was looking directly at the bird 
 during the performance, the sound appeared to come 
 from some place a long distance away rather than 
 directly in front of me. 
 
 The nest is a loosely arranged afifair of grass, leaves, 
 and other slight material, placed under some drooping 
 branches of a spruce in the depths of a swamp. A 
 writer in the Forest and Stream, Mr. Bishop of Kent- 
 
CAJV,IDA GROUSE. 
 
 103 
 
 ville, Nova Scotia, described a trait of this Grouse in nest- 
 building which I have never witnessed myself. He 
 states that the hen, when leaving her nest, will pick up 
 sundry articles, like straws, grass, leaves, etc., and throw 
 them over her back toward the nest, and sometimes, mis- 
 led by the trail, she will throw these things in the wrong 
 direction, but as soon as she discovers this, she faces 
 about and throws them again over her l)ack toward the 
 nest. Then, while she is sitting, she reaches out and 
 draws all these different articles lying near toward her, 
 and arranges them in such a manner that before the 
 young appear the nest is quite a deep affair and sur- 
 rounded by a neat border. The number of eggs is 
 about a dozen, sometimes a few less, or even more, with 
 a ground color varying from a pale to a reddish buff, 
 spotted and blotched with marks of various sizes, of a 
 reddish brown or burnt umber color. Occasionally an 
 unspotted ^^^ may appear, and in a large series there is 
 a very great variation in both color and markings. 
 Only one brood is raised in a season, and the chicks are 
 exceedingly pretty creatures, buflfy yellow, with pale 
 brown back and wings and sundry black marks on other 
 parts of the body. The mother shows great courage in 
 their defense, fluttering close to anyone who approaches 
 her brood, and will almost permit herself to be touched 
 with the hand as she crouches with ruffled feathers, or 
 stumbles along in front of the intruder on her privacy. 
 
 The flesh of this Grouse is dark, and in the winter be- 
 comes at times very bitter, and is never as well flavored 
 as that of the various Dusky or RufTed Grouse. Still it 
 is not to be despised and is often a welcome addition to 
 the camp larder, when the bracing air of the woods and 
 healthful exercise have produced an appetite that requires 
 no sauce to make the food palatable. The young are 
 
w 
 
 104 
 
 GAA/E BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 very active creatures and run with light feet over the 
 moss that carpets the swamps which are tlieir home. As 
 soon as they can fly they keep much among the hranchc s 
 of the trees, and always immediately take refuge there, if 
 disturbed when on the ground. In the summer and 
 autumn the Spruce Grouse, or Pcrdrix dc la Savannc, 
 as it is called by the llahitans or French-Canadians, 
 feed on berries and buds of various kinds, and at this time 
 they are in the best condition for the table. The crop 
 often contains numbers of small stones, swallowed as is 
 the habit of all gallinaceous birds to assist digestion or 
 grinding the food. It is a beautifully plumaged bird, 
 and is one of the most attractive objects of the dark, 
 gloomy, and usually silent woods of the far North. In 
 the northern part of New York State this Grouse is 
 scarce, but is more often met with in the New England 
 States, especially Maine, while in the West it is common 
 in the large forests of northern Minnesota, and increases 
 in numbers as one proceeds toward the Arctic regions 
 wherever the forests extend. 
 
 CANACHITES CANADENSIS. 
 
 Geographical Dtstn'bution.—YTom Kadiak, Alaska, through 
 British North America to the Atlantic Ocean, and from the east- 
 ern slopes of the Rocky Mountains through the northern tier of 
 States to the coast line of New York and New England. 
 
 Adult Male. — Upper parts, gray, barred with black: wings, 
 usually light gray, mottled and barred with black and brown 
 tips, with central white streaks on scapulars, widening at the 
 tips; under parts, black, with a mottled black and white border 
 to the throat, and many of the feathers, espjepially on abdomen, 
 tipped with pure white; flanks, pale bro^'n, with irregular lonj;i- 
 tudinal black lines, and white streaks along the shafts, broaden- 
 ing at the tips; under tail-coverts, black tipped with white; upper 
 tail-coverts, black, mottled with brown and tipped with gray; 
 bill, black. Total length, about 14I inches; wings, 7; tail 5. 
 
 ( 
 
C^ATAD/I C ROUSE. 
 
 10$ 
 
 Adu't /vwrt/^.— Upper parts, barred with gray, buff, ar I 
 black, the latter predominating, the gray most conspicuous on 
 lower back and rump, and buff or ochraceous predominating 
 upon side of breast and flanks, the feathers of these parts having 
 central streaks of white broadening at the tip, sometimes the 
 entire tip being white. Abdomen, black, feathers tipped with 
 white; under tail-coverts, black, barred with buff, and tipped with 
 white; median tail feathers, barred with ochraceous and black; 
 remainder black, with irregular narrow lines of ochraceous, 
 chiefly on the outer webs, and tipped with ochraceous, widest on 
 outer feathers. Dimensions about the same as those of the 
 male. 
 
 Downy Young. — General color, lemon yellow, darkest on the 
 breast, a black bar through the eye to nape; top of head and 
 neck, back, and wings, rusty, with two spots on head, and trans- 
 verse ones on wings, black; maxilla, black; mandible, pale horn 
 color; feet, yellowish. 
 
 'WW, 
 
FRANKLINS GROUSE. 
 
 A TRULY Northern species, like its relative the Can- 
 ada Grouse, this bird is found but in few localities 
 in the United States, being more an inhabitant of the 
 country lying above our border. It ranges from Wash- 
 ington and Oregon, through northern Idaho to the Belt 
 Range in Montana, and north of our line, in British Co- 
 lumbia and the mountains of the Coast Range. In 
 most parts of Alaska it seems to be supplanted by the 
 Canada Grouse, which reaches the Pacific Coast in that 
 Territory; but it is Franklin's Grouse that is met with 
 in the mountains of the Coast Range in British Columbia. 
 My experience with this bird has been gained mainly 
 in the last-named mountains, where I have met with it 
 on various occasions. It inhabits similar localities to 
 those frequented by the Spruce Grouse, and is equally 
 tame and confiding, hardly taking the trouble to move 
 out of the way of man or horse — perhaps mule would be 
 a better term — and seems quite indifferent to the presence 
 of intruders in its haunts. As a game bird it aflfords no 
 sport whatever, and an entire flock can be killed before 
 It enters the head of any of its members that it would be 
 a wise thing to take wing and seek some more healthy 
 locality. I have met flocks of this species, perhaps con- 
 sisting of eight or ten individuals, dusting themselves in 
 the trails crossing the mountains, or scattered about them 
 on either side, and could easily have bagged the entire lot 
 
 io6 
 
ove 
 
 be 
 nee 
 
 no 
 lore 
 
 be 
 
 Ithy 
 
 pn- 
 
 js in 
 
 liem 
 
 lot 
 
 22. Franklin's Grouse. 
 

FRANKLIN'S GROUSE. 
 
 107 
 
 without creating an alarm, or causing the br ^h t make 
 any attempt at flight. Of course nothing but ihc neces- 
 sity of obtaining food for the camp would excuse such 
 thorough slaughter, for certainly there was no sport in 
 shooting creatures that would not get out of the way, 
 nor rarely make an attempt to fly, and it seemed a 
 pity to kill birds for the pot that were so rare in all orni- 
 thological collections. A pair obtained on one of these 
 occasions, I am glad to think, is now in the collection of 
 the American Museum of Natural History in New York. 
 The males of Franklin's Grouse are like their relatives 
 of the other species, pugnacious creatures, attacking 
 almost anything, and very fearless. This trait is of 
 course exhibited chiefly during the mating season, but 
 they are quite ready to act on the offensive or defensive 
 at any time. They have also the same habit as the 
 Spruce Grouse of erecting the feathers just below the 
 head, making the birds appear very odd, and the males 
 strut in a similar way as that already described in the 
 article on the other species. This Grouse appears not 
 to go far from water, and when in the forest, if not in pre- 
 cisely a swamp, the birds would always be found in some 
 wet spot, or near a brook or spring. 
 
 Franklin's Grouse is a thorough mountaineer, living at 
 altitudes varying all the way from 5000 to 10,000 feet, 
 and it is only occasionally that it descends much below 
 the first-named elevation. Wherever found there it re- 
 sides and breeds, raising the young brood probably in the 
 same locality where the parents themselves grew to 
 maturity. It is not rare in the places it frequents, but is 
 often met with in considerable numbers; not in large 
 flocks, but numerous coveys scattered over a con- 
 siderable area. From its trustful nature and consequent 
 reluctance to save itself by flight, a great many are killed 
 
 ",:i* 
 !'';& 
 
 
io8 
 
 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA, 
 
 both by Indians and whites, and large numbers are ob- 
 tained by hitting them with sticks and stones, at throw- 
 ing which the Indians are very expert. The nest of 
 this species resembles that of the Canada Grouse, merely 
 a shallow depression in the ground or moss, lined with 
 leaves or grass, and the eggs resemble exactly those of 
 its relative, but are slightly smaller. A single brood is 
 raised in a season, and nesting commences the latter part 
 of May or beginning of June. This species and the 
 preceding one are very much alike in the general color 
 of their plumage, but Franklin's Grouse can always be 
 recognized by the broad white bars at the end of the 
 upper tail-coverts, and the tail itself is without the white 
 edging, and more inclined to a square shape or one only 
 slightly rounded. In size the two forms are about equal. 
 
 CANACHITES FRANKLINI. 
 
 , ;!i'': !S| 
 
 Geographical Distribution. — Rocky Mountains from North- 
 west Montana, through Oregon and Washington, and the coast 
 range of British Columbia to Alaska. 
 
 Adult Male. — Upper parts, similar to the Spruce Grouse, but 
 with the upper back, scapulars, and wings of a brown hue, the bars 
 and mottling being of that color; no white central streaks on the 
 wings, but some of the tertials tipped with white; upper tail- 
 coverts very broadly tipped with white, and this is a conspicuous 
 character of this species; the entire under parts are like those of 
 its Eastern relative, but the white beneath and on the sides of 
 the throat is narrower and much less prominent; tail, almost 
 square, and of a uniform sooty brown, nearly black on the apical 
 half; bill, black. Total length, about 15I inches; wing, 7i; 
 tail, 5. 
 
 Adult Female. — Upper parts, g ay, barred with black and 
 ochraceous, narrowest on head and neck, broadest and most con- 
 spicuous on upper part of back; upper tail-coverts ochraceous, 
 mottled with black and tipped with white; innermost second- 
 aries with a central line and tip, white; primaries, dark brown; 
 
FRANKLIN'S GROUSE. 
 
 109 
 
 but 
 bars 
 
 m the 
 tail- 
 
 Icuous 
 )se of 
 les of 
 
 llmost 
 ipical 
 :, 7i; 
 
 outer webs, mottled with light brown; under parts, barred with 
 black and ochraceous, feathers tipped broadly with white upon 
 the flanks and belly; under tail-coverts, black, barred with 
 orange and tipped broadly with white; tail, ochraceous, barred 
 and mottled with black and tipped with white; thighs and tarsi, 
 ashy brown; bill, black. Measurements about as in the male. 
 
 I' 
 
 and 
 tt con- 
 beous, 
 [cond- 
 
r 
 
 
 PRAIRIE HEN. 
 
 THROUGHOUT the prairies of the Mississippi 
 Valley, south to Louisiana and Texas and west tu 
 Kansas and Dakota, east to Indiana and Kentucky and 
 north to Manitoba, this familiar and well-known bird is 
 found in greater or less abundance. Along the eastern 
 limit of its dispersion the Prairie Chicken is rapidly 
 diminishing, and like the buffalo, and many other wild 
 creatures that once roamed in countless numbers over 
 certain portions of our land, will doubtless soon entirely 
 disappear. But as if to atone for the loss of its eastern 
 possessions, it follows its star of empire westward, and as 
 the settlements increase and multiply, so the Prairie 
 Hen appears to flourish, and like Bob White accom- 
 panies man as he penetrates the wilderness, either of 
 forest or treeless plains. It is a resident species throuj^li- 
 out nearly all its range, breeding where found, save in the 
 northern portions of our land, and in the autumn, when 
 the weather is severe, the females, for the flocks are 
 mostly of that sex, leave the northern limit of their 
 habitat and proceed south to more genial climes, such as 
 may be found in Iowa and Missouri. In the spring, as 
 soon as the weather has become somewhat settled, tiie 
 birds all return to their northern homes. The males 
 seem to remain behind, whether too lazy to undertake 
 the journey, or less mindful of the excessive cold fre- 
 quently experienced near the Canadian border, it is diffi- 
 cult to determine, but probably the cold affects them 
 less. 
 
 tio 
 
rie 
 
 of 
 
 n the 
 ^vhen 
 5 are 
 their 
 Ich as 
 , as 
 the 
 lales 
 Irtake 
 
 diffi- 
 Ithem 
 
 
 • 
 
 A 
 
 1 
 i 
 
 ^^^ 
 
 i^ 
 
 ^^Ka 
 
 
 .«. -s' 
 
 
 u> 
 
 ^Awow S)\e^.^a»-A_^ 
 
 23. Prairie Hen. 
 
^''W 
 
PRAIRIE HEN. 
 
 Ill 
 
 At one time this bird was dispersed over a large part 
 of the eastern United States, and was by no means es- 
 pecially a prairie dweller, but it is difficult to ascer- 
 tain where its limits and those of the Heath Hen, now 
 restricted to Martha's Vineyard, originally were, but 
 probably somewhere along the boundaries of the Middle 
 States. I do not imagine the Heath Hen was more of 
 a woodland species than is the Prairie Chicken, but both 
 dwelt among the open woods if there were any within 
 their range. In the spring, in the early mornings, 
 throughout the country which this species inhabits, soon 
 after daybreak, is heard the loud booming of the males, 
 when, assembled upon some slight elevations in the prai- 
 rie, they inflate and exhaust the yellow sacs on either side 
 of the neck, producing, as the orange-colored bladder 
 collapses, a low, booming sound that can be heard for 
 a long distance. The lengthened feathers un the neck 
 at such times are elevated and projected stiffly forward, 
 almost meeting above the head. When their sacs are 
 fully extended the bird has a most comical appearance, 
 as his head nearly disappears between the enormous 
 globes which stand out in either side until his neck has 
 as large a diameter as his body. The tail is raised above 
 the back and spread out to its fullest extent, and the 
 wings are lowered with the primaries scraping along 
 the ground. In this uncomfortable attitude the male 
 struts before the females, who at first take but little 
 interest in the exhibition and hardly deign a glance 
 at their adorer, striving so hard to appear magnificent 
 and attractive. He makes a sudden rush forward, dart- 
 ing fiery glances from his eyes, peering out from beneath 
 the neck feathers, anxiously watching the effect his strik- 
 ing appearance is having upon the fair ones, and then, 
 lowering his bill toward the ground and spreading the 
 
iv 
 
 112 
 
 G/IAfE BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 lit 
 
 mandibles, he exhausts the air sacs and gives vent to the 
 booming sound that rolls and echoes, like the tones from 
 the great pipes of the organ, over the wide prairie. 
 Where hundreds of males are so occupied in the stillness 
 of the early day, before the sun has risen, and the shadows 
 of departing night are being faintly dissipated by the rosy 
 tints that herald his coming beams, the concert of varied 
 sounds is very impressive, as the many different toius 
 come from every direction, echoing through the air, and 
 carried in strong booming notes for great distances over 
 the prairie-land. Shortly after the sun has fairly risen the 
 display ceases and the birds go about their daily avoca- 
 tion, to commence the same exhibition again the next 
 morning. Occasionally during the day, in places where 
 the birds are not molested, or removed from the presence 
 of human beings, the hoot.. of some male may he 
 heard at almost any hour, but no concerts are attempted 
 save just at daybreak. These displays continue for a 
 number of days, and toward the latter part of their court- 
 ship the males are more anxious, and do not take as 
 much care to avoid contact with each other as they did 
 at first, and then desperate battles occur, the fighting 
 cocks leaping into the air and tearing at each other with 
 bills and claws and striking with their wings, until the 
 weaker, utterly exhausted, flees away and leaves the field 
 and, what is of much more importance doubtless in his 
 eyes, the hens also, to the victor. 
 
 These fair feathered creatures have lately shown much 
 more interest in the antics and combats of the males, 
 and move about them, quickly at times, or else remain 
 motionless and watch them displaying themselves in all 
 the pride of conscious power and beauty as they slowly 
 move along, or when, in the midst of the deadly fray, the 
 courageous birds strive for some particular sweetheart 
 
PRAIRIE HEX. 
 
 "3 
 
 beloved by both combatants. Havinp^ chosen their mates 
 tlic pairs seek suitable places for the nest, which is placed 
 in the midst of thick prairie j^i^rass, or in a corner of some 
 field among weeds, on the borders of swamps, in culti- 
 vated grounds, or far out on the open prairie, sometimes 
 i!i (|uitc exposed situations. A slight depression in the 
 soil is lined with grass and some feathers from the hen's 
 own body. Prairie fires, mowing machines, and floods 
 destroy many thousands of eggs in a season, and occa- 
 sionally the young themselves are caught and slain by 
 the sharp knives that are laying low the grass. The 
 usual number of eggs is from ten to fourteen, but some- 
 times twenty or more have been found in one nest. 
 Their color shades from a pale cream to light brown, 
 regularly spotted with fine reddish brown dots, and there 
 is great variation, among them, no two being exactly 
 alike. Incubation lasts from twenty-three to twenty- 
 eight days, and one brood is raised in a season, though, 
 if the eggs be destroyed or lost from any cause, the hen 
 may lay again, but this is exceptional. The male does 
 not trouble himself with the cares of either the nesting 
 or of the young when they appear, but keeps to him- 
 self, and the broods probably get along just as well with- 
 out him. 
 
 As soon as they are hatched the chicks leave the nest, 
 and the female leads them away where insects, especially 
 grasshoppers, abound, and these at first are their sole 
 food. As they grow in size and strength they eat grain 
 of different sorts as they may happen to find it, and also 
 berries. The hen is courageous and protects her brood 
 to the best of her limited ability, feigning lameness and 
 employing all the usual artifices to attract attention to 
 herself and give her little ones a chance to escape. These 
 hide away with great celerity and adroitness, and it is 
 
114 
 
 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 
 often extraordinary, how easily the chicks will disappear 
 from view and efTectually escape all search, be it carried 
 on ever so patiently and persevcrinp^ly, even on the open 
 prairie with apparently no opportunities for conceal- 
 ment. Towards the end of August the broods arc 
 nearly full jc^rown. and later in the season many flocks 
 pack toj^ether until several hundreds are present in otit.' 
 jTatherinpT. They are then usually very wild, and, wlun 
 started, will fly often several miles before alighting, atid 
 little can be done with them over dogs. But before this 
 congregating together takes place the Prairie Chicken 
 lies well to the dog, and is one of the most desirable of 
 the game birds as an object of sport in the field. 
 
 A covey having been located by the dog, the birds will 
 almost always lie very close, flushing in easy range in 
 twos or threes, and after, as may be supposed, all the 
 birds have either flown away or rest in the sportsman's 
 game bag, there is always still one old bird remaining, 
 which rises at length with a prodigious fluttering and 
 cackling, either just when the sportsman is reloading 
 his gun and so escapes, or else, having miscalculated 
 his time, appears when the guns are all ready for him, 
 and joins his brethren in the pocket or wagon. When 
 young, the flesh of the Prairie Hen is white, but becomes 
 dark as the bird attains its full growth. It is excellent 
 for the table, especially when eaten soon after the bird 
 is killed, for it loses flavor after having been kept for 
 a length of time, especially if, as is the case with thou- 
 sands of birds served in the Eastern cities, they have been 
 frozen, tossed about perhaps for weeks like lumps of ice, 
 and then thawed out before being cooked. The most 
 toothsome morsel in the world, after such treatment, 
 could not be expected to have much more flavor than 
 a dried chip. 
 
 \%\ ly, lil 
 
 ■ , ■ 
 
 ::i;. ' I 
 
 \ 
 
 ly. 
 
 : 
 
PHAIRIE HEiV. 
 
 "5 
 
 )pcar 
 Tried 
 open 
 iccal- 
 > are 
 flocks 
 n one 
 when 
 r, and 
 ■e this 
 lickcn 
 iblc of 
 
 ds will 
 npe in 
 all the 
 sman's 
 aining, 
 jig and 
 oading 
 ulatcd 
 
 When flushed the Pinnated Grouse always utters a 
 few clucks, and the crest on the head is fre(|uently raised. 
 It has the habit of lifting and depressing the crest when 
 walking on the ground and when one approaches near 
 to it. This is only, however, when it has not been much 
 disturbed and is tame. At other times it crouches among 
 the grass or close to the ground, and only moves to take 
 wing. In spite of the enormous number killed every 
 year by all sort of means, the species still manages to 
 hold its own fairly well in many localities, but the inevita- 
 ble day will surely come that will bring the same fate to 
 all our wild creatures, and the Prairie Chicken, like other 
 natives of the wilderness, will remain only as a memory. 
 
 TYMPANUCHUS AMERICANUS. 
 
 Geographical Distribution. — Prairies of Mississippi Valley 
 from Manitoba on the northeast to Ontario, Michigan, and Ohio, 
 west to the Dakotas, Kansas, and the Indian Territory, and south 
 to Louisiana and Texas. 
 
 Adult Male. — Upper parts, brown, barred with black and 
 buff; wing feathers, tipped with buff; a tuft of stiff, elongated 
 feathers, capable of being elevated over the head on either side 
 of ihe neck, black, with buff centers, frequently chestnut on the 
 inner webs; chin, throat, and cheeks, buff; the latter marked 
 with dark brown spots; a brown line from mouth, benepth the 
 eye to ear-coverts; buff stripe from maxilla to and beyond the 
 eye; under parts, white, barred with brown or blackish brown; 
 flanks, barred with blackish brown, and buff; under tail-coverts, 
 white, edged at tip with brown and margined with dark brown 
 and buff; tail, brown, darkest* on median feathers, and tipped 
 with white; large sac of loose skin, capable of inflation beneath 
 the long neck feathers. Total length, about i8 inches; wing, 9; 
 tail, 4f 
 
 Adult Female. — Resembles the male, but is without the neck 
 sac, has the neck tufts very short or rudimentary, and the tail 
 feathers have numerous distinct bars of buff. Total length, 
 about 17I inches; wing, 8|; tail, 3f. 
 
 
 I . 
 
ii6 
 
 GAME BIRDS Or NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 In the breeding season there is a red skin over the eye, large 
 and erectile in the male. 
 
 Downy Voun^s^. — General color, yellowish buff, inclined to 
 rusty on breast and sides; several spots or broken lines on head 
 and occiput, stripe across shoulder, and blotches on back and 
 rump black, wing feathers barred with light brown and buff, and 
 striped in center with white. 
 
 \m 
 
 
^e, large 
 
 lined to 
 on head 
 ack and 
 >uff, and 
 
 |. ; i = 
 
 % 
 
 
 ■U.. H; 
 
frp 
 
 ^^Tn 
 
 
 
 ■ n;, ■; 
 
 III 
 
 P 
 
 
 _,^^.._^[-V_„„;^^-^|5;^^,^_<>,« . -jjT. '=*^' 
 
 
 •• — ■*■ . -T 
 
 .^'^vuuv ^V\»v»v>c«.>-\- 
 
 24. Heath Hen. 
 
HEATH HEN. 
 
 \J{ ARTHA'S VINEYARD, an island off the coast of 
 Massachusetts, is ' ^ last stronghold of the Heath 
 Hen, which formerly dwcn m various parts of that State, 
 as well as in Connecticut, on Long Island, on Hempstead 
 Plains, and other localities, New Jersey, and Pennsyl- 
 vania. It may also have ranged over a greater part of 
 the Middle States. It closely resembles the Pinnated 
 Grouse of the Western States, and it would require an 
 expert to distinguish readily the points of difference 
 between them. But still in coloring, shape of the lance- 
 olate neck feathers of the male, short tarsus, and gen- 
 erally smaller size, it has sufficient differences to be 
 classed as a distinct species. 
 
 The Heath Hen is, now at all events, a woodland bird 
 and dwells among the almost impregnable tracts of 
 scrubby oaks and pines which cover perhaps an area 
 of forty square miles, and comprise about all the wooded 
 portion of Martha's Vineyard. Within this limited area 
 several hundred birds are assembled, the last remnant 
 of the great host that at one time was spread over a 
 number of the Atlantic States. The nature of the coverts 
 they frequent, difficult for man to penetrate, and their 
 habit of remaining almost continually in the thick woods, 
 insures that protection which will probably preserve the 
 species, even in its diminished numbers, for a long time 
 to come. Living thus almost entirely in these woods 
 of scrub oaks, the birds feed on the acorns that lie scat- 
 tered over the ground, occasionally wandering out into 
 
 117 
 
 'I'i; 
 
 ,1- 
 
 < 
 
ii8 
 
 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 P :;, 
 
 the open to seek for grain, berries, or leaves which aflFord 
 them a sHght change of diet, and sometimes in winter, 
 when the weather is severe and the snow deep, they will 
 approach the barns or other buildings on the farms, and 
 pick up whatever they can find in the way of grain or 
 other suitable food. The nesting season appears to be 
 a late one, although this is difficult to determine, as but 
 few persons have seen the nest, but young broods have 
 been met with late in July, which would show that incu- 
 bation must have commenced somewhere near the begin- 
 ning of that month. The booming note of the males is 
 heard in the spring when they commence their courting, 
 between daybreak and sunrise, and although, on account 
 of the nature of the ground, the birds are seldom seen, 
 yet the antics they practice at that time may not vary 
 from those of the Pinnated Grouse at the same season. 
 This booming sound at all events is very similar to that 
 made by the Western birds. The eggs have rarely been 
 taken, but a set of six, in the possession of my friend 
 Mr. William Brewster of Cambridge, are about the same 
 size as those of the Pinnated Grouse, perhaps a little 
 smaller, and buffy white or creamy buff in color, tinged 
 with greenish and unspotted. The nest is the usual slight 
 depression in the soil, carelessly lined, and situated 
 among weeds or anything affording concealment, and 
 placed near a stump, roots of a tree, or fallen log. 
 
 With adequate protection from strictly enforced laws, 
 aided by the stunted trees and bushes forming a tangled 
 growth and covering the ground they frequent, there 
 is no reason why these survivors of a disappearing race 
 should not be able to preserve the existence of the species 
 through long series of years yet to come. 
 
HE A TH HF./\r. 
 
 119 
 
 TYMPANUCHUS CUPIDO. 
 
 Geographical D/s/ri'du/ion.— Island of Martha's Vineyard, 
 Massachusetts. Formerly abundant on Long Island, New Jersey, 
 Eastern Pennsylvania, and Virginia, but now extinct in all those 
 localities. 
 
 Adult Male. — Closely resembling the previous species, but 
 distinguishable by its short pointed neck feathers, the tufts com- 
 posed of not more than ten lanceolate feathers (those of 7'. ameri- 
 canus containing more than this number), and by the large ter- 
 minal whitish buff spots on the scapulars. Length of wing, 
 about 8^ inches; tail, 4. 
 
 Female has the lanceolate neck feathers rudimentary, and is 
 slightly smaller than the male. 
 
' II 
 
 ' i M 
 
 
 liil 
 
 LESSER PRAIRIE HEN. 
 
 A SMALLER, pale-colored variety of the Pinnated 
 Grouse, inhabiting southwestern Kansas, the western 
 part of Indian Territory, and western Texas, has been 
 designated as a separate race under the name given 
 above. It would not probably be regarded as in any 
 way different from the Pinnated Grouse by one who 
 was not an ornithologist and trained to observe technical 
 or slight distinctions between animals. It is somewhat 
 different in coloring and appears smaller, though meas- 
 urements seem to show that the size of the two birds 
 is pretty nearly equal. In certain parts of Texas, such 
 as the districts lying to the south and southeast of San 
 Antonio, this race is very abundant, and is also found, 
 but in more limited numbers, north of that city. It is 
 also common in the Indian Territory. Its most southern 
 range in Texas appears to be just north of Fort Brown, 
 near the coast. The eggs are somewhat smaller than 
 those of the Northern Prairie Chicken, and paler in color, 
 being a creamy or bufify white, covered with very fine 
 grayish or brownish dots; sometimes the shell is entirely 
 unspotted. The habits and nesting of this race are prac- 
 tically not different from those of the species already 
 described. 
 
 TYMPANUCHUS PALLIDICINCTUS. 
 
 Geographical Distribution. — Western Texas, through Indian 
 Territory to Kansas. 
 Adult J/a/^.— Differs from the Pinnated Grouse in being much 
 
 '■X ' 
 
.Wj,,, O'-v ''■■"' 
 
 25. Lesser Prairie Hen. 
 
 Indian 
 much 
 
-m-i 
 
LESSRK PRAIRIE HEN. 
 
 121 
 
 darker above, and barred by light brown or buff, inclosed be- 
 tween two black bars, as is also the case on the flank feathers; 
 the brown bars on the pale brown under parts are narrow and 
 close together, especially on the breast; under tail-coverts, barred 
 with dark brown and white, and tipped with white; neck tufts, 
 broad, and feathers rounded at tip; loose skin beneath neck tufts. 
 Total length, about 15 inches; wing, 8;^; tail, 4. 
 
 Adult Female, — Like male, without air sacs on neck, and 
 rudimentary neck tufts; tail barred with rusty. Wing, 8 inches; 
 tail, 3|. 
 
I!'; , iii.fiii '■ I 
 
 III: 
 
 !i!|: 
 
 lllil 
 
 ^''! 
 
 lllii'^; 
 
 
 ATTWATER'S PRAIRIE HEN. 
 
 npHIS is another race of the Northern species, and 
 * appears to be restricted to the coast line of Louisiana 
 and Texas. It differs from the other species of the 
 genus in having the tarsus feathered only on the upper 
 two-thirds, and a suffusion of cinnamon rufous on 
 the tufts of long feathers in the neck, which are almost 
 square at their tips, forming almost a collar in front at 
 base of neck. In size it is about the same as T. 
 pallidicinctus. 
 
 TYMPANUCHUS A TTWA TERl. 
 
 Geographical Distribution. — Gulf coast of Texas and Louisi- 
 ana. 
 
 Adult Male. — Similar to T. americanus, but much darker on 
 the back and top of h'^ad; neck tufts, black on tips and apical 
 half of outer webs, remainder, buff and cinnamon rufous; base 
 of neck in front and on sides, cinnamon rufous, with central 
 buff stripes on feathers, broadening toward the tips; throat and 
 fore-neck, pale buff spotted with brown; tail, smoky-brown, 
 whitish buff on margins of outer webs; tarsi, feathered on upper 
 two-thirds. Total length, 15 inches; wing, 8,^; tail, 3. 
 
 Adult female smaller. Total length, i3f inches; wing, 8; 
 tail, 3. 
 
 Downy Young. — Upper parts, pale chestnut; spot on top of 
 head, and broken line on occiput, and indistinct lines on back, 
 wings, and rump, black; rest of body lemon yellow, with a rusty 
 tinge on breast 
 
 tat 
 
26, Attwater's Prairie Hen. 
 
i -I 
 
 f' , 
 
 Kfi'^ 
 
 h1 
 
 
 m 
 
 
 '/'■■ 
 
 I; 
 
,%Vs^.W- < ^ W^ VSk^' 
 
 
 27. Sharp-Tailed Grouse. 
 
SHARP-TAILED GROUSE. 
 
 ""THERE are three races of Sharp-tailed Grouse: a dark 
 form, almost black in its markings, and two lighter 
 colored subspecies. The present is the dark style and 
 has a high Northern dispersion, never coming within the 
 boundaries of the United States. It ranges throughout 
 British America as high as 69° of north latitude, and does 
 not come to the south much below 52°. It has not been 
 found west of the Rocky Mountains, but occurs on some 
 of the eastern slopes, is abundant near Great Slave Lake, 
 and on the Atlantic side of the continent is not uncom- 
 mon around Hudson Bay. 
 
 Mr. MacFarlane has given about all the information 
 we have of this species in its native haunts, and he says 
 it breeds in the pine forests on both sides of the Lock- 
 art and Anderson rivers, where some nests were taken. 
 A single brood is raised in a season, and its habits and 
 economy do not differ from the better known birds liv- 
 ing within the limits of the Union. The number of eggs 
 ranges from seven to fourteen, of a fawn or very dark 
 buflf color, or olive-brown marked with small spots ot 
 reddish brown. The eggs are much darker in appearance 
 than those of either of the subspecies, and, like those of 
 many of the other species of Grouse, the markings can 
 be easily rubbed off, leaving the shell a pale hue, some- 
 times almost white. Incubat'on begins very early, before 
 the snow and ice have vanished in those northern regions, 
 and nests with eggs have been found as early as the be- 
 ginning of May. L dwells both in the wooded districts 
 
 »23 
 

 ■■■ r 
 
 -1' 
 'V 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 , 
 
 
 124 
 
 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 and in the open country, and from the striking con- 
 trast between the black and white of its plumage pre- 
 sents a very handsome appearance. The legs are very 
 heavily feathered and the feet also, the toes being com- 
 pletely covered to the claws, thus affording ample pro- 
 tection to the bird against the intense cold of the Arctic 
 regions in which it lives. 
 
 Between the typical style of the Sharp-tailed Grouse 
 and that of the Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse there is 
 exhibited in the birds living on our Northern borders and 
 some distance beyond, every gradation between the dark 
 Arctic birds and the light-colored ones of the United 
 States, so that it is impossible to fix any precise limit to 
 the habitat of either form. It can only be stated that, 
 as the United States form goes northward it gradually, 
 by successive degrees, darkens into the typical Grouse 
 of the Arctic regions, having no especial locality where 
 the divergence commences. In size it is about the same 
 as the Columbian Grouse, and doubtless its flesh is 
 equally palatable. 
 
 vm^ 
 
 PEDICECETES PHA SI A NELL US. 
 
 Geographical Distribution.— Bt'xWsh. America from Lake 
 Superior and Hudson Bay to Fort Simpson. 
 
 Adult Male.— Top of head, neck, and entire upper parts, black, 
 barred and mottled everywhere except on top of head, with buff, 
 the bars narrow, thus making the prevailing color black, instead 
 of brown or buff; the bars are pale buff on rump and upper tail- 
 coverts, giving these a lighter appearance than the rest of the 
 upper parts; wings, like the back, with broad, central white 
 streaks on the scapulars, and white spots on t!ie coverts and 
 white bars and tips to the secondaries; primaries, dark chocolate 
 brown, with equidistant white spots on outer webs; under parts, 
 white, spotted with black on the throat and front of neck, and 
 broad V-shaped blackish brown marks near the center of the 
 
SHARP TAILED GROUSE. 
 
 125 
 
 feathers, most numerous upon the breast and flanks, and grow- 
 ing gradually smaller and fewer as they approach the abdomen; 
 central elongated feathers of the tail, black, irregularly barred 
 with white and light buff, remainder of feathers, white; under 
 tail-coverts, white, with a dark brown line along the shafts of 
 some of the feathers. Legs and toes, covered with hairy light 
 brown feathers; bill, blackish brown. Total length, about 16 
 inches; wing, 8^; tail, to end of median feathers, 5^. 
 
 Adult Female. — There does not seem to be any particular dif- 
 ference in the coloration of the sexes, but the female may be 
 slightly smaller. 
 
 If : 
 
!|i'i M 
 
 I mm^^^' 
 
 w\ 
 
 COLUMBIAN SHARP-TAILED GROUSE. 
 
 I NHABITING the Northwestern States of the Union 
 from Montana and Wyoming to Washington and 
 Oregon, on the eastern slopes of the mountains which 
 there check its progress toward the Pacific, and thence 
 north through British Columbia to Alaska, this bird is 
 the Western representative of the race dwelling upon 
 the prairies of the States lying just east of the Rocky 
 Mountains. South it goes to Nevada and the north- 
 eastern part of California. To most persons the two 
 forms here distinguished as the Columbian and Prairie 
 Sharp-tailed Grouse would appear to be the same, the 
 slight differences of color and style of markings not being 
 sufficiently striking and tangible to be perceived without 
 having the assistance of an expert to point them out. 
 And, in truth, the differences are very slight, but never- 
 theless have been deemed important enough to give the 
 birds the rank of separate races. The locality of a speci- 
 men, however, would be of the highest importance, in 
 many instances, in assisting the decision as to which 
 race it belonged. This Grouse, known, in addition 
 to the name given above, as the Pin-tail, Spike-tail 
 Grouse, and Prairie Chicken, has practically the same 
 habits as those of its Eastern relative, and is very common 
 throughout the districts in which it is found. Like the 
 Prairie Sharp-tail, it keeps to the open country, and if 
 met with in summer in the wooded portions, it will only 
 be along their edges, where it has easy access to the 
 prairie-land. 
 
 In the spring, before sunrise, these birds meet together 
 
 126 
 
E. 
 
 Jnion 
 1 and 
 which 
 thence 
 oird is 
 upon 
 Rocky 
 north- 
 le two 
 Prairie 
 ne, the 
 it being 
 .vithout 
 m out. 
 never- 
 ive the 
 speci- 
 ce, in 
 which 
 dition 
 like-tail 
 same 
 mmon 
 ke the 
 and it 
 II only 
 to the 
 
 ■' /Awi'ic. 5/if;,|ja>-tl- 
 
 28. Columbian Sharp- Tailed Grouse. 
 
 gether 
 
I 
 
 ill ill 
 
 } 
 
COLUMBIAN SHARP. TAILED GROUSE. 
 
 127 
 
 and " dance " in a similar way to that described in the 
 article on the Pinnated Grouse, although, if possible, 
 they are more active in their movements and exhibit 
 greater excitement. This " saturnalia " is preparatory 
 to selecting mates for the serious business of the ap- 
 proaching nesting season, and the males make the most 
 frantic efforts to cause themselves to appear attractive to 
 the numerous hens gathered around. They have, like 
 the Pinnated and some other Grouse, a loose skin on the 
 sides of the neck, capable of being inflated, swelling out 
 like two great oranges, one on either side, which emit, 
 when being exhausted, a sound that has been likened 
 tc a " bubbling crow," quite different to the organ-like 
 " boom " of the Prairie Chicken. Incubation begins the 
 latter part of April, the nest being placed in a bunch of 
 grass, well concealed from view, and consists of a depres- 
 sion lined with grass and occasionally some feathers from 
 the hen's abdomen. On this are deposited from ten to 
 fifteen eggs, pale buff or brown in color, covered with 
 very fine reddish brown spots. In about three weeks 
 the young appear, active little creatures running about 
 as soon as they are freed from the shell, and are carefully 
 watched and tended by the hen, who is always ready to 
 guard and defend them with great courage and deter- 
 mination. Like the young of all Grouse, insects are the 
 principal means of subsistence at this early period of their 
 lives, and later they feed on seeds, leaves, and berries. 
 Toward September the young are pretty well grown, and 
 later they pack, assembling in large flocks, and are then 
 usually wild and difficult to approach. In certain parts 
 of their dispersion they resort to swamps and near-by 
 woods. In winter they frequently retire to the timbered 
 country, probably as a refuge from severe storms and 
 deep snows, and at this time may often be seen perched 
 
•:!!■ 
 
 128 
 
 GAME BIRDS Of NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 on trees. I think, however, this is a common habit of 
 all Sharp-tailed Grouse if they happen to be in a country 
 where trees abound, and it is a very usual occurrence in 
 winter, or early in the morning durinj^ the autumn, to 
 see numbers of Grouse standing or sitting upon tiiu 
 branches. When flushed they always cackle as they rise, 
 and fly swiftly in a straight line, alternately sailing alonj^ 
 and then flapping the wings with a few quick, short 
 strokes. They are able to go long distances without 
 stopping, but, as a rule, when not much hunted, they 
 alight after making a short flight. As the country be- 
 comes settled this Grouse is more seldom met with, as 
 it retires to the wilder portions of the land, for, unlike 
 the Pinnated Grouse, it is a bird of the wilderness and 
 shuns man's habitations. 
 
 
 
 
 * ^ w''i!'|!;!i 
 
 I. ■": 
 
 PEDICECETES PHASIANELLUS COLUMBIANUS. 
 
 Geographical Distribtttion. — Eastern Rocky Mountains, from 
 Montana and Wyoming to Oregon and Washington, then north- 
 ward west of mountains to Central Alaska. 
 
 Adult Male. — Upper parts, grayish buff, with but a little of 
 the rusty hue (this, if present, confined to the middle of tlie 
 back), and barred, mottled, and occasionally blotched with black; 
 the white markings and spots on scapulars and wings not so con- 
 spicuous as in the previous species, when contrasted with the 
 hue of the general plumage; throat and sides of face pale buff, 
 with a cluster of brown spots on the cheeks; breast, light huff, 
 rest of under parts and flanks, white, all with longitudinal lines 
 of blackish brown, sometimes rounded at the tip, sometimes in- 
 clined to aV-shape; lengthened central tail feathers, like the 
 rump, lateral ones grayish v, hite, barred with blackish brown, es- 
 pecially on outer webs; under tail-coverts, white barred with black- 
 ish brown, chiefly on the outer webs ; legs, covered to the toes 
 with brownish white feathers ; maxilla, horn color ; mandible, 
 brownish white. Total length, about 15^ inches; wing, 7|; tail, 4J. 
 
 Adult Female. — Closely resembles the male, but the central 
 tail feathers barely extend beyond the lateral ones. 
 
habit of 
 country 
 rence in 
 umn, ((» 
 pon tlie 
 hey rise, 
 \g alonp: 
 k, short 
 without 
 sd, they 
 ntry be- 
 with, as 
 ', unhke 
 less and 
 
 ins, from 
 :n north- 
 
 little of 
 le of the 
 th black; 
 )t so con- 
 with the 
 lale butr, 
 ght huff, 
 nal lines 
 times in- 
 like the 
 rown, es- 
 [th bluck- 
 the toes 
 landible, 
 ; tail, 4|. 
 I central 
 
T^^^ 
 
 >ii> 
 
 il!l 
 
 Pi 
 r 
 
 
 I 
 
 K '• v*« {. A. 
 
 h.M.y.avf) 
 
 29. Prairie Sharp-Tailed Grouse. 
 
PRAIRIE SHARP-TAILED GROUSE. 
 
 'T*HIS race of the Sharp-tailed Grouse ranges from 
 * Montana on the north to Wisconsin and lUinois on 
 tlie cast, Colorado on the west, and New Mexico on the 
 south. This is practically its present distribution, but 
 doubtless long ago its eastern limit was nuich nearer to 
 the Atlantic Coast than it is now, but the bird was forced 
 westward by tlic advance of civilization and settlement of 
 the country, and its place occupied by the Pinnated 
 Grouse, which follows man's footsteps as he penetrates 
 into the wilderness. This process is indeed going on to- 
 day, and yearly the range of the Sharp-tailed Grouse is 
 becoming more restricted as it is hemmed in by settle- 
 ments from every side. Although it is generally re- 
 garded as exclusively a prairie bird, this is a mistaken 
 idea, as has been shown in the account of the Northern 
 and Western forms, which do in certain localities frequent 
 the woods, and there is no reason whatever to suppose 
 that in earlier times these birds were not as much at 
 home, and throve as well in forest-covered districts, as did 
 the Prairie Chicken at one time, when it was abundant on 
 large tracts of the Atlantic Coast, or as the remnant left 
 does to-day on Martha's Vineyard. 
 
 The habits of this well-known bird do not differ from 
 those of the Western race already described, nor indeed 
 from those of the Pinnated Grouse. In the early spring, 
 in the month of April, when perhaps in many parts of 
 their habitat in the northern regions, the snow still 
 
 remains upon the ground, the birds, both males and 
 
 139 
 
IMAGE EVALUATION 
 TEST TARGET (MT-3) 
 
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 23 WEST MAIN STREET 
 
 WEBSTER, N.Y. 14S80 
 
 (716) 872-4503 
 
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 130 
 
 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 females, assemble at some favorite place just as day is 
 breaking, to go through a performance as curious as it is 
 eccentric. The males with ruffled feathers, spread tails, 
 expanded air sacs on the neck, heads drawn toward 
 the back, and drooping wings (in fact the whole body 
 puffed out as nearly as possible into the shape of a ball 
 on two stunted supports), strut about in circles, not all 
 going the same way, but passing and crossing each other 
 in various angles. As the " dance " proceeds the excite- 
 ment of the birds increases, they stoop toward the 
 ground, twist and turn, make sudden rushes forward 
 stamping the ground with short quick beats of the feet, 
 leaping over each other in their frenzy, then lowerinj^ 
 their heads, exhaust the air in the sacs, producing a hol- 
 low sound that goes reverberating through the still air 
 of the breaking day. Suddenly they become quiet, and 
 walk about like creatures whose sanity is unquestioned, 
 when some male again becomes possessed, and starts off 
 on a rampage, and the " attack " from which he suffers 
 becomes infectious and all the other birds at once give 
 evidences of having taken the same disease, which then 
 proceeds with a regular development to the usual con- 
 clusion. As the sun gets well above the horizon, and 
 night's shadows have all been hurried away, the antics of 
 the birds cease, the booming no longer resounds over the 
 prairie, and the Grouse scatter in search of food, and in 
 pursuit of their daily avocations. While this perform- 
 ance is always to be seen in the spring, it is not unusually 
 indulged in for a brief turn in the autumn, and while it 
 may be considered as essentially a custom of the breed- 
 ing season, yet like the drumming of the Ruffed Grouse, 
 it may be regarded also as an exhibition of the birds' 
 vigor and vitality, indulged in at periods of the year even 
 when the breeding season has long passed. 
 
PRAIRIE SHARP-TAILED GROUSE. 
 
 131 
 
 lay IS 
 ,s it is 
 
 tails, 
 Dward 
 
 body 
 a bail 
 lot ail 
 I other 
 cxcite- 
 rd the 
 arward 
 le feet, 
 wering 
 
 >■ a 
 > 
 
 There seems to be no spot especially favored by the 
 hen as a site for the nest, so long as it affords suitable 
 concealment. With the shelter of some bush, along the 
 bank of a stream where the cover is somewhat dense, 
 or in the midst of a clump of weeds, in thickets on the 
 hillside, or in a bunch of grass out on the open prairie, 
 she is equally satisfied, and in a slight hollow arched over 
 with grass deposits her eggs. These arc precisely 
 like those of the Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse, and the 
 usual number in a clutch is about a dozen, though some- 
 times considerably more are laid, and but one brood is 
 raised in a season. The hen is a very close sitter, and 
 her plumage harmonizes so well with her surroundings 
 that it is a very difficult matter to discover her on the 
 nest. In about three weeks the chicks appear, and the 
 mother is very solicitous for their welfare, leading them 
 in search of insects, which at first comprise their means of 
 subsistence, and keeping them near some thickets where 
 they can easily hide on the approach of danger. She 
 clucks to them like a domestic hen, and shelters them 
 under her wings from the storm. In spite of all her care 
 many a downy chick disappears, borne away in the talons 
 of some Hawk which has swooped suddenly upon the 
 brood from an unlooked for quarter, or else a watchful 
 fox or other quadruped, or gliding snake, has snatched 
 one of the little creatures as it chased some flying insect. 
 Not many of the members of a brood that is hatched 
 reach maturity, for numerous vacancies from various 
 causes are usually created in the ranks. Toward the last 
 of September the young are about full grown, and at this 
 time they lie well to the dog, and generally are not wild. 
 The flock does not rise simultaneously, always some of 
 its members remaining after the others are well upon the 
 wing. As they flush they utter a cackling cry, and this 
 
 ii 
 
 ■\ 
 

 ^1 
 
 ■■ 1 
 
 PISHR| 
 
 I'.ili 
 
 132 
 
 GAAfE BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 is often repeated with each beat of the wings, even after 
 they have flown for some distance. The flight is mostly 
 performed in a straight Hne, except where the nature of 
 the ground makes it an impossibihty.and is swift, the bird 
 being borne along by alternate flappings and sailings. 
 When the wings are held motionless, they are much 
 curved, with the primaries sprcatl far apart toward tiic 
 tips, and turned down. If many coveys occupy similar 
 tracts of country they keep their little family parties sepa- 
 rate and distinct from each other, and if they have not 
 been much molested will permit one to approach very 
 near them without exhibiting any signs of alarm. In 
 the autumn, in such localities as the Bad Lands of the 
 Dakotas, they are in the habit of passing much of their 
 time in the "coulees" or wooded ravines, into which they 
 always fly for shelter if by chance they have been flushed 
 anywhere in the open grounds, or among the buttes. 
 When scattered in these ravines excellent sport can be 
 had with them, as they lie close and generally rise sinj^jly, 
 and as the sportsman is frequently above them, they 
 present easy marks as they fly out of the bushes into the 
 open, or rise above the cover if declining to leave the 
 place of refuge. 
 
 The Prairie Sharp-tail or White-belly, as it is some- 
 times called, is partly migratory, and, as I have already 
 said, its habits vary somewhat in the different seasons, 
 being a good deal of a prairie dweller in the summer. l)Ut 
 more of a woodland bird in the winter. But this is natural, 
 as it would not be likely to remain on the storm-swept 
 plains during the severe weather, if the shelter that the 
 trees afforded was near at hand and easily secured. In 
 the autumn and winter the flocks unite and form great 
 packs of several hundred individuals and are then wary 
 and very watchful, running swiftly away from any object 
 
PRAIRIE SIIARPTAILED GROUSE. 
 
 ^Z^ 
 
 n after 
 mostly 
 ture o{ 
 he bird 
 ailings. 
 ; much 
 arc! tlic 
 
 similar 
 cs sepa- 
 lave not 
 ,ch very 
 rm. In 
 Is of the 
 
 of their 
 lich they 
 w flushed 
 e buttes. 
 -t can be 
 se singly, 
 em, they 
 5 into the 
 leave the 
 
 that alarms them, or taking wing when yet a long dis- 
 tance off. The flight is also much more protracted at 
 this time, the packs frequently keeping on until lost to 
 view. 
 
 At this period they are in the habit of perching much 
 in trees, frequently on the tops of houses or any out- 
 lying buildings. 1 have often seen a tree nearly full of 
 Grouse, so thickly were they assembled on the branches, 
 some sitting close to the limbs looking more like great 
 bunches without any particular shape at all, while others 
 would stand upright in a stiff, constrained attitude, with 
 the neck drawn out to its fullest extent and held motion- 
 less, and the legs showing to the full extent of the thighs. 
 Sometimes they will remain in such situations even 
 though shot at more than once, and occasionally a num- 
 ber may be killed, if the lowest in the tree is selected, 
 so that the falling body may not alarm the living birds 
 and cause them to take flight. They appear much mag- 
 nified when on the bran hes, especially if their forms be 
 sharply outlined against the sky. If much hunted their 
 behavior in the trees changes, and as soon as anyone is 
 seen approaching, the birds are at once on the qui z'ive, 
 and, motionless, regard intently the object of their fears. 
 Soon a warning kliick is heard, every head is raised and 
 neck outstretched, and then with a loud kluck one bird 
 takes wing, to be followed immediately by all the rest, ut- 
 tering many kluck-klucks as they go. Usually they alight 
 at no great distance, but their watchfulness is not less- 
 ened, and if pursued, the same tactics are repeated. The 
 food of this Grouse consists of insects, leaves, berries, 
 and, wherever it grows, the hips of the wild rose, whose 
 hard seeds, answering the purpose of gravel in helping to 
 grind the food, are greedily eaten. It also feeds on grain 
 when readily accessible, for as a rule these birds do not 
 
 '1^ 
 
»34 
 
 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH A Af ERICA. 
 
 W '^ 
 
 keep much about cultivated lands, and entfcr fields prob- 
 ably more for the insects they may be able to find there 
 than with the view of obtaining grain. The flesh of the 
 Prairie Sharp-tail is like its congeners', light-colored when 
 the bird is young but dark in the adult, and if you are not 
 compelled by stress of circumstances to eat it three times 
 a day, as I have been, is very palatable. It is a noble 
 bird, game in the fullest and truest sense of the word, 
 and presents a beautiful sight as it walks easily and grace- 
 fully over the prairie, raising at intervals its lengthened 
 crest, and looking back at its observer, with its clear 
 liquid eyes betokening a trust and confidence that is, alas! 
 too often misplaced. The Sharp-tailed and the Pinnated 
 Grouse often meet on the limits of their dispersion, but 
 rarely mingle together, for they are deadly enemies and 
 engage in desperate battles; the habits and dispositions 
 of the birds causing them to lead different lives and seek 
 dissimilar habitats. To my mind the Sharp-tail is the 
 finer and handsomer bird. 
 
 PEDICECETES PHASIANELLUS CAMPESTRIS. 
 
 Geographical Distribution. — Prairies east of Rocky Moun- 
 tains from Montana to New Mexico, and from Wisconsin and 
 Illinois to Colorado. 
 
 Adult Male. — Entire upper parts, buff, ochraceous upon back 
 and scapulars, blotched and barred with black; scapulars 
 streaked with white, and large white spots on tips of wing-cov- 
 erts; primaries, dark brown, spotted with white on outer webs; 
 spot in front of eye, sides of face and tbroat, light buflF, with a 
 cluster of brown spots on the cheeks; under parts, white, with 
 lengthened V-shaped brown lines on each feather, most numer- 
 ous on breast, where they are the predominant color; middle of 
 abdomen and under tail-coverts, white; central tail featljers ex- 
 tend beyond the rest, and are barred with black and ochraceous; 
 legs, brownish white: maxilla, black, mandible, horn color at 
 
PRAIRIE SHARP TAILED GROUSE. 
 
 '35 
 
 base, black at tip. Total length, about i6i inches; wing, 8^; 
 tail. 5i. 
 
 Adult Female is slightly smaller than the male, and the central 
 tail feathers are shorter. Otherwise resembles him in her plum- 
 age. 
 
 Downy Youttf^. — Upper parts, buflF, irregularly marked with 
 lines and spots of black, broadest upon the back; wings, barred 
 with white and black; under parts, lemon yellow, inclined to 
 buff upon the breast; bill, light yellow; culmen, brown. 
 
f' ', 
 
 » 1 
 ., t 
 
 H' 
 
 
 SAGE GROUSE. 
 
 I ARGEST of all American Grouse, and only exceeded 
 in size by the Cock of the Woods or Capercailzie of 
 the Old World, the Sage Grouse is an inhabitant of the 
 barren plains where the sage bush (Artemisia) grows, 
 the leaves of which constitute its principal food. Its 
 range is from Assiniboia and British Columbia in the 
 north to New Mexico in the south, and from the Da- 
 kotas in the east to California, Oregon, and Washington 
 in the west. It is a resident and breeds wherever found, 
 and only makes a partial migration when the sage bushes 
 become hidden beneath great falls of snow, compelling it 
 to seek other localities with less elevation. The Cock of 
 the Plains is rarely met with far from the localities covered 
 by the sage bush, for the leaves of this plant appear to be 
 a necessity for its existence. Although its crop may 
 show that other food has been swallowed, yet the major 
 portion of the contents will always be sage leaves, and 
 these impart a very bitter and disagreeable taste to the 
 filesh, if the bird is not drawn immediately after it is killed. 
 Besides these leaves, this species feeds on insects, berries, 
 wild pease, the pods and blossoms of various plants, and 
 grain. 
 
 Its stomach is a soft and membranous bag, and it has, 
 properly speaking, no gizzard. This would seem to indi- 
 cate that the bird was not a grain feeder, but individuals 
 have been killed whose stomachs were filled with wheat, 
 showing that, in spite of a lack of grinding power, the 
 bird is able to digest grain. Its diet, however, is chiefly 
 
 J 36 
 
!ee(lc(l 
 Izie of 
 of the 
 grows. 
 d. Its 
 in the 
 tie Da- 
 lington 
 found 
 bushes 
 elling it 
 Cock of 
 covered 
 ar to be 
 )p may 
 
 major 
 es, and 
 
 to the 
 IS killed, 
 berries. 
 
 ts, and 
 
 it has. 
 
 jto indi- 
 
 lividuals 
 
 wheat, 
 
 ler, the 
 
 chiefly 
 
 
 
 
 
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 30. Sage (i rouse. 
 
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SAGE GROUSE, 
 
 »37 
 
 leaves and the tender portions of plants. It is a hardy 
 l)ird, bearing the extremes of heat and cold apparently 
 without inconvenience, and I have seen it walking 
 leisurely about under the rays of a torrid sun, or exposed 
 to the fierce, keen blasts of a December storm that 
 would make most creatures seek the nearest shelter. 
 
 During the blizzards and other heavy storms that so 
 frequently sweep over the country It inhabits, the Sage 
 Cock takes refuge amid the dense clumps of the sage 
 hushes, or in the " coulees " or small valleys that inter- 
 sect the plains at intervals, where it obtains sufficient 
 protection from the blasts. Although this species is so 
 large, its plumage harmonizes so well with the bird's 
 surroundings that it is at times exceedingly diffi- 
 cult to see it, and it is not an unusual occurrence to pass 
 within a few feet of one or more Sage Grouse, without 
 noticing them at all, if they remain motionless, as they 
 generally do. Early in March the pairing season begins, 
 and the male commences to court the females. His 
 actions at this time are not unlike those of the Pinnated 
 and Sharp-tailed Grouse already described, but the air 
 sacs on each side of the neck, when inflated, are so 
 enormous that the bird appears much more grotesque 
 than the males of the other species. These air bladders 
 extend both forward and upward, and his head prac- 
 tically disappears between them, making his neck seem 
 altogether too top-heavy for him to preserve his balance. 
 The long pointed feathers of the tail are spread out to 
 the fullest extent, the wings trail along the ground, and 
 the spiny feathers along the air sacs stand straight out. 
 In this ludicrous attitude, which no doubt the bird con- 
 siders as the very acme of perfect beauty and attractive- 
 ness, he struts before the admiring gaze of the assembled 
 hens, uttering subdued guttural sounds. This exhibition 
 
flll> 
 
 li 
 
 138 
 
 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 having accomplished its legitimate purpose, a suitable 
 place is selected for the nest, generally under some sage 
 bush. The receptacle for the eggs is a very primitive 
 affair, a slight hollow, sparsely lined with grass and a few 
 feathers; or sometimes the eggs are dropped upon tlie 
 bare ground. These are quite large, olive-bufT in color. 
 tinged with green, covered with dots and spots of choco- 
 late brown, and vary considerably from each other, some 
 being of a pale green tint with sharply de^^ned spots of 
 chocolate, others a pale buff without any tinge of green, 
 thickly covered with fine chocolate dots, or spotted and 
 dotted with the same. These markings are all super- 
 ficial and can be easily wiped off, leaving the tg^ a uni- 
 form greenish white. The number usually found in a 
 nest varies from seven to seventeen, the latter, however, 
 being quite unusual. Ten would seem to be about a fair 
 average. 
 
 About three weeks is the period of incubation, and the 
 hen is a very close sitter, and will seldom leave her nest 
 until almost trodden upon, which occurrence is very 
 likely to happen, as it is such a difficult matter to distin- 
 guish her from the objects around. While the hen is 
 sitting, and also when she is rearing the young, the male 
 takes no share in her duties, nor troubles himself in any 
 way with her cares and anxieties, but amuses himself in 
 the company of other cocks as neglectful of their wives 
 as himself, and they do not join the coveys until the 
 young have attained their full growth. When half 
 grown the flesh of the Sage Hen is very tender and 
 palatable, but even then the bird must be drawn as soon 
 as killed. It is not always easy to flush these birds, as 
 they will run long distances before taking wing, and 
 skulk and hide at every opportunity. But when forced 
 to rise, they flush with a great fluttering of the wings and 
 
 I u ;. '* 
 
 
SAGE GROUSF. 
 
 139 
 
 nd the 
 T nest 
 very 
 istin- 
 len is 
 male 
 in any 
 self in 
 wives 
 il the 
 half 
 and 
 s soon 
 ds, as 
 f, and 
 forced 
 zs and 
 
 ;r 
 
 utter a loud kck-kck-kck, which kind of cackle is kept up 
 for quite a considerable time. They seem to have diffi- 
 culty in getting well on the wing, and rise heavily, wab- 
 bling from side to side as if trying to gain an equilibrium, 
 but once started they go far and fast enough, with inter- 
 mittent quick beats of the pinions and easy sailing on 
 motionless wings. 
 
 As a rule the Sage Grouse is not very wild, and a 
 covey, when anyone draws near, will at first walk quietly 
 along, frequently within easy gunshot, and it is not until 
 they are persistently followed, or one suddenly dashes 
 into a covey, that they take wing. It requires a hard 
 blow to bring them down, and large shot are necessary to 
 kill them, for they are capable, even if severely wounded, 
 of carrying away large quantities of lead, and will fly a 
 long distance, probably not stopping until life is extinct. 
 The number in a covey is usually small, much less than is 
 observed in many other species of Grouse, ranging, ac- 
 cording to my observation, from seven to ten, often not 
 over five or six. These are probably the survivors of the 
 original brood which has been decimated by adverse 
 weather, such as heavy storms and wet seasons, during 
 which many chicks succumb to the onslaught of various 
 enemies b^th furred and feathered, not to mention man, 
 the most destructive enemy of all. 
 
 In the winter the coveys gather together in great packs; 
 sometimes a hundred birds are assembled in one immense 
 flock, and great is the commotion and loud the whirring 
 and beating of wings and vociferous cackling when from 
 any cause they rise in the air. The members of a family 
 roost in a circle on the ground, in the manner described 
 in the article on Bob White, so that in case of alarm each 
 great bird has a fair way of escape directly in front of 
 him, without danger of being impeded or incommoded 
 
140 
 
 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 I -A 
 
 by his neighbor as he rises from the ground. It never 
 perches or settles in trees, but sometimes is seen mounted 
 on a branch of a sage bush, a few feet from the ground. 
 It keeps away from the woods, and is, as its name impHes, 
 a bird of the plains, a familiar feature of those vast, desert, 
 treeless districts, covered by the peculiar pale green sage 
 bush. The Sage Grouse may be able to go a long time 
 without water, but if it is readily obtained, as when 
 they are in the vicinity of a spring or small stream, they 
 are accustomed to drink twice a day, in the early morn- 
 ing, and again at evening. Sometimes considerable 
 numbers are gathered together at such places, espe- 
 cially if the localities which contain a supply of water 
 are widely separated. Like the Pinnated and Sharp- 
 tailed Grouse, members of flocks of the present species 
 do not all flush together, but always one or more 
 remain after the main body is on the wing; and when 
 hunting them, it is not well to take it for granted 
 that all have departed until the ground in the vicinity 
 has been well searched, for it is pretty certain that 
 at least one bird will be found which had vainly con- 
 sidered itself securely hidden and safe from discovery. 
 The Sage Grouse is a large and heavy bird, the males 
 frequently measuring two and a half feet in length, and 
 weighing at times as much as eight pounds. The female 
 is considerably smaller, so much so that occasionally 
 the discrepancy is so great as to cause remark; but 
 as may be supposed in such large birds, the indi- 
 viduals of neither sex are always of the same size, and 
 those of lesser growth tan find, if needed, mates not dis- 
 proportionate to themselves. It is a splendid bird. 
 which any country may be proud to claim as native to 
 its boundaries, and may it long be preserved to enliven 
 tiie desolate regions among which it dwells! 
 
 .SiilUlU 
 
SAGE GROUSE. 
 
 141 
 
 CENTROCERCUS UROPHASIANUS. 
 
 Geographical Distribution. — British Columbia and Assiniboia 
 in the north to New Mexico, Utah, and Nevada. East to the 
 Dakotas, Nebraska, and Colorado, and west to California, 
 Oregon, and Washington. 
 
 Adult il/a/^.— Upper parts, light brown or grayish, barred with 
 black, dark brown, and grayish, sometimes blotched with black; 
 wings, like the back, with borders of tertials, and central streaks 
 and bars of some of the coverts, white; primaries, grayish 
 brown, lighter on their outer webs; tail, composed of twenty 
 cuneate feathers, graduated to a filamentous point, the central 
 ones like the back, remainder black, barred with light buff for 
 two-thirds their length from the base; top of head and neck, 
 grayish buff, barred with black, chin, throat, and cheeks, white, 
 spotted on first with black, sometimes this part is all black; a 
 blackish line from mouth passes under the eye, and over the ear- 
 coverts; a white line extends from behind the eye down side of 
 neck; fore-neck, black, borderc ^ with grayish white; chest, gray, 
 with the shafts of feathers very stiff and black; flanks, barred 
 broadly with blackish brown and buffy white, occasionally a buff 
 line in center of black bar, sometimes mottled with black; ab- 
 domen and rest of lower parts, jet-black; under tail-coverts, 
 black, broadly tipped with white; bill, black. Total length, 
 about 28 inches; wing, 13; tail, 13. Weight, 5 to 8 pounds. 
 
 On sides of neck is a loose skin which, in the breeding season, 
 is inflated into two enormous yellow sacs, and by the exhaustion 
 of the air a loud, booming sound is produced. 
 
 Adult Female. — Like the male, but much smaller, the chin 
 and throat, pure white. Total length, about 22 inches; wing, 
 lo^; tail, 8^. 
 
 Downy Young, — Upper parts, grayish brown, irregularly 
 marked and blotched with black, most conspicuous on the head. 
 Markings of lower parts indistinctly defined. 
 
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 WILLOW PTARMIGAN. 
 
 1 N the northern portions of the Northern Hemisphere, 
 dwelHng amid the snow and desolate places, the 
 Willow Grouse ranges throughout the Arctic regions of 
 the globe, and is found around the world in the high lati- 
 tudes. In the New World it is a resident of the fur 
 countries, and dwells from the Arctic Ocean to Sitka and 
 the Chilcat Peninsula on the Pacific Coast, and across 
 the continent, in the east, coming down in winter to 
 northern New York. In the latter season it is very 
 abundant in different portions of Canada. In the spring 
 the Ptarmigan descends to the low grounds and the 
 male begins his singular maneuvers to entice some 
 female to join him. Selecting some particular spot, gen- 
 erally a slight elevation, he struts about with lowered 
 wings and expanded tail, head thrown back, and the red 
 combs over the eyes erect and conspicuous, takes a short 
 flight upward, and then sails around in a circle, descend- 
 ing slowly on curved wings, alighting usually at or near 
 the place from which he arose, uttering all the time short 
 quick notes resembling a petulant, hoarse bark. Regain- 
 ing his first position he calls in a different note several 
 times repeated, and in a few moments again makes his 
 circular flight. 
 
 If the birds are numerous in the locality many males 
 will be seen executing similar movements, and the air re- 
 sounds with their barking notes. In due course the 
 females appear in the vicinity, and then the males are ex- 
 cited to frenzy and desperate battles occur among them, 
 
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>here, 
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 spring 
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 31. Willow Ptarmigan. 
 

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WILLOW PTARMIGAN. 
 
 ) 
 143 
 
 carried on with great energy and undaunted resolution, 
 the feathers flying in all directions. The birds at this 
 period are usually in the transition plumage from winter 
 to summer, some red feathers having already begun 
 to appear on the neck, hut the regular moult is not 
 really completely finished until several weeks later. By 
 the middle of May the birds have about all succeeded 
 in obtaining mates, and the nesting season begins. A 
 shallow depression in the ground is lined loosely with 
 dried leaves and grass, and on an average eight or 
 nine eggs are deposited; sometimes as many as thir- 
 teen and even seventeen have been found in one nest. 
 They differ greatly in detail, though having a general 
 resemblance. The shape varies from an ovate to an 
 elongate ovate, and the ground color from cream to red- 
 dish bufT, frequently hidden by a mass of dark reddish, 
 blackish brown, or black blotches and vermiculations, 
 which cover nearly all the shell. Sometimes these are 
 small and mingled together in a confused mass, and again 
 they are distributed in patches, groups, or singly with 
 some indications of form, very irregular though it may 
 be, and no two eggs are exactly alike. Occasionally if, 
 after the complement of eggs has been laid, they are all 
 removed, the hen will deposit another set of about, if not 
 quite, the same number. 
 
 The period of Incubation is about seventeen days, and 
 the chicks follow the parents as soon as hatched. Only 
 one brood is raised in a season. Unlike the majority of 
 the members of the Gro«se family, the male Ptarmigan 
 remains constantly in the vicinity of the nest while the 
 female is sitting, and expresses the strongest disappro- 
 bation of which he is capable at any interference with the 
 process of incubation, and especially if an attempt is made 
 to carry iway the eggs, uttering his hoarse call in angry 
 
I>=l 
 
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 ' M 
 
 144 
 
 GAAfE BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 remonstrance. Both parents are very devoted to, and 
 solicitous for, their young, and will permit anyone to 
 come very near, indeed almost touch them, when they are 
 accompanied by their chicks. The hen sits very close 
 during incubatio»" leaving the nest only for short inter- 
 vals, and so unwilling is she to desert her treasures that 
 she will permit herself almost to he trodden upon, and 
 frequently she has allowed herself to be captured by 
 hand rather than secure her own safety by flight. Be- 
 fore incubation is finished, she becomes quite denuded 
 of feathers on the abdomen. The young are pretty 
 creatures, very captivating, as are all chicks, and have a 
 downy dress of greenish buff or sulphur yellow, deco- 
 rated with chestnut and black. When they are half 
 grown they begin to fly, but do not attain their full size 
 until late in the autumn. 
 
 Ptarmigan, as it appears to me, are in a constant state 
 of moult ; and I have rarely seen a specimen that did not 
 have pin-feathers on some part of its body, no matter at 
 what period of the year it was killed. The assumption 
 of the summer plumage commences on the neck, where a 
 few colored feathers appear, and the birds, during the 
 transition from the pure white winter garb to the briglit 
 summer dress, present a curious piebald and mottled ap- 
 pearance. They do not all moult at the same time, some 
 assuming the complete nuptial dress considerably before 
 the rest, and it is difficult to determine whether one sex 
 is in advance of the other in moulting, and if so, which 
 one it is. The cold rains and damp heavy fogs and mists, 
 so prevalent in the regions frequented by these birds, 
 cause the death of numbers of the young, to whom a 
 complete wetting is usually fatal, and many also perish 
 at the loss of the old birds, which have met their fate 
 either by gun or snare, when the little creatures were too 
 
WILLOW PTARMIGAN. 
 
 MS 
 
 small to take care of themselves. The Indians destroy 
 a great many, for chicken ( irouse, even if still in the egg, 
 is considered a great delicacy by them. 
 
 During the winter Ptarmigan feed on the small twigs 
 of the wiliow and various bushes, and as the snow dis- 
 appears, on any berries that may have remained from the 
 last autumn, frozen though they may be, and later, on 
 insects of various kinds. In the spring the birds make 
 a partial migration, coming from the shelter of the valleys 
 and forests, where they have passed the winter, into the 
 open country when the bare spots left by the vanishing 
 snow begin to appear. In the autumn also they seek 
 the shelter of the woods and travel to the southward, and 
 when the snow has covered the landscape these birds, 
 when migrating, assemble in great flocks, sometimes 
 amounting to many thousands, and the noise of their 
 myriad wings, as tHe great host rises from the ground, 
 makes, as it has been expressed, " both the air and 
 earth to tremble." When young the flesh of the Ptar- 
 migan is white and delicate, but that of the adult is dark 
 and of little flavor, save when the bird has been feeding 
 on the buds of the willow, when it is rather bitter. 
 
 Immense numbers are taken in snares by the Esqui- 
 maux and Indians of the frozen North; one man 
 frequently, in a single day, capturing a sledge-load. 
 This great slaughter is accomplished while the birds 
 are migrating to or from their summer resorts. A 
 number of bushes is set out across the line of their 
 march and the branches filled with nooses of sinew, 
 and the birds come in such great numbers that they 
 are captured in thousands, entering the snares so 
 fast that a man cannot kill and release them quickly 
 enough. Another method is to take advantage of the 
 pugnacity and amorous feeling of the male during 
 
146 
 
 GAAf/< BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 the breeding season. A native takes a stuffed skin of 
 a cock and secirc it to a stick thrust in the body. lit 
 then seeks a spot where a pair are busily occupied with 
 their marital duties, and, fastening a small net, wliiih 
 he carries with him, to the ground, places the decoy bird 
 near it. In a few moments the live male sees it and 
 comes immediately forward ready for a fight, frequently 
 seizing the counterfeit and pulling and tugging at it witli 
 great determination. While so engaged the net is 
 dropped over him, and his warfare is soon finished. 
 
 Like the Ruffed Grouse and other members of the 
 family, the P*armigan frequently passes the night under 
 the snow, diving into it head first, and emerging again 
 in the morning with a sudden leap into the air. Neither 
 when entering or leaving the snow is a foot ever put 
 upon it, and this precaution is doubtless to prevent the 
 discovery of the bird's hiding place by any quadruped 
 who might otherwise be able to track it by following tlie 
 scent left by the feet, and pounce upon it in its sleeping 
 quarters. Doubtless many perish in such places by a 
 crust forming during the night, when the birds would be 
 imprisoned, but probably, in the high latitude, in which 
 Ptarmigan usually dwell, thaws are very infrequent 
 and the danger from that source much lessened. The 
 change from the summer dress to the pure white one of 
 winter takes place in the autumn, and is effected much 
 more rapidly than is the assumption of the summer 
 plumage. The feathers change on the abdomen first 
 and on the back and head last, the reverse of the spring 
 moult. In the far North this bird, together with the 
 caribou, constitutes the most important food supply 
 of the natives of those bleak regions, without which they 
 would frequently be in danger of starvation ; but the birds 
 abound in such numbers, and they are naturally so fear- 
 
 e%\-y- 
 
j-'-'-zV' ■■••■'■•Tf- ••■" ZJK^ 
 
 32. Willcnv Ptarmigan in Winter. 
 
ili ! 
 
WILLOIV PTARMIGAN. 
 
 M7 
 
 less and tame, rarely making any very serious effort 
 to escape from man (even in more southern localities, 
 where they are nuicli hunted), that it is not a very diffi- 
 cult matter, even without firearms, to secure at one time 
 rnou^h to satisfy the members of a moderately large 
 community. 
 
 LA GO PUS LA GO PUS. 
 
 Geoi^raphical Distrihution. — Arctic regions of both Hemi- 
 spheres. In America ranj^inj^ south to Sitka and British Prov- 
 itices, NewfouncUand, accidental in New Knj^land. 
 
 Adult Male in Sumtmr Plumai^e. — Top of head, back of neck, 
 and entire upper parts, barred with chestnut, ochraceous, and 
 black, some feathers having their central porti )ns all black, form- 
 ing blotches, and more or less of the feathers tipped with grayish 
 white; scapulars and tertialslike the back; primaries, white, with 
 dark brown shafts; secondaries, white, with white shafts; in some 
 specimens the shafts of the primaries are nearly black, and the 
 coloring extends over a portion of the inner web; throat, sides of 
 neck, and breast, light chestnut, darkest on lower part of breast, 
 barred everywhere except on throat with black; flanks, dark 
 brown, barred and mottled with black, occasionally a buff bar 
 appearing among the black ones; entire rest of under parts, with 
 legs and toes, pure white; upper tail-coverts, like the back; tail, 
 black, extreme base and tip, white; bill, black. Total length, 
 about 14 inches; wing, 7J; tail, 5^. 
 
 Some examples have the sides of head, throat, fore neck, and 
 upper parts of breast uniform chestnut, becoming darker at 
 times, indeed almost black toward the white under parts. 
 
 Adult Female in Summer Plumage. — Top of head, back of 
 neck, and entire upper parts, with upper tail-coverts, black, barred 
 with ochraceous, and feathers tipped with white; scapulars, ter- 
 tials, and some of the wing-coverts, like the back ; throat, sides 
 and front of neck, buff, with an och^-aceous tinge on cheeks, 
 barred irregularly with black, the bars taking more the form of 
 spots on the throat; entire rest of under parts and under tail- 
 coverts, buflf, coarsely barred with black, some feathers having 
 nearly white tips; primaries and secondaries, white, the former 
 with dark brown shafts; tail, brownish black, tipped with white, 
 
r 
 
 'I 
 
 i !*.| 
 
 M j 
 
 II i i 
 
 14a 
 
 G.-IAf/^ BIKDS OF NORTH AMF.KICA. 
 
 and base also white; le^^s and toes cf>vorcd with brownish white 
 feathers; bill, black. Total Icnjjth, about 14 inches; win^. 7J; 
 tail, 5|. 
 
 Downy Youni^. — General color of body, olive-buff, tinned witli 
 ochraceous on breast, back, and winj^s; thr«>at and under parts 
 lij^htest; top of head and occiput, chestnut, bordered with black; 
 spot on lores, ear-coverts, line down hind-neck and broader lines 
 on back, black. 
 
 Winter /^/iinidi^e. — Entire body, pure white; tail, black, 
 tipped with white. 
 
 \i 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
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 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 If ' 
 
ALLEN'S PTARMIGAN. 
 
 T 
 
 HIS bird, which is an inhabitant of Ncwfoinulland, 
 has been separated from the Willow CIrouse as a sub- 
 species on what must be cousiclered as very slij^ht and in- 
 sufficient grounds. It is a very connuoii species in the 
 island, fre(|uentinj^ similar localities as does the Willow 
 (irouse on the continent of America, and in its economy 
 and habits in no way differs from that species. It is 
 called Partridg^e by some, and feeds on seeds and buds 
 and leaves of various trees and bushes; and great num- 
 bers of them are killed annually. It bears a very close 
 resemblance to the Willow Grouse, and ie(|uires more 
 than an expert to discover wherein it dififers; the chief 
 and about the only perceptible distinction claimed is that 
 the shafts of the secondaries and primaries are black in- 
 stead of white. The description given of the habits of 
 the Willow Grouse in the previous article will, in nearly 
 all particulars, answer perfectly well for the present bird. 
 From the specimens which I have examined at various 
 times during the past thirty years I fail to find any which 
 present characters that would enable the Newfoundland 
 bird to be distinguished from the Willow Grouse of other 
 localities. The describer of Allen's Ptarmigan estab- 
 lished the race upon the " shafts of both primaries and 
 secondaries black, and by having the wing feathers, even 
 some of the coverts marked and mottled with blackish." 
 These characters do not seem to be reliable, and there 
 are at present before me two males belonging to the 
 collection of the American Museum of Natural History, 
 
 149 
 
ISO 
 
 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 New York, numbered 26,857 and 26,858 respectively, 
 from Humbert River, Newfoundland, collected by L. A. 
 Zerega on September 15, 1886, which are so like the 
 Fort Chimo bird described under Lagopus lagoptts that 
 the description there given will answer perfectly well for 
 them. The shafts of the secondaries in both are pure 
 white, and the shafts of primaries are a blackish brown, 
 this color extending a little upon the webs near the tips. 
 The color of the upper parts is almost identically the 
 same, but one of the Newfoundland birds has more 
 feathers tipped with grayish white, which is to be ex- 
 pected, as the specimen was killed five days later in the 
 year than the Fort Chimo bird. If there is a distinct 
 race of the Willow Grouse in Newfoundland, then the 
 specific form is also found there, and it is very unlikely 
 that birds from the same island, so closely allied, would 
 maintain recognizable characters sufficient to separate 
 them, when it is notorious that individuals even of the 
 same flock vary so greatly from each other, both in color 
 and markings, that it is practically impossible to procure 
 two exactly alike at any season of the year. When writ- 
 ing my monograph of the Tetraoninae I had a number 
 of Newfoundland birds sent to me Ly the late Professor 
 Baird, and I was unable then to discover any character 
 sufficient to separate them from other Willow Grouse, 
 and before we can accept a new race from that island 
 as an established fact I think other and better characters 
 than any yet known will have to be established. 
 
)ectively, 
 by L. A. 
 
 like the 
 fus that 
 
 well for 
 are pure 
 1 brown, 
 the tips, 
 rally the 
 as more 
 ► be ex- 
 T in the 
 
 distinct 
 hen the 
 unlikely 
 I, would 
 separate 
 1 of the 
 in color 
 procure 
 en writ- 
 number 
 rofessor 
 iiaracter 
 Grouse, 
 t island 
 aracters 
 
 iiii 
 

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 1 
 
 33. Rock Ptarmigan. 
 
 I 
 
 !m! 
 
ROCK PTARMIGAN. 
 
 A LONG the Alaskan coast, from the peninsula and 
 ^^ Behring Sea, throughout the mountains of the in- 
 terior, and across the Arctic regions of North America 
 to Hudson Bay, southern Labrador, and the island of 
 (Ireenland, the Rock Ptarmigan is a constant resident; 
 frequenting low hills, or higher ranges in the summer, 
 going down to the valleys during winter for shelter from 
 the severity of the Northern climate at that season. It 
 is also found on the Barren Grounds (the height of land 
 lying between the Anderson and Wilmot Horton or Mac- 
 Farlane rivers and thence inward to the western sea-bank 
 of Franklin Bay), but is not so plentiful there as the 
 Willow Grouse. It is more a bird of the mountains, and 
 prefers to remain on elevated summits throughout the 
 summer and amid precipitous slopes and rugged cliffs. 
 It is a smaller bird than the Willow Grouse, and can 
 always be distinguished from it by the black stripe run- 
 ning from the bill to the eye, which is present in both 
 the summer and winter dress of the males. 
 
 In Alaska nesting begins in April, but in the eastern 
 part of the birds' range not until the middle of June, 
 sometimes even later. The nest resembles that of the 
 Willow Ptarmi i, but the number of eggs is less, about 
 seven, though occasionally many more a* " >und in one 
 nest — whether the product of one hen or . : it would be 
 difficult to say, but the probabilities are in favor of such 
 a supposition, as I am not aware of any instance where 
 two hens have been observed to occupy the same nest. 
 
 151 
 
F^ 
 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 152 
 
 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 The eggs are hardly distinguishable from those of the 
 Willow Grouse, but are smaller, and the markings rather 
 less inclined to run into blotches, and possibly more dis- 
 tinct on that account. The female, like the Willow Ptar- 
 migan, sits very closely on her nest, and it is very 
 difficult to discover her, even when she is in an exposed 
 position. During the mating season the male goes 
 through similar antics to the Willow Grouse, utterinji^ 
 harsh, guttural notes in the air and descending on stif- 
 fened wings. At this time the combs over the eyes 
 become a brilliant orange red, and at each end is a fila- 
 mentous fringe, very conspicuous. He struts also in a 
 similar manner f.o his relative, with spread tail and trail- 
 ing wings, the neck frequently outstretched and lowered, 
 and uttering at the same time a curious croak. 
 
 This species does not collect in large flocks, small 
 parties usually going together as if they were only the 
 members of one family, which is probably the case, and 
 there is less pugnacity exhibited than is witnessed among 
 the Willow Grouse. The change of plumage from win- 
 ter to summer and vice versa takes place about the same 
 time as in the other species, and these birds always seem 
 to have pin-feathers amid their plumage, as if the per- 
 fect costume had never at any time been quite attained, 
 and this, I believe, is the fact among the majority of 
 individuals, for even when one part of the body is in full 
 dress other portions are in a transition state, and when 
 these last are perfected, the first have already begun to 
 change. And if a bird succeeds in arranging himself 
 entirely in a full suit, he must be able to wear it but for 
 a very brief period. The habits of this species are very 
 similar to the Willow Grouse. 
 

 » 
 
 ' 
 
 » 
 
 
 '■■> 
 
 1 
 
 ./^^ 
 
 ^^^f:~~. 
 
 
 'IBfcp*- 
 
 A 'Vwiiv- 6K 
 
 eliSoarA. .^^_ 
 
 34. Rock Ptaniiij^an in Winter, 
 
Ml 
 
 ill';, 1 I 
 
KOCA' PTARMIGAN. 
 
 »53 
 
 LA GOP US R UPESTRIS. 
 
 Geographical Distributton.—Arc\.\c America, Alaska to Labra- 
 dor, south to Gulf of St. Lawrence, Greenland. 
 
 Adult Male in Summer. — Head, neck, and upper parts, gray, 
 barred with black, and irregular rusty bars on the head, back of 
 neck, upper back and scapulars, and black blotches on upper 
 part of back; wings, like the back; primaries and outer second- 
 aries, white, with brownish black shafts on the primaries; upper 
 tail-coverts, gray, barred with black, and occasionally rusty, some 
 feathers with white tips; tail, blackish brown, lighter on margins; 
 breast, dark brown, feathers barred with white and black; entire 
 rest of under parts and legs, pure white; lores, black; bill, black. 
 Total length, 14 inches; wing, 7^; tail, 4^. Specimen from 
 Labrador. 
 
 Adult Female in Summer. — Shot July 31. Head, entire upper 
 parts, and wings, black, irregularly barred with white and deep 
 buff, feathers generally tipped with white, broadest on upper 
 tail-coverts, many of which have their outer margins deep buff; 
 tail, smoky-brown, tipped with white; throat, breast, and flanks, 
 ochraceous, barred wnth black, some white feathers showing; 
 middle of abdomen, white; crissum and under tail-coverts, och- 
 raceous, barred with black; feathers on thighs and legs, white; 
 primaries, white, with pale brown shafts; secondaries and most 
 of the wing-coverts, also white; bill, black. Total length, about 
 13 inches; wing, 7; tail, 4^. Specimen from Quickiock Falls, 
 Labrador. 
 
m 
 
 
 
 
 
 WM. 
 
 1 
 I 
 
 I'll'' 
 
 : \i' 
 
 It 
 
 i 
 h 
 
 I* 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 
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 . 
 
 , ;i 
 
 V" 
 
 -ill 
 
 ill 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 ii 
 
 J 
 
 \'i 
 
 REINHARDT'S PTARMIGAN. 
 
 XJORTHERN Labrador, the islands on the west of the 
 ^ ^ Cumberland Gulf, Greenland, and both shores down 
 to Hudson Strait, include tiie range of this Ptarmigan. 
 It is common in Greenland and in the more elevated por- 
 tions of Labrador. It appears to be a bird of the open 
 and barren country, diflfering in this respect from the 
 other species just preceding, which pass much of the 
 year in wooded districts. The coveys scatter in May. 
 when nesting and courting begin. Mr. Turner, who has 
 had excellent opportunities for observing this bird in 
 Labrador, says that at this period the male does not 
 spring into the air like the Willow Grouse, but, with 
 spreading tail and dragging wings, runs around the 
 object of his affections, or else, with his breast pressed 
 against the ground and outstretched neck, he strives to 
 push himself along with his feet. At such times his 
 feathers are all ruffled, his combs swollen and erect, and, 
 while executing the most astonishing antics, such as toss- 
 ing himself in the air unsupported by his wings, and even 
 roUing over and over, as if quite crazy, he continues to 
 utter a peculiar, growling kurr-kiirr-\ike sound. The 
 males are very pugnacious and fight desperately, and 
 keep it up until one is completely exhausted, while the 
 feathers that cover the ground attest the fierceness of 
 the struggle. The hen seems quite indifferent as to the 
 result of these conflicts, and shows little of the affection 
 toward the male which he exhibits for her. The young 
 are very delicate when first hatched, and doubtless many 
 
 154 
 
t of the 
 s down 
 •migan. 
 ed por 
 le open 
 om the 
 of the 
 n May. 
 ,vho has 
 bird in 
 oes not 
 Lit, with 
 iind the 
 pressed 
 :rives to 
 les his 
 !Ct, and, 
 as toss- 
 |nd even 
 mues to 
 The 
 Ay, and 
 Ihile the 
 ;ness of 
 to the 
 Iffection 
 young 
 is many 
 
 35, Reinhardt's Ptarmigan. 
 
'4 
 
 I 'i! 
 
 '!{ 
 
HEINI/AKDT'S PTARMIGAN. 
 
 »55 
 
 perish in the sudden squalls of that changeable climate. 
 lliey utter a soft pe-f>c-pi\ and are at first indistin- 
 guishable from the young of the Willow (Irouse. 
 
 The food of this bird is the usual variety of seeds, 
 insects, leaves, berries, and buds of different plants and 
 trees, and one individual had his crop fdled with sphag- 
 miin moss. They go in small coveys, and but one brood 
 is raised in a season: each covey being composed, proba- 
 bly, of members of the same brood. The eggs, deposited 
 in June in a nest similar to that of the Rock I'tarmigan, 
 are absolutely indistinguishable from those of that 
 species. 
 
 L/1 GOP US R UPKS TR IS R EIXHA R I) PI. 
 
 Geoj^rap/ii'cal Distribution. — Northern Labrador, and islands 
 on the west shore of Cumberland Gulf, Greenland. 
 
 Adult Male in Summer. — Very similar in general pattern of 
 markings, and in coloration to L. rupestris, but not so regularly 
 barred above, and the bars much coarser. 
 
 Adult Female in Summer. — A'autilik, Cumberland Gulf. — In 
 general appearance this is a black and white bird, with the 
 black predominating; top of head, back, rump, and upper tail- 
 coverts, black, with from one to three buffy white spots on the 
 outer edge of the webs, and each feather more or less distinctly 
 tipped with white; a few feathers, mottled with pale buff and 
 white for about one-third their length from the tip, are scattered 
 over the back, these probably belonging to the plumage charac- 
 teristic of autumn, and which will next be assumed; the throat, 
 sides of head, and neck all around are buffy white, barred nar- 
 rowly with black; scapulars, most of the secondaries, and greater 
 wing-coverts are colored like the back, but all the feathers are 
 tipped with white, giving this part a black and white appear- 
 ance, with only occasionally pale buff spots showing; feathers of 
 under parts, flanks, and under tail-coverts, barred with black and 
 light buff, and tipped with white, but the black predominates; 
 the flank feathers have much broader bars of both black and pale 
 buff, and the latter is more conspicuous here than on any other 
 part of the bird; tail, seal brown, edged with white at the tips; 
 
fW 
 
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 i 
 
 ■m 
 
 II 
 
 
 il^'E; 
 
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 156 
 
 <7^/»/yi li/A'OS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 legs, white; bill, dark horn color, liRhtest at tip; claws, h«»rn 
 color. Total length, 11/5 inches; wing, 7; tail, 4^^; tarsus, ij'^^. 
 Exp(»sed culmen, half inch. 
 
 A Greenland specimen from Sukkertoppen, also an adult feniaU', 
 varies from the above described bird, in having more buff on the 
 under parts, and considerable white on the abdomen; the Hniik 
 feathers are also more buff, as the bars are decidedly bulT. 
 The date of capture of tliis example is not given and it is im])iis- 
 sible to tell whether it has (piite assumed the breeding plumuKc 
 or is passing from it, but as there are no feathers of an autumn 
 dress visible it is probable that the breeding dress is not yet 
 completed; the autumn dress seems to be ochraceous, mottkil 
 with black, and black blotches interspersed on the upper parts. 
 
4. 
 
 claws, horn 
 ; tarsus, l^^f^. 
 
 idultfenialo, 
 2 buff on the 
 n; the Hank 
 :idudly hiitr. 
 I it is im))(ts. 
 ig plumaKt', 
 an autuniii 
 5 is not yet 
 )us, mottli'd 
 ipper parts. 
 
'1 
 
 tl'; 
 
 36, Welch's Ptarmigan. 
 
 I 
 
WELCH'S PTARMIGAN. 
 
 'T^HIS may be called the Rock Ptarmigan of New- 
 * foundland, and is a dark-grayish bird with a bluish 
 tinge to the plumage, which has been likened to the 
 color of the Sooty Grouse, and all the feathers are dotted 
 with blackish. It is very numerous in the rocky portions 
 of the island it inhabits, distributed among the moun- 
 tains in the interior, and is rather local, not going far 
 from the place in which it was reared. It may be con- 
 sidered the Alpine species of Newfoundland Ptarmigan, 
 not often met with below the line of spruce forest, except 
 when it descends in winter to feed on the buds of various 
 trees growing in the lowlands. It is sometimes called 
 the Mountain Partridge, and occasionally associates with 
 the Willow Grouse. Very little is known of its habits. 
 
 LA GO PUS RUPESTRIS WELCH/. 
 
 Geographical Distribution. — Mountains of Newfoundland. 
 
 Adult Male in Summer. — Entire upper parts, and upper 
 tail-coverts, brownish gray, vermiculated and spotted with 
 black, many feathers having white tips, and some with white 
 bars near the tips; front, chin, upper part of throat, cheeks, 
 and back of neck, barred with black and white; top of head. 
 rufous, blotched with black; lores, black; tail, blackish brown, 
 lighter toward the edges of the webs; a number of feathers barred 
 with black and white on upper part of breast; on lower breast, 
 belly, and under tail-coverts, white, interspersed on the first 
 with numerous feathers colored like the breast ; thighs and 
 feathers of tarsi, white; on toes, yellowish white; wing-coverts, 
 like the back; bill and claws, horn color. Total length, 14 inches; 
 wing, i\\ tail, 4^; tarsus, i^; exposed culmen, \ inch. 
 
158 
 
 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 Adult Female in Summer. — The female in her summer dress 
 is a very different bird, and has the top of the head broadly 
 barred with black and deep yellow or buff; back and sides of 
 neck and head, yellowish white, barred or spotted with black; 
 entire upper parts, including upper tail-coverts, vermiculattd 
 with black and deep buff (some feathers almost black), edged 
 and tipped with buff or white, this being particularly the case 
 upon the upper part of back near the neck; wings, like the back, 
 but primaries and secondaries white, the shrifts of former, brown; 
 tail, dark brown, the feathers with white bases and white edges 
 to the tips ; four median feathers, black, irregularly barred with 
 white, and tipped with white ; throat, yellowish white, becoming 
 pale buff on the breast, the latter broadly barred in waving lines, 
 with black ; flanks, also buff, with broad brownish black bars ; 
 lower breast, abdomen, and under tail-coverts, buffy white, with oc- 
 casional black bars visible; thighs, white; feathers of legs and feet, 
 yellowish white; bill and claws, pale horn color. Total length, 
 about 12^ inches; wing, 6|; tail, 4f ; bill at gape, |; tarsus, if. 
 
 Adult Female In Autumn resembles the summer plumage of 
 the male, but has a generally more grayish appearance, and with 
 the back more conspicuously and profusely blotched with black; 
 no indication of black upon the lores, but upon the flanks are oc- 
 casional feathers broadly barred with black and white, the latter 
 sometimes tinged with yellow, as is characteristic of the summer 
 dress of the adult female; the throat and neck are more conspicu- 
 oUvSly barred with black and white than in the male, and have 
 more the appearance of a white ground barred with black; the 
 abdomen and under tail-coverts are pure white, and the tail 
 feathers are tipped with white. 
 
 Winter Plumage, pure white, with a black loral streak in the 
 male. 
 
 i^i ■ 'm 
 
 
immer dress 
 lead broadly 
 and sides of 
 
 with black; 
 ^ermiculated 
 lack), edged 
 rly the case 
 ke the back, 
 mer, brown ; 
 white edges 
 barred with 
 e, becoming 
 aving lines, 
 black bars ; 
 lite, with co- 
 gs and feet, 
 otal length, 
 tarsus, If. 
 plumage of 
 e, and with 
 with black; 
 inks are oc- 
 J, the latter 
 he summer 
 'e conspicu- 
 i, and have 
 
 black; the 
 nd the tail 
 
 reak in the 
 
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 37. Nelson's Ptarmigan. 
 
NELSON'S PTARMIGAN. 
 
 
 'T^HIS is a little-known race of Ptarmigan, specimens 
 * of which were procured by Mr. Nelson on Unalaska, 
 one of the Aleutian Islands. It is said by Mr. Turner 
 to be very abundant there, and also in Uminak, Akutan, 
 and Akun, other islands of the same chain, and is a resi- 
 dent wherever found, seldom leaving the island in which 
 it was born. It prefers rocky ledges, but roosts and rears 
 its young in the valleys. The mating season commences 
 in May and lasts about three weeks, and the nest is 
 usually placed in the tall grass. It is a very careless 
 affair, composed of a little grass and some feathers from 
 the hen's breast, and before incubation is completed the 
 eggs are generally lying on the bare ground. The num- 
 ber of these varies from nine to seventeen, but eleven is 
 the usual number. The period of incubation was not 
 ascertained. The birds never go in large flocks, those 
 that were seen being apparently the parents and their 
 brood of a previous year. 
 
 LA GOP US RUPESTRIS NELSONI. 
 
 Geographical D/s/nfiu/ion.— Inlands of Unalaska, Unimak, 
 Akutan, and Akun. Aleutian Chain. 
 
 Adult Male in Summer. — General color of entire plumage, 
 dark russet, finely vermiculated with black, the center of the 
 feathers showing occasionally as blotches; feathers of head and 
 neck, tipped with ochraceous, giving this part a lighter hue than 
 the rest; lores and space beneath the eyes, black; comb over 
 eye, scarlet; throat, white, barred with black; jugulum, breast, 
 and flanks, much lighter than the back, vermiculated with black, 
 
 J59 
 
I ' 't 
 
 1 ! 
 
 1 60 
 
 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 iiur 
 
 Wv 
 
 1/ '' 
 
 and with occasionally apical black bars and white tips; inner 
 secondaries and tertials, like the back; wing-coverts generally, 
 and many of the secondaries and primaries, white, the latter 
 with brownish shafts; abdomen and rest of under parts, white, 
 the former mottled with black; under tail-coverts, white; thighs, 
 white; bill, black; claws, dark horn color. Total length, i3,'',j 
 inches; wing, 7f; tail, 4|; tarsus, if; bill, i; exposed cul- 
 men, |. 
 
 Adult Female in Spring. — Head and upper parts, tawny och- 
 raceous, almost tawny, barred with black, and most of the 
 feathers tipped with white; tertials and innermost secondaries, 
 similarly marked and colored, but with not so bright a hue; sec- 
 ondaries, most of wing-coverts, and primaries, white, with pale 
 brown shafts; middle tail feathers, like the back, remainder, 
 clove brown, with white bases and tips; chin, white; throat, 
 breast, and flanks, bright ochraceous, barred with black, and 
 many feathers with white tips; center of breast and belly, white; 
 under tail-coverts, pale ochraceous, barred regularly with black; 
 thighs and tarsi, white; bill and claws, black. Total length, 
 I3i inches; wing, 7|; tail, 4^; tarsus, i; bill, f; exposed cul- 
 men, \ inch. 
 
 The females of this subspecies vary in color, some being very 
 much lighter than the one just described, with correspondingly 
 broader black and white markings, and the white much clearer 
 and purer. 
 
 The Winter Plumage is pure white in both sexes, but the 
 male has a black loral streak. 
 
 p\ 
 
f. 
 
 '■ tips; inner 
 s generally, 
 J, the latter 
 ►arts, white, 
 lite; thighs, 
 length, 13,',- 
 cposed cul- 
 
 tawny och- 
 lost of the 
 iecondaries, 
 a hue; sec- 
 !, with pale 
 remainder, 
 ite; throat, 
 black, and 
 •elly, white; 
 with black; 
 ital length, 
 tposed cul- 
 
 being very 
 spondingly 
 uch clearer 
 
 es, but the 
 
'ikif 
 
 ^V^....^.y^#is*?v:^i ;' 
 
 38. Turner's Ptarmigan. 
 
 h I 
 
 
 i .1 
 
 
TURNER'S PTARMIGAN. 
 
 
 mm 
 
 AN inhabitant of the western part of the Aleutian 
 ^ chain, this bird is quite numerous on Atka, Am- 
 chitka, and Attn islands. It was discovered by Mr. 
 Turner, who has furnished all that is known about it. 
 He says that he was struck with its great size, shape of 
 the bill, and length of claws, and it frequents the low- 
 lands and hills of the western islands, and builds its nest 
 among the rank grasses near the beach. This is care- 
 lessly made of dried grass and similar materials, and the 
 eggs, varying in number from eleven to seventeen, are 
 darker in color than those of the Rock Ptarmigan, and 
 slightly smaller than those of the Willow Grouse. In 
 Ir.bits it resembles the first species. On account of 
 the number of foxes on Attn this bird frequents higher 
 elevations than it is accustomed to do on the other 
 islands. The natives assert that this Ptarmigan is also 
 found on Agattu and, on account of the absence of foxes, 
 is quite numerous on that island. 
 
 LA GO PUS RUPESTRIS ATKENSIS. 
 
 Geographical Distribution. — Islands of Atka, Amchitka, Attu 
 and possibly Agattu of the Aleutian Chain. 
 
 Adult Male in Summer. — Head and neck, tawny ochraceous, 
 barred with black, rest of upper parts, dark russet on basal two- 
 thirds of feathers, remainder gray, very finely vermiculated and 
 dotted with black; some small black spots upon the scapulars, 
 but there is a general absence of the black spots upon the back, 
 so conspicuous in L. r. townsendi; upper tail-coverts, like the 
 back; tail, clove brown, feathers tipped with white widest on the 
 
 i6x 
 
x6a 
 
 GAME BI/iDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 central feathers; greater wing-coverts, scapulars, and innermost 
 secondaries like tbe back; rest of wing, pure white, with black 
 shafts to the primaries; the throat is white, sides of face and 
 breast, like the head and neck, but the breast and flanks arc- 
 more Hnely barred and vermiculated, while scattered about the 
 sides of head and along the flanks are many white feathers; rest 
 of under parts, thighs, and tarsi, pure white; loral space, black; 
 a crimson or scarlet comb over the eye; bill, black; claws, 
 horn color, with white tips. Total length, 135 inches; wing, 7i|; 
 tail, 45; tarsus, l^^^•, exposed culmen, g. 
 
 It is possible that this specimen is not in what may be callerl 
 perfect summer plumage, as the throat is white. This part 
 would undoubtedly, for a few days at least, be colored like the 
 neck, but the plumage of these birds varies so from day to day 
 that it is only by accident that one is procured in what may be 
 termed the full and perfect summer dress. 
 
 Female in Summer. — Head and entire upper parts, and most 
 of the wing, ochraceous, barred with black, the bars narrower 
 and more numerous on lower back and upper tail-coverts, with 
 most of the feathers tipped with white; primaries and second- 
 aries, white, the former with blackish brown shafts; throat, 
 neck, breast, flanks, and under parts, generally including under 
 tail-coverts, ochraceous, barred irregularly and narrowly with 
 black ; tail, clove-brown, with outer web finely mottled with buff 
 for two-thirds the basal length of central feathers, and growing 
 gradually less on the lateral ones ; bill, black ; claws, black, with 
 white tips. Total length, 13^ inches; wing, 7I; tail, 4f ; tarsus, ij 
 Winter Plumage is pure white, with black loral streak in the 
 male. 
 
id innermost 
 , with black 
 of face and 
 cl flanks arc 
 id about the 
 sathers; rust 
 pace, black; 
 lack; claws, 
 -s; wing, 7^; 
 
 ly be called 
 
 This part 
 
 red like the 
 
 day to day 
 
 hat may be 
 
 s, and most 
 rs narrower 
 averts, with 
 ind second- 
 ifts; throat, 
 ding under 
 Towly with 
 sd with buff 
 nd growing 
 black, with 
 ; tarsus, if 
 reak in the 
 
* 
 
 t«' 
 
 1 
 
 39. Townsend's Ptarmigan. 
 
 HI 
 
 i t 
 
 
 i 
 
TOWNSENDS PT.vRMIGAN. 
 
 T^HIS is anuthtr sptcics of Ptarmigan that has been 
 * seen by few naturaHsts in its wild state, and was 
 brought from the Aleutian islands of Kyska and Adak 
 by Mr. Townsend, after whom it has been named. Only 
 about twenty specimens were procured, and the visitors' 
 sojourn at the islands was too brief for any particular 
 knowledge of the birds' habits to be gained. 
 
 Probably, like other of its relatives in the Aleutian 
 chain, it will never become an object for the sportsman's 
 pursuit, the island on which it lives being situated too 
 far away from all civilization to be easily accessible. 
 
 
 LA GO PUS RUPESTRIS TOWNSENDI. 
 
 Geographical Distribution. — Kyska and Adak Islands, Aleu- 
 tian Chain. 
 
 Adult Male in Summer.— General color of entire upper parts, 
 including head and neck, together with the breast and flanks, 
 raw umber, with a tinge of russet, finely vermiculated with black 
 on lower back and rump, more coarsely marked on the other 
 parts with black blotches on the head, neck, upper part of back 
 and wings; feathers of back, rump, and wings tipped with white; 
 some of these white tips are finely spotted with black, giving to 
 them a gray appearance; the outer secondaries, tertials, and 
 most of the wing-coverts and primaries, pure white, the last hav- 
 ing black shafts; the long upper tail-coverts are marked and 
 colored like the back, with white tips; tail, clove-brown, nearly 
 black, the feathers tipped with white, broadest on the middle 
 pair, and decreasing on the outer ones, where it is either hardly 
 perceptible or absent altogether; throat, white, mixed with a few 
 colored feathers; breast, sides of neck, and flanks, ochraceous, 
 
 163 
 
164 
 
 GAME BINDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 barred with black, the bars broader and more conspicuous on 
 neck; abdomen and belly, white; under tail-coverts, mummy 
 brown, barred with black; loral space and ring around the eye, 
 black, and a scarlet comb above the eye; side of neck, of a 
 slightly paler hue than back or breast. Total length, \y\\ 
 inches; wing, 7^; tail, 4; tarsus, i^; exposed culmen, \. 
 
 Adult Female in Summer. — Entire upper parts, including 
 scapulars, tertials, and upper tail-coverts, ochraceous, blotched 
 and barred with black, most of the feathers tipped with white, 
 except those on hind-neck, which are tipped with ochraceous; 
 tail, square, clove-brown, the four median feathers tipped with 
 white; secondaries, wing-coverts, and primaries, white, with 
 black shafts, except those of inner secondaries, which are white ; 
 throat, white; breast, sides of body, and under tail-coverts, och- 
 raceous buff, lighter than the back, and broaily barred with 
 black; center of breast, abdomen, and belly, pure white; thighs 
 and tarsus covered with white feathers; bill and claws, black. 
 Total length, \2\ inches; wing, 6|; tail, \^^\ tarsus, ij^; ex- 
 posed culmen, \, 
 
 The winter dress of both sexes is white. 
 
 % 
 
 m 
 
 A 
 
spicuous on 
 ts, mummy 
 nd the eye, 
 neck, of a 
 
 jngth, 13}' 
 
 I 1 
 I. 5. 
 
 , including 
 
 IS, blotched 
 
 kvith white, 
 
 ichraceous; 
 
 ipped with 
 
 /hite, with 
 
 are white; 
 
 >verts, och- 
 
 arred witli 
 
 ite; thighs 
 
 iws, black. 
 
 s. ij\; ex- 
 
 I 
 
#v 
 
 I 
 
 llliili:^ 
 
 ■' '. lA 
 
 m 
 
 m'c 
 
 ■^•^;^<IVJ.^*«-,,,^ 
 
 ,' X.\w;.v/Y«ji>Pi.c»- A . 
 
 40. Evermann's Ptarmigan. 
 
 t ' .1 1 
 
 lit 1 
 
 '01, hi, ,; ,,: 
 
 
 IkI^:^ 
 
 
EVERMANN'S PTARMIGAN. 
 
 T^HIS peculiarly marked and very distinct species has 
 * as yet only been obtained on Attn Island, one of the 
 Aleutian chain, situated near the western extremity, and 
 about 1400 miles from Unalaska. It may be restricted 
 entirely to this island. There is no other Ptarmigan 
 known to mhabit any portion of North America which 
 can be mistaken for this bird, and it presents in its colora- 
 tion but little resemblance to any of the other species. 
 It was first obtained by Professor Evermann, and only 
 nine specimens have as yet been procured. Little or 
 nothing is known of its habits, which, however, doubt- 
 less do not differ from those of other Ptarmigan. 
 
 LA GO PUS EVERMANNL 
 
 Geographical Distribution. — Attu Island, Aleutian Chain. 
 
 Adult Male in Summer. — Forehead, white; top of head and 
 back of neck, black, finely barred with tawny; loral space, 
 breast, and entire upper parts, tertials, innermost secondaries, 
 and upper tail-coverts, black, with faint vermiculations of russet 
 on rump, upper tail-coverts, and edges of tertials; sides of face 
 black and white, mixed; comb over eye, scarlet; white feathers 
 of the winter dress are interspersed among those of the back and 
 upper part of the breast; most of wing-coverts, secondaries, and 
 entire primaries, pure white, with the shafts of the primaries 
 pale brown; tail, clove brown, almost black, with narrow white 
 tips to the feathers; entire under parts, including under tail- 
 coverts, pure white; bill and claws, black. Total length, 
 13I inches ; wing, i\\ tail, sf ; tarsus, if; exposed culmen, \. 
 
 This specimen, as indeed was the case with all those obtained, 
 is not in complete summer dress, as is proved by the few white 
 
 i6s 
 
1 66 
 
 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 feathers scattered among the black ones, and also by the white 
 forehead. In the perfect breeding plumage these white feathers 
 would probably be absent. 
 
 Adult Female in Summer. — Entire plumage of body, ochrace- 
 ous, palest on the throat, blotched and barred on the back with 
 black, and the feathers having white tips; on the breast and 
 flanks the black blotches are much fewer, but the black bars arc 
 broader, and there are no white tips on the breast feathers, but 
 those on the abdomen and some on the flanks are broadly tipped 
 with white; under tail-coverts, ochraceous, barred with black; 
 the tertials, inner secondaries, and some of the greater wing- 
 coverts, ochraceous, like the back, barred and tipped with white; 
 remainder of wing and primaries, pure white, with the shafts of 
 the latter, pale brown; bill and claws, black. Total length, 
 i2f inches; wing, t^^\ tail, 4|; tarsus, i|; exposed culmen, /^. 
 
 m winter both sexes turn white. 
 
 'J 
 
 m 
 
 ^.i\, m. 
 
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 i 
 
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 41. White-Tailed Ptarmigan. 
 
 IS'''.;; 
 
 ill 
 
 iiiiii! 
 
 ^i::Ji 
 
 lii 
 
 ':A 
 
WHITE-TAILED PTARMIGAN. 
 
 /^N inhabitant of the high mountain ranges, both of 
 '^ certain parts of the United States and the countries 
 lying to the north of our border, this beautiful bird is 
 not very often met with below the timber line. It is the 
 only species of Ptarmigan having a white tail. It ranges 
 fiom Alaska through British Columbia, and the 
 Western part of the United States to New Mexico, 
 where it has been obtained at Taos. In certain parts 
 of Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado it is not 
 uncommon near the summits of the mountains. It 
 may be regarded as truly an Alpine species. It does 
 not migrate, and wherever found there it breeds, and 
 descends perhaps a few thousand feet when the 
 weather is very severe, but seldom below 6000 or 7000 
 feet. I have met with this species in the Cascade Range 
 in autumn, where it is usually found in small com- 
 panies of perhaps half a dozen, occasionally twice this 
 number. They were not what may be called tame, unlike 
 the Willow Grouse in this respect, but were always very 
 uneasy at my presence, and ran about with uplifted tail 
 as if uncertain which way to fly, but when they once got 
 started there seemed to be no farther difificulty in their 
 minds as to the proper direction, which I noticed never 
 led near where I stood. Sometimes I have seen them 
 light on the bare limbs of a stunted tree or large bush at 
 the edge of the timber line, where they stood perfectly 
 motionless for quite a length of time, observing every 
 movement I made, and then suddenly burst away with 
 
 167 
 
i68 
 
 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 
 ■'■■■* 
 
 '^ !:: . 
 
 great speed, uttering a low cackle as they flew. They 
 are very skillful in concealing themselves, either squat- 
 ting in the snow with only the head exposed to view, or 
 else crouching behind some stone or large bowlder. In 
 summer their peculiar gray plumage assimilates, so well 
 to the hue of the ground and the moss-coverod stones 
 lying about in all directions that it is next to impossible 
 to perceive them, and at this period, especially during the 
 breeding season, they rarely move when approached, per- 
 haps only going a few feet on one side to avoid being 
 stepped upon. 
 
 In winter their white dress makes them so absolutely 
 indistinguishable from the snow that, unless they move, 
 a person could pass close to them and never notice them 
 at all. The nesting season commences in June, and the 
 eggs are deposited in a slight depression in the ground, 
 lined with grass and a few feathers from the bird's breast, 
 or in a patch of short grass pressed down by the hen 
 into a circular shape. These so-called nests are always 
 at a very high elevation, in some localities rarely below 
 12,000 feet, and eight to ten is the usual number of the 
 eggs. They have a ground color varying from a creamy 
 to a salmon buff, with spots and blotches of reddish and 
 chocolate brown, but not nearly so completely covered 
 with markings as is the case with the eggs of the other 
 species of Ptarmigan. When incubating, the hen leaves 
 the nest with great reluctance, and will often remain 
 when the danger of being trodden upon by both man 
 and beast is imminent, and, when she does move, will 
 go but a little way before she stops and watches the 
 intruder, expressing her disapprobation at having her 
 eggs handled by uttering a low, rolling note. It has been 
 said that instances have occurred when a hen has per- 
 mitted herself to be lifted from the nest and, when re- 
 
 'I > > I 
 
WHITE-TAILED PTARMIGAN. 
 
 169 
 
 leased, made no effort to fly away, but waited until she 
 was permitted to return to her charge. But one brood 
 is raised in a year, and the chicks, when first hatched, 
 are curiously striped with bands of white and blackish 
 brown. The hen defends them with great courage, not 
 hesitating to fly directly into the face of anybody who 
 may attempt to catch one of her brood, and strikes as vio- 
 lently as she is able with her wings. At other times 
 she uses all the artifices common to game birds to draw 
 one away from the vicinity of her young. 
 
 By the latter part of August the brood is pretty fully 
 grown, unless from some cause the birds have been 
 hatched later than usual. They are delicate at first, and 
 doubtless many perish from severe weather, or by getting 
 their downy plumage wet, which generally has a fatal 
 effect. This Ptarmigan, also called the White, Snow, or 
 Mountain Quail, by the miners and others who penetrate 
 its retreats, feeds upon leaves and tender stalks of vari- 
 ous plants growing in the Alpine regions amid which 
 it dwells, also on insects of different kinds, and in 
 winter on the buds and leaves of firs and pines. Its 
 flesh is much lighter than that of other Ptarmigan, and is 
 about as palatable as is theirs, which sometimes is pretty 
 tasteless. When much hunted the White-tailed Ptar- 
 migan becomes very wild, and it is difficult to approach 
 it within shot. It makes no extended flights, but 
 runs on ahead, dodging behind rocks and bushes, stop- 
 ping at times to watch its pursuer, and occasionally fly- 
 ing a short distance so as just to keep beyond the range 
 of the gun. If persistently followed for a considerable 
 period, it is then very apt to remove itself from the local- 
 ity, at least for a brief period. A solitary bird is not apt 
 to try and make its escape by flight, and can be flushed 
 with difficulty, generally trying to steal away quietly, 
 
w 
 
 :i 
 
 ■ fill 
 
 170 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 or else remaining motionless, evidently hoping to escape 
 in that way from being seen. But if several are together 
 they will usually take wing, making a great cackling 
 as they rise and fly oflf. 
 
 The flight of this species is firm and well sustained, 
 consisting of a rapid beating of the wings, succeeded by 
 a sailing movement, and can be continued for a long dis- 
 tance; but, as a rule, the birds alight after proceeding 
 for a few hundred yards. The White-tailed Ptarmigan, 
 like its relatives, appears to be continually in moult. It 
 begins to show a few of the blackish brown vermiculated 
 feathers in March, which appear very conspicuously amid 
 the white plumage. The change from out the winter dress 
 is effected very slowly, and the perfect summer plumage 
 is not assumed until about June. In September it begins 
 to change again, the feathers on the under parts being 
 the first that are replaced with white ones. There is no 
 regularity in this moult, as white feathers appear in 
 different parts of the body after the process has once 
 commenced; but it goes on so deliberately that little 
 difference in the bird's appearance is noticeable for some 
 weeks, save perhaps the general hue is somewhat lighter, 
 and it is quite late in the autumn — perhaps, at times, even 
 the middle of winter — before the pure white dress is com- 
 pleted. During all this period of changing plumage no 
 two individuals are alike. The tail remains white all the 
 year round, and renders the bird very conspicuous dur- 
 ing the summer months. 
 
 Although, as I have stated, it is rarely seen in the Cas- 
 cade Mountains in flocks of any size, yet farther south, 
 as in the mountains of Colorado, it associates in com- 
 panies composed sometimes of a hundred individuals or 
 more. This, however, seems to be an aggregation of 
 birds mostly not fully grown, a number of broods con- 
 
 lii - 
 
42. White-Tailed Ptarmigan in Winter. 
 
~ 
 
 i 
 
 - 1( 
 
 '■ ^ 
 
 1 
 
 m 
 
W//r TE. TA I LED P TA RMIGA N. 
 
 r 
 171 
 
 pregated together, hut even in these localities I am not 
 aware that these flocks keep unbroken during the winter. 
 It would appear to l)e more an incident of the breeding 
 season. The males are very pugnacious, and during the 
 j)eriod of courtsliip desperate battles frecjuently occur 
 when two cocks happen to meet. In winter, when pur- 
 sued, this Ptarmigan will dive into the snow, and doubt- 
 less, like the Ruffed CJrouse and other gallinaceous 
 birds, it may be accustomed to enter a snow bank to 
 sleep and obtain protection in that way both from the 
 severity of the weather and from whatever enemies may 
 be prowling amid the lofty heights among which it 
 dwells. 
 
 LA GOP US LEUCUR US. 
 
 Geographical Distribution.— \\\^ range of mountains from 
 Liard River, British America, and Western United States to 
 New Mexico. 
 
 Adult Male. — Upper parts, golden gray or grayish buflf, irreg- 
 ularly barred and vermiculated with black; top of head, black, 
 with tips of feathers '>;ht brown; lores, black; rest of head and 
 neck, finely barred wiii black and buff, and feathers tipped with 
 white; cheeks, chin, and throat, white, spotted with black, only 
 sparsely on the throat; breast, barred with black and umber- 
 brown; flanks, similar, but black bars finer and very irregular, 
 and black vermiculations; rest of lower parts, white; legs and 
 toes covered with white feathers; tail, ^vhite; bill, black. Total 
 length, about 12^ inches; wing, 6A. 
 
 Adult Female. — Resembles the male, but with perhaps more 
 buff. There seems to be, however, very little difference in the 
 coloring of the sexes. Dimensions, about the same as those of 
 the male. 
 
w 
 
 WILD TURKEY. 
 
 I N the United States there are at present recognized 
 four different kinds of Wild Turkeys, resembling each 
 other, as would naturally be supposed, in many par- 
 ticulars, but each having its own peculiarities and well- 
 defined limits of dispersion. The present species is the 
 well-known bird of the Eastern portion of the Union, 
 north of Florida, and formerly was much more exten- 
 sively distributed than it is at the present day. From 
 various causes, but chiefly too much killing, it has entirely 
 disappeared from many localities in which it was formerly 
 abundant, and become greatly lessened in others, and its 
 range is yearly being gradually more restricted, as 
 though the fate that has befallen so many wild creatures 
 would also, in an altogether too brief period, overtake 
 this noble bird, and another name be added to the list of 
 the members of our Fauna that have become extinct. 
 In the Atlantic States, where it formerly was found from 
 southern Maine to Florida, a few are now left in certain 
 parts of Pennsylvania, which is its northern limit, becom- 
 ing more abundant to the southward. Some are still 
 met with in wooded districts of Ohio, in the southern 
 parts of Michigan and Wisconsin, and the States lying 
 on the west side of the Mississippi to Texas. It is com- 
 mon in the Indian Territory, and not scarce in the Gulf 
 States and parts of Texas. It used to be frequently met 
 with in certain portions of Canada, biit if any remain to- 
 day they would probably be found in southwestern 
 Ontario. 
 
 172 
 
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IVILD TURKEY. 
 
 «73 
 
 The Wild Turkey is a bird of the forest, and loves to 
 dwell in the thick portions of the woods, or in the depths 
 of the swamps and similar retreats, where it is far re- 
 moved from man, and little liable to be disturbed by his 
 attentions. In places where it has not been persecuted 
 by hunters, or frequently shot at, if there are any such 
 remaining at the present day, the Turkey is not apt to be 
 any wilder or more wary than other forest creatures, and 
 it has been known to approach the dwellings and feed 
 among the tame turkeys and other domestic fowl. But 
 when it has learned man's ways, and that his presence 
 means death to any animal within the range of his gun, 
 no more "unning, suspicious, wary animal lives than the 
 Wild 1 ivey, nor one better able to take care of it- 
 self, though too often all its efforts to preserve its life 
 avail nothing against the ingenuity and persistency of its 
 human foe. The nesting season of this splendid bird 
 commences according to the latitude of its habitat, from 
 February, in the southern portion of its range, until June 
 in the northern. The males are polygamous, and every- 
 one is familiar with their pompous strut and attitude 
 during the courting season. The hen hides her nest 
 very carefully as well from the gobbler as from other 
 depredators, for he would not hesitate to make way with 
 both eggs and chicks if he had the chance, and she em- 
 ploys the same route both when approaching and leav- 
 ing her eggs. The nest is a simple affair situated near 
 some stump or fallen log, in the midst of a clump of 
 bushes or in high grass, in fact in any place where the 
 required concealment can be obtained. The comple- 
 ment of eggs is from seven to twelve; but occasionally 
 two hens will lay in the same nest, and then as many as 
 two dozen have been found. In such a case it would 
 naturally be supposed that both birds would sit together. 
 
 iji!, 
 

 i 
 1 
 
 
 174 
 
 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 The young are very delicate little things and a wetting 
 is almost certainly fatal, and it is a wonder how the 
 mother is able to raise as many as she does. Certainly 
 the task before her is no light one, to guard and protect 
 her brood against the elements as well as all her furred, 
 feathered, and scaly enemies, always on the alert for sucli 
 a desirable morsel as a chicken turkey. In the early 
 spring at break of day the gobblers are heard calling 
 from some favored roost in the forest. At such times 
 they are exceedingly watchful and suspicious, and the 
 least glimpse of a hunter, or frequently the breaking of 
 a stick under foot, will cause them to fly at once, and 
 it is rare for them to return to the vicinity of that place 
 again during the day. The hens attend these trysting 
 places, and should two gobblers meet they fight desper- 
 ately, as they are very jealous and ready at all times to 
 defend their fancied prerogatives. Many are shot at this 
 season, as the birds are accustomed to resort to the same 
 roost at night, and when this has been discovered, the 
 hunter either goes near to it during the night and waits 
 for the dawn and light enough to see the sights of his 
 gun, or makes a stealthy stalk until within shot, after 
 the break of day. One brood is raised in a season, but 
 a hen may lay a second complement of eggs, if from any 
 mishap the first clutch has been lost. The eggs are 
 creamy white, finely spotted with reddish brown. At 
 the end of the nesting season the males separate from the 
 females and keep by themselves, reuniting again when 
 they have recovered their pristine vigor. The females 
 lead their young where they can catch insects and such 
 other food as is suitable for them, and each family keeps 
 apart until the young are fairly well-grown, and then 
 several mav join together, their number at length being 
 augmented by the returning males. 
 
WILD TURKEY. 
 
 >75 
 
 Although they seem to become attached to a par- 
 ticular locality and rarely stray far from it, yet the birds 
 wander a good deal, especially when gathered together 
 in flocks of any size. A stream of considerable width, 
 lying in their course, proves an obstacle to their farther 
 progress perhaps for several days, during which time the 
 males strut and gobble as if encouraging the young and 
 themselves to undertake the passage. At length they 
 mount to the highest branches overhanging the banks, 
 and launch themselves out over the water, and fly for the 
 opposite shore. Should any fail to make the bank and 
 fall into the water, they spread their tails and swim to 
 land if the distance be not too great. The call note of 
 the Wild Turkey, both the gobble of the male, and the 
 low, soft call of the female, is very like that of the domes- 
 tic bird, and although there are slight differences, it 
 would take a Turkey itself, or the well-trained ear of an 
 expert, to distinguish them. The food of this bird con- 
 sists of nuts of various kinds, acorns, such as grow on 
 the different species of oaks; chestnuts, pecan nuts, seeds 
 of many sorts, berries, grapes, insects, and grain. They 
 are very fond of grasshoppers, and it is said that a flock 
 of Turkeys will so systematically traverse and explore a 
 field, that it will be entirely cleared of these insects in a 
 brief period. Turkeys do not migrate in the strict sense 
 of the term, but when food grows scarce from any cause 
 in one section of the country, they naturally will move on, 
 seeking a better land. For this reason Turkeys may at 
 times be scarce in localities usually favorable for them, 
 and to. which they have been accustomed to resort in 
 numbers, and again other districts, where they have not 
 been especially abundant, will, from an excess of food 
 supply, suddenly contain large flocks of these birds. 
 They will return, however, to their usual haunts as soon 
 

 w 
 
 
 I 
 
 'ii 
 
 176 
 
 G/IA/E BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 as the conditions become again favorable. The appear- 
 ance of the Wild Turkey is magnificent as he walks in 
 stately dignity in his native wilds, the sun glancing from 
 his burnished plumage in flashes of emerald and gold, 
 and his erect, graceful, and easy carriage, with head well 
 up, alert to every sound or movement, exhibits him, as 
 he really is, the finest and noblest game bird in the world. 
 
 MELEAGRIS SYLVESTRIS. 
 
 Geographical Distribution. — From Pennsylvania, where a few 
 possibly survive, to the Gulf States, except Florida, and west- 
 ward to Wisconsin in the north, and to Texas in the south, in 
 wooded districts. 
 
 Adult Male. — General plumage, brilliant metallic, gold, green, 
 bronze, and red reflections, each feather tipped with a band of 
 velvety black; secondaries, bronzy green, barred with whitish; 
 primaries, black, barred with white, the bars reaching the shafts; 
 rump, black, feathers glossed with dark metallic purple ; upper 
 tail-coverts, dark chestnut, with metallic red reflections, and 
 barred with black; tail feathers, chestnut barred and vermicu- 
 lated with black, a subapical broad black band and deep buff 
 tips; head and neck, naked, led; a long bunch of coarse, stiff 
 black bristles is suspended from center of breast; legs, red, 
 spurred; bill, red. Total length, about four feet; wing, 21 
 inches; tail, 19; weight, from twelve to nearly forty pounds. 
 
 Adult Female. — Smaller and with much duller colors, very 
 little of the brilliant metallic hues seen in the male, and without 
 the pendent bunch of bristles. 
 
 
le appear- 
 i walks in 
 cin^ from 
 and golfl, 
 head well 
 ts him, as 
 the world. 
 
 here a few 
 
 and west- 
 
 e south, in 
 
 old, green, 
 
 a band of 
 
 :h whitish; 
 
 the shafts; 
 
 pie; upper 
 
 tions, and 
 
 1 vermicn- 
 
 deep buff 
 
 oarse, stiff 
 
 legs, red, 
 
 wing, 21 
 
 )unds. 
 
 lors, very 
 
 d without 
 
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 44. Florida Wild Turkey. 
 
 m 
 
FLORIDA WILD TURKEY. 
 
 \A/HEN I first visited Florida, Wild Turkeys were 
 quite abundant even in the near vicinity of St. 
 Augustine, and ascending the St. John's it was not an 
 unusual thing to see a flock walking sedately along the 
 bank of the river, or on the edge of the woo<ls when 
 these did not come to the water; and not infrequently 
 one would be killed by a bullet from some passenger's 
 rifle, and the boat's nose run against the bank to allow 
 one of the crew to jump ashore and retrieve the game. 
 But in these days, except in the wilder portions of the 
 State, where they are still abundant, they have greatly 
 decreased in numbers, and like their Northern relative, 
 are rapidly disappearing. They were not so excessively 
 shy and wary before they were so persecuted and per- 
 sistent, y hunted, and I remember well the first time I 
 ever saw a Florida Turkey. I had been hunting deer 
 on horseback south of St. Augustine, and night com- 
 ing on we decided to camp for the night, and rode 
 into a clump of trees and palmettoes near which, on the 
 other side, stretched a swamp of considerable extent. As 
 I dismounted from my horse there was a sudden rush 
 and commotion in front, and a flock of Turkeys started 
 away, some to run and a few to take wing. The run- 
 ners soon disappeared, but the flying birds took refuge 
 in the trees near at hand, and standing motionless, or 
 else slowly walking on the large limbs, looked down 
 upon us as if wondering what kind of intruders we were. 
 They evinced no particular alarm, certainly nothing like 
 
 177 
 
178 
 
 GAAfE BIHDS OF NORTH AMERICA, 
 
 V, 
 
 'f:\- 
 
 "' pii 
 
 't^ IP 
 
 " fi^ 
 
 that which one of these birds would be apt to show at 
 the present time under similar circumstances. 
 
 Rifles and shotguns were quickly made ready, and 
 several of the birds remained with us; the rest of tin- 
 flock seeking a more secure retreat, where they could 
 indulge their curiosity with less risk to themselves. The 
 appearance of the I'Morida Turkey is very like the Nortli- 
 ern bird, and only an expert would be apt to notice tlu 
 difference. This chiefly consists in the darker colors 
 generally of the present race, and in having the |)ri- 
 maries black with white bars, these last not reaching the 
 shaft, while in those of the Northern bird they go to tlic 
 shaft of the feather. It is a slight variation, but sufficient 
 to constitute what is considered a geographical race. 
 Turkeys in Florida seem to wander a good deal, per- 
 haps really not more than do those inhabiting other 
 States, but they are abundant at times in one locality, and 
 then will be quite scarce again in the same place. Prob- 
 ably the quantity or absence of food is the main cause 
 of this unsettled phase of their existence, for it is well 
 known that all Turkeys will travel many miles to pro- 
 cure any food they particularly fancy when they know 
 where it is to be obtained. The Florida Turkey goes in 
 small flocks, and keeps to the thick woods and dense 
 swamps. The males can be called like those of the 
 Northern bird, by the imitation of the hen's note in the 
 spring, and they approach the hunter's ambush with all 
 the suspicion and cunning of an old campaigner, urged 
 on by the desire burning in his breast. But with all his 
 eagerness to meet his supposed lady-love, he is watchful 
 of every sight or sound that comes to eye or ear, and is 
 off in a moment if his fears are aroused, disappearing 
 quietly and swiftly as if he had vanished into air. 
 Should two males encounter each other at this season, 
 
FLORIDA WILD TURKEY. 
 
 179 
 
 desperate arc the battles that ensue, and should one jjet 
 a firm hold of the other by the head, he will hang on 
 until his adversary is exhausted, perhaps dead. It is 
 said that a gobbler will caress the dead body of his 
 fallen foe, but I have never witnessed this. The 
 males begin to gobble in I''ebruary an<l nesting com- 
 mences in March. The usual deprcsion is made be- 
 neath a palmetto and lined with grass, leaves, and similar 
 rubbish, and usually about ten eggs are laid, exactly 
 similar in appearance to those of the Northern Wild 
 Turkey. The chicks remain with the mother until full 
 grown, when they may unite with other families if they 
 happen to meet, and in the autumn the males join them. 
 Their habits do not differ from those of the other races, 
 and the Florida bird, though not so brilliant perhaps, is 
 also a magnificent creature. 
 
 MELEAGRIS SYLVESTRIS OSCEOLA. 
 
 Geographical Distribution. — Florida. 
 
 Adult Male. — Resembles M. sylvestris, but much darker in 
 the general hue of the plumage ; there is a great deal of brilliant 
 metallic coloring observable in different shades of bronze, 
 greens, and fiery reds, but the chief difference between this race 
 and other Wild Turkeys consists in the markings of the primaries 
 and secondaries, though to a less extent in the latter. The pri- 
 maries and outer secondaries are brownish black, with narrow 
 broken bars of white that do not reach the shaft of the feather, 
 while the inner secondaries are grayish brown, apparently with- 
 out bars, but vcrmiculated with dark brown on the inner web. 
 The dimensions are about the same as the Northern Wild 
 Turkey. 
 
 Adult Fem^Jj.— 'Like the male, but smaller and less brilliant 
 in coloration. 
 
TT" 
 
 mak 
 
 n 
 
 i,# 
 
 fi 
 
 ' iIM' ' 
 
 'I •■ 
 
 ELLIOT'S RIO GRANDE TURKEY. 
 
 n^HIS handsome race of the Wild Turkey is restricted, 
 so far as is known at present, to the lowlands of 
 eastern Mexico and southern Texas, rang^inp^ not far- 
 ther south than Vera Cruz nor north of the lirazos 
 River, or about ten deforces of latitude. This is the dis 
 pcrsion given to the l)ir(l by its describcr, my friend Mr. 
 George B. Sennett. It is a dweller of the woodlands 
 and is not met with much, if any, above an altitude of 
 2000 feet. While having the general appearance of the 
 eastern Wild Turkey it differs from that and all the other 
 races in many particulars; and the hen is unlike that of 
 any other species or race of Turkeys known at the 
 present day. No evidence of its intergrading with the 
 common species has yet been obtained, but it is expected 
 that it would interbreed with that bird wherever the 
 limits of their dispersion came in contact. It has always 
 been confounded with the Common Wild Turkey, and 
 although its peculiar coloring and marking had been 
 observed and commented on by many ornithologists it 
 was not until lately that sufficient specimens were 
 obtained, and its restricted habitat known, to prove its 
 claim to be considered as a distinct race. Its habits 
 are the same as those already described in the articles on 
 the other races, and in beauty and brilliancy of its 
 metallic coloring, as well as in size, it is not inferior to 
 any of the Wild Turkeys inhabiting Mexico and the rest 
 of the continent lying to the northward. The female 
 varies greatly from the male, and in fact she is diflfer- 
 
 llii'' 
 
—^ : i_i : *• ~ -^ 
 
 45. Elliot's Rio Grande Turkey. 
 
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 wm 
 
ELLIOT'S RIO GRANDE TURKEY. 
 
 i8i 
 
 ently marked from the hens of all other species ot 
 Turkeys; sufficiently characteristic in my opinion to give 
 the bird specir , rank, although I retain its subspecific 
 nomenclature. 
 
 MELEAGRIS SYLVESTR/S ELLIOT/. 
 
 Habitat. — Lowlands of southern Texas and eastern Mexico, 
 from the Brazos River to Vera Cruz not above 2000 feet of eleva- 
 tion. Northeastern Mexico. 
 
 Adult Male. — Head, neck, mantle, upper wing-coverts, and 
 breast resemble those of the eastern Wild Turkey, M. sylvestris; 
 back and rump, jet black, with, in certain lights, a silvery gray 
 bar near the ends of all the feathers, and a narrower one on the 
 tip, both with roseate reflections; upper tail-coverts, broadly 
 tipped with ochraceous buff (and this is the general color of the 
 lower rump and upper tail-coverts), remaining parts, chestnut, 
 irregularly crossed with black lines, succeeded by a black bar 
 with metallic copper bronze reflections; back and rump, jet 
 black; lower back, with a coppery metallic bar near the tip of the 
 feathers; tail, mottled with pale chestnut and black, a black 
 band near the end and the tip ochraceous buff; under tail- 
 coverts, black, with metallic green, bronze, and red reflections, 
 and broadly tipped with ochraceous buff. Wing, 21 inches; tail, 
 19; tarsus, 6^. 
 
 Young Male has the feathers of the breast, under parts, flanks, 
 back, and rump conspicuously tipped with ochraceous buff. 
 
 Adult Female. — Smaller than male, general hue, black, with 
 the metallic iridescent hues of the male present on the back, wings, 
 and under surface ; feathers of the entire upper parts have black 
 bars near the ends and grayish tips, becoming broader on the 
 lower back and rump; feathers of under surfar- tipped with pale 
 buff; upper and under tail-coverts and tail resemble those of the 
 male, and all except the under coverts have very pale ochraceous 
 buff tips. 
 
MEXICAN TURKEY. 
 
 pROM this bird came the domesticated race of Tur- 
 * keys. It is a common species on the table-lands of 
 Mexico, and within our borders is found in southern and 
 western Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona at an altitude 
 of from 3000 to 10,000 feet above the sea. It is a bird of 
 the highlands and mountainous regions, and is rather 
 larger and heavier than the Wild Turkey of the Atlantic 
 States. The light rump with the broad white borders 
 to the feathers, makes it conspicuously different from all 
 its allies, and is one of the characteristic marks of the 
 domestic bird. I found this species very abundant upon 
 the highlands in southern New Mexico near the borders 
 of Arizona, and met with them in flocks of considerable 
 size. They had all the habits of the Eastern bird, and 
 were wary and difficult to approach. It was late in the 
 autumn and the piiion nuts were abundant, and the birds 
 kept closely to the groves of the trees which were 
 covered with these nuts, and apparently fed exclusively 
 upon them. Their flesh was so highly scented by this 
 food that, when the Turkeys were over the fire, they per- 
 fumed the camp with a most appetizing odor, and I 
 know no better dish than a roasted Mexican Turkey 
 that has been fed on pinon nuts. About three miles 
 from one of our camps was a place where the Turkeys 
 were in the habit of roosting, and we visited the spot 
 several times. On the first occasion I left camp about 
 half an hour before sundown, and came near the roost- 
 ing place just at dark. The Turkeys had selected a 
 
 182 
 
46. Mexican Turkey, 
 
w 
 
 w 
 
MEXICAN TURKEY. 
 
 183 
 
 grove of lofty pines, the first branches of which were too 
 high for any missile to reach and do execution upon so 
 large a bird, save a bullet from a rifle. As my com- 
 panion and myself quietly sat upon the ground a quarter 
 of a mile away, waiting for the daylight to leave the sky, 
 we heard the Turkeys flying into the trees, and gobbling 
 at intervals as they settled themselves for the night. 
 Soon darkness spread her veil around us, and all sounds 
 from the roost ceased, and we commenced cautiously to 
 draw near our objective point. 
 
 Soon we could distinguish the trees in which we knew 
 the birds were, but the branches were so far from the 
 ground that at first nothing could be seen that re- 
 sembled a Turkey. Gradually we drew near until we 
 stood beneath the overspreading limbs and close to the 
 trunk of the tree each had selected. No movement or 
 sound from above indicated that we had been observed 
 by the watchful birds, and now to our eyes, grown more 
 accustomed to the obscurity, some clumps and bunches 
 appeared upon the branches toward the sky. It was 
 almost impossible to tell what these were, whether 
 Turkeys squatting on the limbs, or masses of moss or 
 foliage. But the only way to find out was to shoot at 
 them, which we did. At the crack of the rifles came 
 numerous pit-pits and a stray gobble as the aroused 
 birds moved upon their perches and questioned this 
 unusual uproar. Their movements disclosed their forms 
 without mistake, and soon there was added to the noise 
 of the firearms, and the calls of the now thoroughly 
 startled birds, the crash of the falling Turkeys striking 
 the limbs as they descended, and then the heavy 
 " thump " as the body reached the ground. For a short 
 time confusion reigned. Unharmed birds began to 
 leave the trees, and the whir and beat of their wings 
 
 '.111 
 
t: ! . 
 
 184 
 
 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 sounded above the various cries they uttered, and occa- 
 sionally one wounded, but not entirely incapacitated 
 from escaping, would drop to the ground and the 
 rapid " pats " of its swiftly moving feet could be heard 
 upon the dead leaves as it ran quickly from the scene. 
 The roost, however, was very extensive and continued a 
 long way up the canon, and the birds not in the imme- 
 diate vicinity did not desert their posts. Picking up the 
 dead birds, a few of which were quite a heavy enougli 
 load for two men, we were glad when we could transfer 
 them from our own backs to those of our horses, which 
 were waiting for us about half a mile away. This Tur- 
 key is very strong upon the wing, rises without difficulty, 
 awd continues its flight frequently for long distances. 
 It alights either upon the ground or in the trees, but if 
 the former, runs with great speed until a place of con- 
 cealment is gained. While not uncommon in the dis- 
 tricts named within our limits, this species is much more 
 numerous in Mexico, where it goes as far south as Vera 
 Cruz. The hen attends solely to the hatching of the 
 eggs and rearing of the young, hiding them away from 
 the male, who cannot be trusted either with them or a 
 knowledge of their location. The nest is a depression in 
 the ground, lined with grass, weeds, and leaves, and care- 
 fully concealed amid bushes or grass. The eggs are 
 creamy wliite, finely and thickly dotted with reddish 
 brown. The food of this bird consists of acorns and 
 various nuts that are found in those southern latitudes, 
 especially those of the piiion tree, also insects of all kinds, 
 and grain when it happens to be grown in the vicinity 
 of their habitats. 
 
 This Turkey was carried to some of the West Indies 
 Islands early in the sixteenth century, and then to 
 Europe, especially England and France, and in 1573 had 
 
MEXICAN TURKEY. 
 
 185 
 
 become quite numerous and was freely used as an article 
 of food. In the days of the Emperors of Mexico 
 Montezuma possessed extensive Zo()logical Gardens, 
 and many of these birds were given to the wild beasts for 
 food. Certainly they had no fault to find with the fare 
 served to them. The Mexican Turkey, as I have said, is 
 possibly a somewhat larger bird, and exhibits a good 
 many of the metallic tints of its Eastern relative, yet it 
 can hardly be regarded as equally beautiful, as the white 
 on the rump detracts greatly from the general brilliancy 
 of its appearance. Still it is a magnificent game bird, 
 and is worthy to be compared with its rivals of the 
 Eastern and Northern portions of the United States. 
 
 MELAGRIS GALLOP A VO. 
 
 Geographical Disiribut ion. —Western Texas to Arizona. 
 Table-lands of Mexico. 
 
 Adult Male. — Rather larger than the average common Wild 
 Turkey, and with fully as much of the brilliant metallic coloring 
 so conspicuous in its better known relative. The principal dif- 
 ferences exhibited by the present bird are the upper tail-coverts, 
 which are broadly tipped with white, barred posteriorly by a 
 band of black, the rest of the feathers being metallic bronze ; 
 tail, very dark brown, especially toward the tip, spotted and 
 vermiculated with black and tipped with white ; feathers on 
 lower part of flanks and under tail-coverts are also tipped 
 with white; the primaries are white, barred with blackish brown, 
 apparently more white visible on the webs than of the other 
 color; head and neck, bare, red. Measurements and weights 
 vary considerably among individuals, and those given for the 
 common Wild Turkey will answer for this one also. There is 
 a long bunch of stiff black bristles pendent from the chest. 
 
 Adult Female. — Smaller and with much less of the metallic 
 coloring, and without the pendent bristles or " beard." 
 
 11 
 
w 
 
 m 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 KEYS TO THE FAMILIES. SUBFAMILIES. GENERA 
 
 AND SPECIES. ' 
 
^^ 
 
 M 
 
KEY TO THE FAMILIES. 
 
 {Referrht}^ only to North American Species.) 
 
 A. Head feathered, tarsi bare, or partly or 
 completely feathered. No spurs on tarsi. 
 Plumage not iridescent. 
 
 li. Head and upper part of neck, bare. Tarsi 
 always bare. Spurs on tarsi of male. 
 Plumage iridescent. 
 
 KEY TO SUBFAMH^IES. 
 
 A. No spurs on legs. 
 
 a. Nasal fossae and tarsi bare. Sides of toes 
 not pectinated. Cutting edge of mandible 
 more or less distinctly serrated near the 
 tip. 
 
 b. Nasal fossae densely feathered, Tarsi 
 and toes partly, or completely covered 
 with feathers. Sides of toes pectinated, f 
 Cutting edge of mandible not serrated. J 
 
 B. With spurs on tarsi of male. \ 
 
 I'ARTRIDGKS AND 
 GROUSE. 
 
 Tetraonidce. 
 
 WILD TURKEYS. 
 
 PhasianidcB. 
 
 AMERICAN PAR- 
 TRIDGES. 
 
 Odontophorince 
 Page 19. 
 
 GROUSE AND 
 PTARMKMN. 
 
 Tetraonince. 
 Page 74. 
 
 WILD TURKEYS. 
 
 Meleagrince. 
 Page 1/2. 
 
 189 
 

 IMAGE EVALUATION 
 TEST TARGET (MT-3) 
 
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 11.25 
 
 2.0 
 
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 ■is 
 
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 U ||6 
 
 /5 
 
 
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 /A 
 
 Hiotpgraphic 
 
 ^Sciences 
 
 Corporation 
 
 23 WEST MAIN STREET 
 
 WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 
 
 (716) •72-4503 
 
 r<\- 
 
 i\ 
 
 V> 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^\^\ 
 
 ^ >J^ 
 
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FAMILY TETRAONID^. 
 
 This family contains the Quails, Partridges, and 
 Grouse, and has its representatives in nearly every por- 
 tion of the world. It has been subjected by different 
 ornithologists to varying treatment and has at times been 
 divided into many subfamilies, but three have always 
 seemed to me quite sufficient, two of which are repre- 
 sented in North America. The three are: Pcrdicin^, 
 containing the Quails and Partridges of the Old World, 
 having no representative in the Western Hemisphere; 
 Odontoplwrincc, the American Partridges, natives of the 
 New World unrepresented in the Old World ; and Tetra- 
 onince, the Grouse and Ptarmigan found in both Hemi- 
 spheres. 
 
 They are all game birds, in the sense the sports- 
 man understands the term, and wherever their habitat 
 may be, whether the elevated plateaus or gloomy defiles 
 of high mountain ranges, or the plains and prairies of 
 level lands, or the forests and thickets of the more 
 attractive portions of the earth, the members of this 
 family always exhibit the peculiar qualities found so emi- 
 nently among gallinaceous birds, and afford the sport 
 that so endears them to the hunter's heart. 
 
 The New World possesses some of the largest and 
 finest species of the family, many of which at one time 
 were found within its limits in extraordinary abundance, 
 and although they now exist in lessened numbers, and 
 many districts in which they formerly abounded will 
 know them no more forever, yet with proper laws, 
 rightly enforced, a remnant may be saved for succeeding 
 generations. 
 
 S9X 
 
SUBFAMILY ODONTOPHORIN^. 
 
 ) 1 
 
 This division of the family Tetraonid/E comprises 
 the American Partridges, vvliich dififer from those of the 
 Eastern Hemisphere in having the mandible notched on 
 either side, although in some species this is hardly appar- 
 ent. The group throughout the Western Hemisphere 
 consists of about nine genera and between forty and fifty 
 species, of which in North America, according to my 
 views, five genera and thirteen species and subspecies 
 are found. They are birds of shapely, sometimes grace- 
 fully formed bodies, and with an attractive plumage, 
 which indeed, in some species, may be called beautiful. 
 The American Partridges go in coveys generally con- 
 sisting of one family, but some species, notably of the 
 genus LopHORTvx, gather at certain seasons in packs, 
 often of five or six hundred individuals, resembling in 
 this respect the Prairie Grouse of different species. Tlic 
 North American Partridges, excepting perhaps those 
 that ** pack," are game in the highest sense of the term, 
 lie well to the dog, and afford the greatest sport in the 
 field. Brave little birds, with well-sharpened wits, fertile 
 in resources that promise to insure their own safety, 
 and wide-awake to seize every advantage that offers for 
 their own benefit. Gallant " Bob White " and his near 
 relatives certainly have a warm place in the heart of every 
 true sportsman in the land. » 
 
 19a 
 
 
SUBFA MIL Y ODON I OniOKINAL. 
 
 >93 
 
 KEY TO THE GENERA. 
 
 A. Claws moderate, normal. 
 
 a. Crest, moderate, inconspicuous. 
 
 b. Crest very long, slender, of two feathers. 
 
 c. Crest full, conspicuous. 
 
 d. Crest recurved, of several feathers, en- 
 larged at extremity. 
 
 B. Claws very long. 
 
 BOB WHITES. 
 
 Colinus. 
 Page 19. 
 
 IM I'MKl) I'AR- 
 
 rKii)(;Ks. 
 
 Orcoftyx. 
 
 I'agc 41. 
 
 scaiki) par- 
 tkii)(;ks. 
 
 Callipi'pla. 
 Page 49. 
 
 HEl.MEIKl) I'AR- 
 TRIIKJKS. 
 
 Lophortyx. 
 Page 55. 
 
 MASSENA I'AR- 
 IRIDGES. 
 
 Cyrtonyx. 
 Page 69. 
 
 ■.1;! 
 
 GENUS COLINUS 
 
 (Latin Colinus, synonymous with the Greek ^Jpri/f, ortyx, a quail). 
 
 Colinus Less. Man. d'Ornith., vol. ii., 1828, p. 190. Type 
 Tetrao virginianus, Linn. 
 
 Body short, rounded; feathers of crown slightly rounded and 
 erectile, but not forming a true crest. Tail about three-fifths 
 length of wing. Sexes alike, save in the color of throats and 
 superciliary stripes. 
 
 Two species and two subspecies of this genus inhabit North 
 America north of Mexico. Closely allied in habits and appear- 
 ance three of them might easily be confounded by one not an 
 expert, but the fourth, C. ridgwayi, hardly called with propriety 
 a North American species, differs gompletely in the color of its 
 plumage from the otherSt 
 
194 
 
 GAME BINDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 KEY TO THE SPECIES. 
 
 A. /^</«// /?/rt/<'j.— Lower parts, white, irreg- 
 ularly barred with black. 
 a. Throat, white. 
 d . Band on breast, 
 a". Breast band, light chestnut, inner \ bob whitf.. 
 edges of tertials, deep buff. S C. vir}^mianus. 
 
 TE.XAN BOH 
 
 b" . Breast band, pale cinnamon ; inner 
 edges of tertials, buffy white. 
 
 b' . No band on breast. 
 
 B.' Adult Male. — Lv>wcr parts, cinnamon- 
 rufous. Throat, black. 
 
 WHITE. 
 
 C. V. If. van us. 
 
 FLORIItA Hr»H 
 WHITE. 
 
 C.^'.floridanus 
 
 MASKED BOIt 
 WHITE. 
 
 C. ridgivayi. 
 
 GENUS OREORTYX 
 (Greek, iJpoj, oros, a mountain; + iprrvl^, ortyx, a quail). 
 
 Oreortyx, Baird. B. North Am., 1858, p. 642. 'Yy^^Ortyx 
 picta., Dougl. 
 
 Head with a long, slender crest, consisting of two feathers, either 
 standing upright or inclining slightly backward. Tail broad, 
 rounded, almost hid en by upper coverts. Tarsus equal to 
 middle toe and claw. 
 
 One species and two subspecies of this genus are recognized, 
 but there is so very slight a difference between the subspecies 
 that a close examination is required to separate them, especially 
 if the locality of the specimens is unknown. They are among 
 the most brilliantly plumaged members of the family and of a 
 larger size and greater weight than the other North American 
 Partridges. Strictly mountain dwellers, they are found in the 
 summer at very high elevations. Their coloring is peculiar, be- 
 ing massed in large areas and of strongly contrasting hues. 
 There is considerable difference in the appearance of the sexes, 
 the female being less gaudily attired and with a much shorter 
 crest. 
 
SUB f AM J l. y ODONTOriWKIN.E. 
 
 »95 
 
 KEY TO THK SPECIES. 
 
 A. Crest very long and mostly striiij^lit. 
 
 a. Above: deep olive-brown from crest to 
 end of tail-coverts. 
 
 b. Above: hind-neck and upper back gray- 
 ish blue. 
 
 c. Above: ashy brown with slight olive- ) 
 wash. ( 
 
 MOUNTAIN PAR- 
 
 rKii)(;E. 
 O. pictits. 
 
 I'H'MKI) PAR- 
 TRIIX'.E. 
 
 O. p. piumi- 
 ferns. 
 
 SAN I'KORO 
 lARTRIDGE, 
 
 O. p. lonfinis. 
 
 The differences between the last bird and the O. p. plumifertis, 
 as given by its describer, are so very slight, viz. : " grayer upper 
 parts and thicker bill," that an ornithologist would naturally 
 hesitate before giving it any separate rank, even a subspecific 
 one, until he found characters more decisive and important, that 
 would enable the bird to be recognized from its fellows. Relative 
 proportions of bills, unless very unusual, are notoriously unreli- 
 able, and prove generally to be a most unsatisfactory foundation 
 on which to base specific or subspecific forms, and slight shades of 
 color are not much more to be depended on. 
 
 GENUS CALL! PEP LA 
 
 (Greek, KoWiireTrXos, Ka/li'peplos, beautifully arrayed). 
 
 Callipepla, Wagler. Isis., 1832, p. 277. Type, C. strenna, 
 Wagl. = Ortyx sguamatus, Vig. 
 
 Crest full, and short, of two colors blending with feathers of 
 the crown. No distinction in plumage of sexes. 
 
 I have included but one species and one subspecies in this 
 genus, contrary to the arrangement of the A. O. U. check list, for 
 I cannot satisfy myself that birds so essentially different as the 
 Scaled Partridges, and those represented by Gambel's, the Cali- 
 fornia Partridge, etc., can properly be placed in the same genus. 
 The crests are entirely different in structure, that of the Scaled 
 Partridge being more like that of Bob White and its allies, while 
 
^n- 
 
 m 
 
 196 
 
 G.-fAf/-: B/MDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 those of (iambel's Partridge, and its relatives, are unlike any seen 
 in the family. The sexes of the Blue Partridge also are indis- 
 tinguishable from each other in plumage, while those of Gambel's. 
 etc., are very different in appearance. Generic terms are, as ! 
 well know, often arbitrary, and sometimes most artificial, but in 
 this instance I cannot but think that these birds are more 
 properly placed in separate genera. It would be impossible t't 
 define a single genus to contain them both, without using terms, 
 so far as the crests and plumage of the sexes are concerned, that 
 would contradict each other. 
 
 KEY TO THE SPECIES. 
 A. Crest short, blending with crown feathers. 
 
 a. No chestnut patch on belly. 
 
 b. Chestnut patch on belly. 
 
 SCALED PAR- 
 TRIDGE. 
 
 C. squamata. 
 
 CHESTNUT-BELLY 
 SCALED PAR- 
 TRIDGE. 
 
 C. s. castanei- 
 gastra. 
 
 % 
 
 GENUS LOPHORTYX 
 
 (Greek X60os, lophos, a crest ; -|- ^P'f'vi, ortux, a quail). 
 
 Lophortyx, Bonp. Geog., and Comp. List, 1838, p. 42. Type 
 Tetrao calif ornt'cus, Shaw. 
 
 Crest recurved, composed of several overlapping feathers, 
 lengthened, upright, widening from base to tip ; fewer and 
 smaller in the female. Tarsus shorter than middle toe and 
 claw. Sexes dissimilar in plumage. 
 
 The two species and one subspecies belonging to this genus 
 are the most graceful in carriage and beautiful in plumage of the 
 North American Partridges. The body is well proportioned to 
 the size of the bird, and the variegated dress and peculiar sway- 
 ing crest combine to present creatures of singular attractive- 
 ness. Loath to take wing, preferring to run so long as escape 
 
 1. 1 1 
 
SUBFAMIL Y onONTOPIIORlN^-:. 
 
 197 
 
 is possible by that method, they lack, to a certain decree, what 
 sportsmen are accustomed to regard as jfame qualities, and by 
 always indulging in these habits are part oularly exasperating 
 to both man and dog. They are accustomed at certain periods 
 to assemble in large flocks, sometimes of several hundreds, and 
 are very abundant in the countries they inhabit. I have, under 
 the genus Callipepla, given my reasons why 1 have departed 
 from the arrangement in the Check List and separated these 
 Itirds from the Scaled Partridges generically. In my opinion the 
 characters are too important to be classed subgenerically, and 
 are entitled to a full generic standing. In fact, there is very 
 little in common either in structure or habits, between the two 
 groups of birds. The only trait possessed by both, to a super- 
 lative degree, is that of putting their faith in their legs, instead 
 of, as would be more natural, in their wings. In all other re- 
 spects they are very unlike. 
 
 Ill' 
 
 KEY TO THE SPECIES. 
 
 A. Crest lengthened, recurved, elevated, dis- 
 tinct from crown feathers. 
 a. Flanks olive-brown, streaked with white. 
 
 fl'. Upper parts smoky brown; inner edges 
 of tertials deep buff. 
 
 b'. Upper parts grayish brown, inner 
 edges of tertials whitish. 
 
 CALirORNIA PAR- 
 TRIDCK. 
 
 L. calif or- 
 fiicus. 
 
 , VALLEY PAR- 
 > TRIDGE. 
 
 ) L. c. vallkola. 
 
 b. Flanks rich chestnut streaked with ( 
 white. ^ 
 
 GAMBEL S PAR- 
 TRIDGE. 
 
 L. gambeli 
 
 GENUS CVRTONVX 
 (Greek Kvprbi, kurtos, crooked; -\-6vvi,0Hux, claw). 
 
 Cyrtonyx, Gould. Mon., Odont., pt. i. 1844, pi. vii. Type 
 Ortyx massena. Less. = O. montezuma, Vig. 
 
 Crest full, soft depressed, covering the occiput. Tail almost 
 hidden by the coverts. Bill stout ; tarsus shorter than middle 
 toe and claw, the latter greatly developed. 
 
F 
 
 m 
 
 198 
 
 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 Two species are included in this jjenus, both of which are es- 
 sentially Mexican, the present one only coming within our bor- 
 ders. They are remarkable for the fantastic coloring of the 
 head, short tail, and long claws, as well as for their unsuspicious 
 dispositions, which have earned for them the soubriquet of 
 " Fool quail." The species found in the Southern United States 
 is not very abundant anywhere, and will probably soon lie very 
 much less so. as making but little effort to escape their pursuers, 
 the members of a rtock, when met with, usually all fall victims to 
 their misplaced confidence in man's forbearance. 
 
 «|f 
 
SUBFAMILY TETRAONINiE. 
 
 This subfamily contains the Grouse of the world, 
 consisting of those hinis which have the legs and feel 
 more or less feathered, such as the KufTed Grouse 
 feathered to the heel, the IVairie (irouse and their allies 
 feathered to the toes, and Ptarmigan with both legs 
 and toes completely hidden by feathers. With the ex- 
 ception of the Turkeys this subfamily comprises the 
 largest known species of gallinaceous birds, and is fairly 
 well distributed over North America and the western 
 half of the Eastern Hemisphere. The larger number of 
 species with their subsi)ecies are found in North America 
 between the Arctic Sea and the northern boundary of 
 Mexico, and the two great oceans that line the eastern 
 and western shores. The American species which in- 
 habit the prairies are met with in coveys usually com- 
 posed of from a dozen to twenty individuals, but at 
 certain seasons of the year, generally late in the autumn, 
 are accustomed to congregate in flocks often of hun- 
 dreds, and are then exceedingly wild and wary. The 
 forest-loving species are generally found in small com- 
 panies, the covey usually consisting of a single family, 
 and the birds never gather together in such enormous 
 numbers as do those inhabiting the plains. The flesh of 
 the species dwelling upon the prairies is mostly dark, 
 while that of the forest-loving birds, with one or two ex- 
 ceptions, is white. The flesh of all furnishes most 
 excellent food, save perhaps that of the Sage Cock, 
 and at certain seasons, the Spruce Grouse, which is bit- 
 
 »99 
 
WT 
 
 300 
 
 GAAf£ lilRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 
 tcT and unsavory, caused by tlic particular leaves on 
 which the birds feed. The American species, according 
 to my views, are divided into seven genera and twenty- 
 five species and subspecies. 
 
 KEY TO THE GENERA. 
 A. Legs feathered wholly, or in part. 
 
 a. Lejjs bare from the heel downward. 
 
 b. Le>(s feathered to the toes. 
 a' . Tail scjuare at tip. 
 
 a" . Tail feathers 20. Air sacs present. 
 
 b" . Tail feathers 16. Air sacs absent. 
 
 b' . Tail rounded of 18 rather stiff featiiers. 
 Tufts of lengthened feathers over air 
 sacs. 
 
 c' . Tail pointed, of 18 soft feathers, cen- 
 tral pair longest. No tufts over air 
 sacs. 
 
 d' , Tail pointed, stiff, of 20 fihimentous 
 feathers. Breast feathers hair-like. 
 
 B. Legs and toes covered with feathers. 
 
 RUFFED OROUSE. 
 
 lionasa. 
 Page 74. 
 
 DUSKY GROUSE. 
 
 Dendragapus. 
 
 \ _ 
 
 ) Page go. 
 
 ! SPRUCE (IROUSE. 
 Cattachiles. 
 Page 1 00. 
 
 Si'kAIRIF. HENS. 
 Tympanuchus. 
 Page no. 
 
 SHARP-TAILED 
 GROUSE. 
 
 Pedicecetes. 
 Page 123. 
 
 COCK-OF-TnE 
 PLAINS. 
 
 Centrocerctts. 
 r ige 136. 
 
 PTARMIGAN. 
 
 Lagopus. 
 Page 142. 
 
 GENUS nONASA 
 
 (Greek povatra, Latin bopiasus, a bison. The bird's drumming 
 resembles a bison's bellow). 
 
 Bonasa. Steph. Gen. Zool., vol. xi., 1819, p. 298. Type Tetrao 
 umbellus, Linn. 
 
 Head crested, rudimentary air sac covered by a tuft of broad, 
 soft, glossy feathers. Tail broad, long, rounded, fan-shaped. 
 
SUB FA MIL Y TE TRA ONINM. 
 
 201 
 
 Legs bare from heel, scutellated in front. Carriage upright, 
 dignified. 
 
 One species and three subspecies are recognized of this genus 
 in North America and three allied species {Genus Tetrastes), in 
 the Eastern Hemisphere. They are strictly birds of the woods 
 and thickets, exceedingly cunning and wary, strong of wing and 
 fruitful in expedients to foil the hunter and his four-footed ally, 
 and secure their own escape. The flight is powerful and well 
 sustained, and when startled the birds rise with such a whirring 
 noise that, on a calm day, it resounds through the woods like 
 distant thunder. The flesh is white and palatable, and the 
 u, :ies, from their thoroughly gamelike ways and habits, are 
 justly esteemed as perhaps the most gallant and desirable of our 
 native gallinaceous birds. 
 
 KEY TO THE SPECIES. 
 
 A. Upper parts rusty ; tail usually without 
 gray markings. 
 
 a. Pale above, markings on lower parts in- 
 distinct. Tail yellowish brown or och- 
 raceous. 
 
 b. Dark above, markings on lower part very 
 distinct. Tail rust color or reddish. 
 
 B. Upper parts mostly or entirely gray. Tail 
 gray. 
 
 RUFFED GROUSii:. 
 
 B. umbellus, 
 
 Sabine's GROUSE. 
 B. u. sabini. 
 
 a. Size large. 
 
 b. Size small. 
 
 CANADIAN 
 RUFFED GROUSE. 
 
 B. u. togata. 
 
 GRAY RUFFED 
 GROUSE. 
 
 B. u. umbel- 
 loides. 
 
 GENUS DENDRAGAPUS 
 (Greek hivhpov, drendron, a tree; -i-d7aTaw, agapao, to love). 
 
 Dendragapus, Elliot. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil., 1864, p. 23. 
 Type Tetrao obscurus. Say. 
 
 Head slightly crested. Tail long, composed of twenty broad 
 feathers, square at tip. Air sacs on neck. Size large. 
 
 The single species and its two subspecies, comprising this 
 genus, are fine large birds with white flesh, strictly inhabitants 
 
9oa 
 
 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 I 
 
 of the forests, and are found only in the western portions of 
 North America amid the high mountain ranges. By having dis- 
 tensible sacs of bare skin upon the sides of the neck, and a tail 
 consisting of twenty broad feathers, these birds cannot properly 
 be included in the same genus with the Spruce Grouse, C. cana- 
 densis and C.franklini, which have no air sacs, and only sixteen 
 rectrices in the tail. These characters are in my opinion strictly 
 generic and too important and conspicuous to permit the two 
 groups to be separated only subgenerically, but are as striking 
 and trenchant as any that separate these birds themselves from 
 those in other genera of the subfamily. 
 
 KEY TO THE SPECIES. 
 
 A. Under parts of adult males, mostly slate 
 color. 
 a. Tail with distinct gray band at tip. 
 a' . General colors, light. Tail band very \ dusky grouse. 
 broad. \ D. obscurus. 
 
 b\ General colors, dark, almost black. ) ^^^"^^ grouse. 
 
 Tail band narrow. \ ^' ^- Z^^'^" 
 
 ) nosus. 
 
 b. Tail without band at tip. 
 
 RICHARDSON S 
 GROUSE. 
 
 D. o. richard- 
 soni. 
 
 GENUS CANACHITES 
 
 (Greek, icaraxew, kanacheo, to be noisy). 
 
 Canachites, Stejn. Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus,, vol. viii., 1885, p. 410. 
 Type, Tetrao canadensis, Linn. 
 
 Head without crest. Tail moderately long, nearly square at 
 tip, composed of sixteen feathers. No air sacs on sides of neck. 
 Toes naked, scaly, and fringed along the sides. Size small. 
 
 Two species only are included in this genus, the common 
 Spruce or Canada Grouse, and Franklin's Grouse, the latter 
 dwelling on the high mountain ranges of the western side of 
 North America. They are quite different in their pattern of 
 coloration, and the males are characteristically marked and 
 easily distinguishable. ^ 
 
SUB FA MIL Y TE TRA ONIN.-E. 
 
 203 
 
 KEY TO THE SPECIES. 
 
 A. Under parts of adult male, mostly black, 
 
 a. Upper tail-coverts narrowly tipped with ) 
 grayish white. \ 
 
 b. Upper tail-coverts broadly tipped with ) 
 pure white. f 
 
 GENUS TVMPANUCHUS 
 
 CANADA GROUSE. 
 
 C. canadensis. 
 franklin's 
 
 GROUSE. 
 
 C. frank lint. 
 
 (Latin Tympanum, a drum; +;///tv^<i, neck). 
 
 Tympanuchus, Gloger. Gemeinutzig, Hand- und Hilfsbuch, 
 Naturg., 1842, p. 396. Type, Tetraocupido, Linn, 
 
 Air sacs on sides of neck, above which arise tufts of winglike, 
 lengthened, more or less acuminated, feathers. Head crested. 
 Tarsi rather scantily feathered to the toes, the latter webbed at 
 base. Tail short, rounded, consisting of eighteen feather". Size 
 large, sexes similar. 
 
 The Prairie Hens are divided into three species and one sub- 
 species, constituting a well-marked and distinct group of the sub- 
 family, with characteristics that easily give them recognition 
 among their allies. They are essentially birds of the plains, 
 although they do not hesitate to perch upon the limbs of trees, 
 fences, or any support that may be most convenient at the time. 
 They go usually in coveys, generally consisting of a single family, 
 but in the autumn are accustomed to gather in enormous packs 
 and then are very difficult of approach. Formerly abundant 
 over much of eastern North America, they are now confined to 
 the prairie countries of the west and south, and the island of 
 Martha's Vineyard on the eastern coast. Throughout their dis- 
 persion there is little or no difference in the habits of the various 
 races. 
 
 KEY TO THE SPECIES, 
 
 I. Winglike tufts of feathers on the sides of 
 
 neck. 
 a. Neck tufts pointed. Size large. 
 a' . Scapulars without conspicuous white \ 
 terminal spot. Neck tufts very long. 1 
 
 PRAIRIE HEN. 
 
 T. americanus. 
 

 204 
 
 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 b' Scapulars with conspicuous white ter- 
 minal spot, neck tufts short. 
 , Neck tufts rounded or almost square. 
 Size small. 
 
 a'. Without baud of cinnamon rufous at 
 base of neck. 
 
 b' . With band of cinnamon rufous at base 
 of neck. 
 
 HEATH HEN. 
 
 T. cupido. 
 
 LESSER PRAIRIE 
 HEN. 
 
 T. pallidi- 
 
 cincius. 
 
 attwater's 
 
 prairie hen. 
 
 T. a. attwateri. 
 
 GENUS PEDICECETES 
 (Greek, ireSwi', pedi'on, a plain; -f oUirrii, oiketes, an inhabitant). 
 
 Pedicecetes, Baird. B. North Am., 1868, p. 625. Type, Tetrao 
 phasiane/lus. Linn. 
 
 No tufts of feathers above air sacs. Head slightly crested. 
 Tarsi and base of toes feathered, the feathers in one species 
 covering the latter, reaching in hairlike webs to the claws. Toes 
 scutellated transversely above, fringed on sides with horny 
 comb-like processes. Tail of eighteen feathers, soft, pointed, 
 with the median pair longest and rather square at tip. Size 
 large, sexes similar. 
 
 One species and two subspecies comprise this genus of the 
 Sharp-tailed Grouse. Terrestrial in their habits, yet not averse 
 to perching on branches of trees and other convenient supports 
 like their allies, the Prairie Hens. They are more shy in their 
 dispositions than the members of the genus Tympanuchus, and 
 are not so fond of loitering about the farm buildings, but prefer 
 wild districts and man's absence. They go in small coveys for 
 the greater part of the year, but like other prairie dwellers, con- 
 gregate in immense packs, in the autumn. They are fine birds, 
 with many game qualities, and are found in the more central 
 portions of North America from the Arctic Sea to New Mexico. 
 
 KEY TO THE SPECIES. 
 
 A. Median tail feathers extending beyond the 
 rest. 
 
 a. General plumage mostly black and white. 
 
 SHARP-TAILED 
 GROUSE. 
 
 P. phasianel- 
 lus. 
 
S UBFA Mil. Y TE TRA ONINAL. 
 
 305 
 
 b. General plumage lighter, pale 
 preduminating. 
 
 brown 
 
 a! . Ground color of upper parts gravis! 
 clay color, with but little of a rusty 
 tinge. 
 
 b' . Ground color of upper parts rusty or 
 
 ochraceous. 
 
 columbian 
 
 harp-tailed 
 
 (;rouse. 
 
 p. p. columbi- 
 
 anus. 
 
 I'RAIRIE SHARP- 
 TAII.ED GROUSE. 
 
 P. p. cam- 
 pestris. 
 
 GENUS CENTROCERCUS 
 
 (Greek Ktvrpov, kentron, a spine; -f- KipKo\,kerkos,\.&\\). 
 
 Centrocercus, Swain. Faun. Bor. Amer., 1831, pp. 358, 496. 
 Type, Tetrao urophasianus, Bonp. 
 
 No crest. Enormous air sacs present of irregular contour, 
 fringed above by hairlike filaments, below covered with horny 
 white feathers like scales, varying with the seasons according to 
 the wear of the feathers. Tail very long, composed of twenty stiff, 
 narrow, graduated acuminate feathers. Bill large and strong. 
 Tarsi feathered to the toes. Sexes similar in plumage, but of 
 greatly disproportionate size; the female being very much the 
 smaller. 
 
 But one species is contained in this genus, the remarkable 
 Sage Cock, or Cock-of-the-Plains, with the exception of the 
 Capercailzie of the Old World, the largest species of the sub- 
 family, indeed almost equaling in bulk that giant of the Grouse 
 Tribe. It inhabits the sage plains of the West, subsisting mainly 
 upon the leaves of that plant, which give to the flesh an exceed- 
 ingly bitter taste. It is exclusively a terrestrial species, and it 
 has a vigorous, well-sustained flight, consisting of several rapid 
 beats of the pinions, succeeded by sailings with the wings held 
 stiff and motionless. It is an unique species, and has no par- 
 ticularly near relative. It goes in flocks, and at times exhibits 
 no fear of man. 
 
 GENUS LAGOPUS 
 
 (Greek Xo7oiroi/j, lagopus, hare foot). 
 
 Lagopus, Briss. Ornith., vol. i., 1760, p. 181. Type, Tetrao 
 lagopus, Linn. 
 Tarsi and toes densely feathered. Tail rather short, slightly 
 
wv 
 
 206 
 
 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 :1 
 
 ' \ 
 
 t 
 
 rounded, consisting of fourteen feathers, but counting the two 
 long upper median coverts, sixteen. Sexes dissimilar, both 
 turning white in winter. 
 
 Ptarmigan dwell in high latitudes, and are found in the Arctic 
 regions of both hemispheres, one species, L. iagopus, being an 
 inhabitant of both the Old and New Worlds. They are recog- 
 nizable from other grouse by having the toes as well as the legs 
 covered with f'^at.ers, sometimes the claws even being hidden. 
 Also, all the species save one {I agopus scoticus), turn white in 
 winter, and the difference betwec*^ that and the summer dres.s is 
 so great, and the latter is retained for so brief a period, that the 
 plumage appears to be always in a transient state, and the birds 
 are robed for the greater portion of the year in a piebald dress. 
 There are recognized at present four species and six subspecies 
 inhabiting North America, and several other distinct species which 
 are natives of the Old World. While possessing characteristic 
 traits, which render them easily recognizable from each other, 
 when the specimens are before the observer, there is, nevertheless, 
 such a uniformity of color and markings among a number of the 
 species and their races, that it is no easy matter to indicate the 
 difference so as to clearly define them to the comprehension of any- 
 one who has not seen the specimens. Therefore the accompany- 
 ing key^ while it gives the most marked differences observable, 
 may fail to be of equal assistance to those entirely unfamiliar with 
 Ptarmigan as are the keys for the other species of gallinaceous 
 game birds. 
 
 KEY TO THE SPECIES. 
 
 A. Tail always black. 
 a. No black loral space in male. 
 
 a'. Shafts of secondaries, white. 
 
 b'. Shafts of secondaries, black.* 
 
 b. Black loral space in male, 
 a'. Male in summer with black blotches 
 on back and scapulars, vermiculations 
 coarse. Ground color grayish brown. 
 Female, bright ochraceous, spotted and 
 barred with black. 
 
 I 
 
 WILLOW PTAR- 
 MIGAN. 
 
 L. Iagopus. 
 Allen's ptar- 
 migan. 
 L. I. alleni. 
 
 ROCK PTAR- 
 MIGAN. 
 
 L. rupestris. 
 
 ♦See remarks in article on this bird, page 149. 
 
SUBFAMIL Y TE TRA ON/Ny£. 
 
 207 
 
 b'. Male in summer, above less coarsely 
 barred. Female chiefly black, varied 
 with grayish buff. 
 
 c'. Male in summer, brownish gray above, 
 vermiculated and spotted with black. 
 Female black, deep buff, and grayish 
 white. 
 
 d'. Male in summer, dark russet above, 
 finely vermiculated with black with oc- 
 casional black blotches. 
 e'. Male in summer, above tawny ochrace- 
 ous, russet, and gray, finely vermicu- 
 lated and dotted with black. 
 /'. Male in summer, raw-umber, above 
 tinged with russet, and finely vermicu- 
 lated and blotched with black. 
 
 g'. Male in summer, chiefly black and j 
 white, vermiculated with tawny. ] 
 
 B. Tail always white. 
 
 Reinhardt's 
 
 rTARMK.AN. 
 
 L. r. rei'n- 
 hardti. 
 
 WELCfl's PTAR- 
 
 mi(;an. 
 L. r. weichi. 
 
 I NELSON '.S PTAR- 
 MFGAN. 
 
 L. r. nelsoni. 
 turner's ptar. 
 
 MIGAN. 
 
 L. r. atkensis. 
 townsend's 
 ptarmigan. 
 
 L.r. townsendi. 
 evermann's 
 ptarmigan. 
 
 L. evermanni. 
 
 WHITE-TAILED 
 PTARMIGAN. 
 
 L. leucurus. 
 
TT 
 
 FAMILY PHASIANID^. 
 
 il 
 
 This is one of the largest, and, regarded as a source 
 of food supply to man, the most important family of 
 birds. It contains between eighty and ninety species, 
 with the exception of our Wild Turkeys all natives of the 
 Old World, and among its members are found some of 
 the most gorgeously plumaged creatures known in the 
 class of birds. Some of these which might be men- 
 tioned are the species of Lophophorus from India and 
 Asia, resplendent with metallic hues of gold and fiery red, 
 changing to blues and greens of varying intensity; the 
 ocellated spurred fowl of the genus Polyplectrum, 
 with wings and tail covered with oblong disks like great 
 eyes, of metallic blues, purples, and greens; of the various 
 graceful and highly-colored members of the genus Pha- 
 siANUS, and many others, constituting an assemblage 
 of remarkable species difficult to rival. In North 
 America the family is only represented by the common 
 Wild Turkey and its three races, and its beautiful relative 
 the Ocellated Turkey of Central America; but although 
 few in number, yet considering what they have done for 
 man's comfort and welfare, and as the source from which 
 has been derived the domesticated race introduced into 
 many lands, our magnificent birds may be considered 
 with perfect propriety the most important members of 
 the Phasianidae throughout the World. 
 
 808 
 
SUBFAMILY MELEAGRIN^. 
 
 This division of the great family of the PhasianicUe 
 includes only the Wild Turkeys of the New World. By 
 some ornithologists these birds are deemed worthy of be- 
 ing considered a distinct family — Meleagridae, but it does 
 not appear that any particular advantage is gained by so 
 elevating them, or that these birds are any more entitled 
 to such a rank than many other species of Phasianidae 
 which have always been enrolled in subfamilies. The 
 Turkeys are no more characteristic and distinctive than 
 are the Pea-fowl, Tragopans, Crossoptilons, and many 
 others that might be mentioned, and are naturally a por- 
 tion of the one great family, containing the spurred, 
 beautifully plumaged fowl comprising the Phasianidae. 
 The Turkeys are of course very distinct from Partridges 
 and Grouse, and are properly placed in a different family, 
 their many and peculiar characters separating them 
 widely from the members of Tetraoninae, with which in- 
 deed, beside a dress of feathers, they have little in com- 
 mon. Beside the two North American species and the 
 two races, only one other species is known, the wonder- 
 fully plumaged Ocellated Turkey of certain portions of 
 Central America, which in its gorgeous metallic hues is 
 not surpassed in brilliancy by any other known bird. 
 
 As game birds in the highest sense, affording sport 
 in the field, as well as food to countless people, the 
 Turkeys are among the most important members to the 
 human race of the feathered tribes. 
 
 209 
 
aio 
 
 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 ■:'\ 
 
 For over one hundred years the specific name of gal- 
 lopavo, Linn, has been applied to the common Wild Tur- 
 key of North America (the Melcagris sylvcstris nova: 
 anglicr, of Ray, Av. 51); and by that name, even amonj^ 
 non-scientific persons, it is pretty generally known. 
 The fact as to what particular bird Linnaeus had before 
 him, and which became his type when he wrote the de- 
 scription in the Systema Naturae, — whether one of the 
 domesticated race descended from the Mexican Turkey, 
 or an example of the common North American species, — 
 cannot now be established with any degree of certainty, 
 and whatever change is made in th^ nomenclature of the 
 Wild Turkeys can have no solid foundation to rest upon. 
 But in regard to this point, a spirit of unrest is abroad, 
 anvl a new shuffle of the synonomy is attempted, and 
 among some ornithologists our northern bird is called 
 americana, a name without a description, given by Bar- 
 tram (Travels, 1791, p. 290), and by others sylvestris 
 (Viell. N. Diet. d'Hist. Nat., 1817, vol. ix. p. 447), a 
 name taken from Ray, /. c, while the long employed and 
 familiar term of gallopavo is made to do service for the 
 White-rumped Mexican bird. It is of little consequence 
 by what name a species is called, provided it is one 
 accepted generally by ornithologists; and a change 
 should not be made unless it can be conclusively proved 
 that the name in use has been incorrectly adopted. It 
 is not apparent that in this instance it can be proved that 
 this has been the case, and the question then becomes 
 one of individual opinion when a change is agitated. 
 
 In a popular work, such as this book pretends to be, 
 the principal effort should be to furnish its readers with 
 the latest information on the subject of which it treats, 
 and to give the reasons, when possible, why any changes 
 are made, especially in the cases of long-accepted and 
 
SUBFAMILY MELEAGRIN/E. 
 
 311 
 
 well-known terms. The »iutlior may or may not be in 
 sympathy with the attempted innovations, and, as in the 
 present case, may find it as impossible to prove them 
 erroneous as do its advocates to establish their correct- 
 ness, but as his chief object is to portray the species con- 
 tained in this volume, so thr' they may be recop^nized 
 by his readers when met wiiu elsewhere, and also be 
 possessed of the same names, he has followed this new 
 departure, even though it may not be permanent. 
 
 If a change must be made from long-established and 
 harmonious custom, there is no question as to which 
 names the species of Turkeys must bear, according to 
 the A. O. U. code. 
 
 The common W^ild Turkey must take the name of 
 sylvestris, Viell., and not of amcricana, Bartram, which 
 is a nomcn nudum, and the Mexican Turkey must be 
 known hereafter as ^allopavo, Linn., although that natu- 
 ralist may never have seen the bird. 
 
 Under the guise, therefore, of these new appellations 
 according to the very latest ideas, the Turkeys have been 
 arranged in the following key: 
 
 GENUS MELEAGRIS 
 (Greek, /LicXca7pi$, meleagris, a guinea fowl). 
 
 Meleagris, Linn. Syst. Nat. ed., lo, vol. i., 1758, p. 156, Type, 
 M. gallopavo, Linn. 
 
 Head and upper part of neck, bare, carunculated, the male 
 with a dewlap considerably developed and an erectile process 
 at base of bill. Tarsus scutellated broadly before and behind, 
 armed with a spur in the male. Plumage compact, metallic, the 
 North American species with a tuft of hairlike feathers depend- 
 ing from the breast. 
 
 One species and three subspecies inhabit North America. One 
 of the subspecies, M. s. ellioti, on account of the conspicuously 
 different markings of the female, quite unlike any other known 
 
319 
 
 GAAfE fl/A'DS OF iXORTIt AMERICA. 
 
 % 
 
 form of turkeys, mij^ht properly be assigned a full specific rank. 
 These noble birds are too well known to make it necessary to go 
 into any details regarding them, beyond the accounts given in 
 the various articles in the body of this book. From the Mexican 
 and not from the North American bird came our stock of 
 domestic Turkeys, and nearly all the latter exhibit in their light 
 rumps and upper tail-coverts the proof of their descent. The 
 so-called Hronze Turkey of the farm-yard has, however, a large 
 percentage of the blood of the wild Northern bird in his veins. 
 
 f 
 
 iPI 
 
 KEY TO THE SPECIES. 
 
 A. Tail tipped with deep rusty, upper tail- 
 coverts tipped with chestnut. 
 
 a. Bars on primaries reaching the shafts. [ 
 
 b. Bars on primaries not reaching the \_ 
 shafts. 
 
 B. Tail and upper coverts tipped with och- 
 raceous buff. 
 
 C. Tail and upper coverts tipped with white. 
 
 WILD TURKEY. 
 
 M. sylvestris. 
 
 FLORIDA WILD 
 TURKEY. 
 
 M. s. osceola. 
 Elliot's rio 
 
 GRANDE 
 TURKEY. 
 
 M. s. ellioti. 
 
 MEXICAN WILD 
 TURKEY. 
 
 M. gallopavo. 
 
 \ j.'i 
 
 'i' *, 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Adak Island, 163 
 
 Agattu Island, 151 
 
 Akun Island, isg 
 
 Akutan Island, 159 
 
 Alaska, 88, 89, 90. «)4, 95, 106, 
 
 108, 126, 151, 153, 167 
 Alaska, Northwestern, 100 
 Alaskan Coast, 151 
 Aleutian Chain, 156, 159, 161, 
 
 163, 165 
 Aleutian Islands, 158 
 Amchitka Island, 161 
 America, 38, 142 
 American Museum of Natural 
 
 History, 107 
 Anderson River, 123, 151 
 Anthony, A. W., 47, 48, 59 
 Arctic America, 153 
 Ocean, 142 
 Regions, 104, 124, 147, 
 
 151, 206 
 Arctic Sea, 199, 204 
 Argus Mountain, 44, 46 
 Arizona, Southern, 39, 49, 52 
 " Territory of, 20, 38, 49, 
 
 62, 67, 69, 72, 89, 93, i82, 185 
 Artemisia, 136 
 Asia, 208 
 
 Assiniboia, 136, 141 
 Astoria, 41 
 Atka Island, 161 
 Attu Island, 161, 165 
 
 
 Had Lands, 132 
 Baird. S. F.. 150 
 Barboquivari Range, 38 
 Barren Grounds, 151 
 Behring Sea, 151 
 
 Straits, 88 
 Belt Range, 106 
 Bendire, Capt. C, 42, 44, 47, 
 
 58, 59. 67 
 Bishop, Mr., 102 
 Bob White, 19, 20, 21, 22, 25, 
 
 27. 32, 33, 35, 36, 37. 38, 39. 
 
 41, 67,77, no, 192, 194, 195 
 Bob White, Florida, 32 
 
 ♦* Masked, 38, 194 
 
 Texan, 35, 36. I94 
 Bob Whites, 193 
 Bois^ City, 20 
 " River, 20 
 Bonasa, 200 
 
 " umbellus, 80, 87, 201 
 " umbellus sabini, 83, 201 
 " umbellus togata, 87,201 
 " umbellus umbelloides, 
 88, 201 
 Brazos River, 180, 181 
 Brewster, William, 118 
 British America, 123. 125, 171 
 Columbia, 57, 81, 84, 88, 
 106, io8, 126, 136, 141, 167 
 British Columbia, Northern, 83, 
 87 
 
 a»3 
 
314 
 
 !NDRX. 
 
 1 
 
 t 
 
 M 
 «( 
 
 British North America, 98, 
 
 99 
 British Possessii >s, 100 
 
 " Provinces, 74, 147 
 
 Brown, Herbert, 38 
 
 California, 20, 30, 41, 42, 44, 
 46, 55, 60, 67, 81, 83, 00, 'M. 
 95. »a6, 136, 141 
 California Coost Region, 57 
 
 Lower, 44. 47. 48, 58 
 Southern, 44 
 Call, jpla, 103, I95, 197 
 
 ' sqimmata, 52, 196 
 
 " squamata castanei- 
 
 gastra. 54, i(>6 
 Cambridge, 118 
 Canachites, 2(k>, 202 
 
 " canadensis, 104, 
 
 202, 203 
 Canachites franklini, 108, 202, 
 
 203 
 Canada, 84, 142, 167, 172 
 '• Dominion of, 84, 87 
 Southern, 80 
 Cape St. Lucas, 55. 57. 68 
 Capercailzie, 136, 198 
 Cascade Mountains, 170 
 '* Range, 84, 167 
 Central America, 208, 209 
 Centrocercus, 200, 205 
 
 '* urophasianus,i4i 
 
 Chilcat Peninsula, 142 
 Coast Range, 41, 81, 83, 94, 97, 
 
 106 
 Cock of the Plains, 90, 136, 200, 
 
 205 
 Cock of the Woods, 136 
 Colinus ridgwayi, 39, 194 
 " strenua, 188 
 " virginianus, 30, 34, 194 
 
 Colinus virginianus floridanus, 
 
 33, 194 
 Colinus virginianus texanus,36, 
 
 187 
 Colorado, 20, 88, 90, 129, 134, 
 
 141, 167, 170 
 Colorado Desert, 62 
 " River, 49 
 Columbia, 41 
 Connecticut, 117 
 Coues, Dr. Elliott, 67 
 Crossoptilons, 209 
 Cumberland (lulf, 154 
 Crytonyx, 193, 197 
 
 " montezuma, 72 
 
 Dakota, iio 
 
 " South, 19, 30 
 " Southwestern, 90, 93 
 Western, 88 
 
 Dakotas, The, 74, 80, 115, 132, 
 
 i3<>. »4i 
 Death Valley, 58 
 Dendragapus, 200, 201 
 
 " obscurus, 93, 97, 
 
 98, 99, 202 
 Dendragapus obscurus fuligi- 
 
 nosus, 97, 202 
 Dendragapus obscurus richard- 
 
 soni, 99, 202 
 
 Eastern Hemisphere, 186, 192, 
 
 199, 201 
 England, 184 
 Europe. 184 
 Evermann, Professor, 165 
 
 Fannin County, Texas, 49 
 Fisher, Dr., 44 
 
 Florida, 19, 30, 32, 33, 34, 172, 
 176, 179 
 
INDEX, 
 
 «»S 
 
 Forest and Stream, loa 
 Fort Brown, 120 
 
 " Chimo, 150 
 
 " Simpson, 124 
 
 '• Union. 62 
 
 " Whipple, 69 
 France. 184 
 Franklin Hay. 151 
 
 (iKoKoiA. 74 
 
 Northern, 80 
 Great Salt Lake, Valley of the, 
 
 20 
 Great Slave Lake, 123 
 Greenland, 151, 153, 154 
 Grouse, 74, 77, 79, 82, 84, 85, 
 86, 88, 89, 94,98, 100, 104, 123, 
 126, 127, 128, 130, 189, 191, 199, 
 209 
 Grouse, Blue, 89, 90 
 
 " Canada, 100, loi, 106, 
 108, 202, 203 
 Grouse, Canadian, 85, 201 
 
 " Canadian Ruffed, 74, 
 84, 194 
 Grouse, Columbian Short- 
 tailed. 134, 126, 131, 20s 
 Grouse, Dusky, 90. 91, 94, 97, 99, 
 
 103, 200, 202 
 Grouse, Fool, 92 
 
 " Franklin's, 106, 107, 
 108, 202, 203 
 Grouse, Gray, 90 
 " Oregon, 81 
 " Pine, 90 
 
 " Pinnated, 115, 117, 
 118, 120, 127, 128, 129, 134, 
 140 
 Grouse, Pintail, 126 
 " Prairie. 192 
 " Richardson's, 98, 202 
 
 Grouse, Ruffed, 74, 77. 79, 81, 
 
 82. 84. 88, 103. i9<), 200. 201 
 Grouse, Ruffed Gray. 88, 201 
 
 Sage, 136, 137, 139, 140 
 
 " Sabine's, 81, 82, aoi 
 
 " Sharp tailed, 123, 124, 
 
 128. 129. 134. 136, 140, 200, i.04 
 
 Grouse, Sharp-tailed Prairie, 
 
 126, 129, 132, 205 
 Grouse, Spike-tail, 126 
 
 •* Spruce, 199, 200, 202 
 
 Sooty, 94. 98, 157, 202 
 '* Willow, 142. 149, 150. 
 151. 152, 154. 155. 157, i6i, 167 
 Gila Monster. 65 
 
 " River, 72 
 Gilroy, 20 
 Guadalajara, 36 
 Gulf States, 172, 176 
 
 Hawks, 79 
 
 Heath Hen, iii, 117, 204 
 Hempstead Plains, 117 
 Hen. Fool, 92 
 Huachuca Mountains, 38 
 Hudson Bay, 123, 124, 151 
 
 Strait, 164 
 Humbert River, 150 
 
 Idaho, 20, 30, 84, 88, 98. 167 
 " Northern, 87, 106 
 " Southeastern, 99 
 " Southern, 80, 90, 93 
 " Western, 97 
 
 Illinois, 129, 134 
 
 India, 208 
 
 Indiana, no 
 
 Indian Territory, 19, 115, 120, 
 172 
 
 Inyo County, California, 44 
 
 Iowa, no 
 
2l6 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 4< 
 tl 
 <( 
 • 4 
 41 
 «l 
 
 Kadiak Island, ioo, 104 
 Kansas, 19, no, 115, 120 
 
 •• Southwestern, 120 
 Kentucky, no 
 Kentville, 103 
 Klamath Valley, 58 
 Kyska Island, 163 
 
 Labrador, Northern, 154 
 
 " Southern, 151, 153, 
 
 154 
 Lagopus, 200, 205 
 
 evermanni, 165, 207 
 lagopus, 147, 150, 206 
 lagopus alleni, 206 
 leucurus, 171, 207 
 rupestris, 153, 206 
 rupestris atkensis, 
 161, 207 
 Lagopus, rupestris nelsoni, 207 
 " rupestris reinhardi, 
 200, 207 
 Lagopus rupestris townsendi, 
 
 161, 163, 207 
 Lagopus rupestris welchi, 157, 
 
 207 
 Lagopus Scoticus, 206 
 Lake Superior, 124 
 Liard River, 99, 171 
 Lockhart River, 123 
 Long Island, 117, 119 
 Lophophorus, 208 
 Lophortyx, 192, 193, 196 
 
 " californicus, 57, 60, 
 
 197 
 
 Lophortyx californicus vallic- 
 
 ola, 60, 197 
 Lophortyx gambeli, 67, 197 
 Louisiana, 19, no, 115, 122 
 
 MacFarlane, Mr., 123 
 
 MacFarlane River, 151 
 Maine, 19, 30, 84, 104, 172 
 Manitoba, no, 115 
 Martha's Vineyard, in, 117, 
 
 119, 129, 203 
 Massachusetts, 74, 80, 117, 119 
 Meleagridse, 209 
 Meleagrinae, 183, 209 
 Meleagris, 211 
 
 gallopavo, 185, 211, 
 212 
 Meleagris sylvestris, 176, 179, 
 
 181, 212 
 Meleagris sylvestris ellioti, 
 
 181, 211, 212 
 Meleagris sylvestris novae-an- 
 
 gliee, 210 
 Meleagris sylvestris oceola, 
 
 179, 212 
 Mexico, 36, 38, 39, 180, 182, 184, 
 
 199 
 Mexico, Eastern, 53, 180, 181 
 '• Northern, 49 
 
 Northeastern, 54, 181 
 Northwestern, 62, 67, 
 69 
 Mexico, Table-land of, 72 
 
 '• Valley of, 50 
 Minnesota, State of, 74, 104 
 Michigan, State of, 74, 115, 172, 
 Mississippi, State of, 80, 172 
 " River, 19, 30 
 
 " Valley of the, no, 
 
 115 
 Missouri, 19, 30, no 
 Mogallon Mountains, 49 
 Mojave River, 58 
 Montana, 88, 98, 106, 126, 128, 
 
 129, 134, 167 
 Montana, Northwest, 108 
 Monterey, 57 
 
 1 1 
 
INDEX. 
 
 217 
 
 Montezuma, 185 
 Mount Kearsage, 44 
 ** Magruder, 46 
 
 Nebraska, 141 
 
 Nevada, State of, 46, 58, 60, 67, 
 
 90, 97, 126, 141 
 New Caledonia, 84, 87 
 
 " England, 22, 87, 104, 147 
 Newfoundland, 147, 149, 150, 157 
 New Hampshire, State of, 19 
 New Jersey, State of, 117, 119 
 
 " Mexico, Territory of, 19, 
 
 30, 49, 52, 62, 67, 69, 70, 72, 
 
 89. 90, 93. 129, 134, 136, 141. 
 
 167, 171, 182, 204 
 New Mexico, Northern, 62 
 
 ** World, 142, 184, 185, 191, 
 
 199, 206, 209 
 New York, Northern, 87 
 
 " State of, 19, 104, 
 
 142, 150 
 North America, 151, 160, 191, 
 
 192, 199, 202, 203, 204, 206, 
 
 208, 209, 210, 211, 213 
 
 Norton Sound, 88 
 Nova Scotia, 103 
 Nuevo Leon, 36 
 
 Odontophorin/€, 191, 192 
 Ohio, State of, 74, 115, 172 
 Old World, 191, 205, 208 
 Ontario, 115, 172 
 
 " Southern, 19, 30 
 Oregon, 20, 30, 41, 42, 55, 57, 
 58, 60, 84, 87, 106, 108, 128, 
 136, 141 
 Oregon, Eastern, 46 
 Oreortyx, 193, 194 
 
 picta, 194 
 pictus, 42, 46, 195 
 
 it 
 
 Oreortyx, pictus confinis, 48, 195 
 pictus plumiferus, 46, 
 
 195 
 Ortyx, massena, 197 
 
 *• montezuma, 197 
 squamatus, 195 
 Owls, 79, 82 
 
 Pacific, 30, 81, 126 
 
 Coast, 42, I, 100, 106, 
 142 
 Panamint Mountains, 46, 60 
 Partridge, 19, 69, 71, 74 
 
 " American, 191, 192, 
 209 
 Partridge, California, 55, 56, 59, 
 
 62, 71, 196, 197 
 Partridge, Chestnut-bellied, 
 
 Scaled, 53, 196 
 Partridge, Birch, 74 
 " Black, ')9, 100 
 
 Black-bellied, 69 
 Blue, 49. 52, 71, 196 
 Gambel's, 51. 55, 58, 
 62.64,66, 70, 71, 195, 196, 197 
 Partridge, Massena, 69, 70, 71, 
 
 193 
 Partridge, Mountain, 41,44, 45, 
 
 157, 195 
 Partridge, Plumed, 44, 45, 195 
 " San Pedro, 47, 195 
 Scaled, 49, 50, 52, 53, 
 195, 196 
 Partridge, Spruce, 100, loi, 104, 
 
 106, 107 
 Partridge, Valley, 58, 107 
 
 White Top-knot, 49 
 Partridges, 189, 201 
 
 " Helmeted, 193 
 
 '* North American, 
 
 192 
 
UPP"^^" 
 
 ai8 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 t ' i 
 
 Pan-idges, Plumed, 193 
 
 " Scaled, 193, 197 
 Pea-fowl, 209 
 Pedicecetes, 200, 204 
 
 " phasianellus, 124, 
 
 204 
 Pedicecetes phasianellus catn- 
 
 pestris, 134, 205 
 Pedicecetes phasianellus co- 
 
 lumbianus, 128, 205 
 Pennsylvania, Eastern, 119 
 
 •' State of, 117,172, 
 
 176 
 Perdicinae, 191 
 Phasianidae, 183 ^08, 209 
 Phasianus, 208 
 Pheasant, 74 
 Pine Hen, 89, 90 
 Plomoso, 38 
 Polyplectrum, 208 
 Prairie Chicken, no, iii, 114, 
 
 115, 126, 127, 129 
 Prairie Chicken, The Northern, 
 
 120 
 Prairie Hen, no, 114, 203 
 
 A tt water's, 1 22, 204 
 Lesser, 120, 204 
 Prairie Hens, 202, 203, 204 
 Ptarmigan, 183, 184, 200 
 
 Allen's, 149, 206 
 Evermann's, 165, 
 
 207 
 Ptarmigan, Nelson's, 159, 
 
 207 
 Ptarmigan, Newfoundland, 157 
 " Reinhardt's, 154, 
 
 207 
 Ptarmigan, Rock, 151, 155, 161, 
 
 206 
 Ptarmigan, Townsend's, 163, 
 
 207 
 
 << 
 << 
 
 
 Ptarmigan, Turner's, 161, 207 
 " Welch's, 157, 207 
 
 " Willow, 151, 152, 
 
 206 
 Ptarmigan, white-tailed, 167, 
 
 207 
 Puget Sound, 20, 55 
 
 Quail, 19, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 33, 
 
 35, 36, 62, 63 
 Quail, Black, 69 
 
 " Black-bellied, 69 
 
 " Cactus, 49 
 
 " Crested, 50^ 
 Florida, 33. 34 
 
 *' Fool, 69, 70, 198 
 
 " Gambel's, 39, 62 
 
 " Masked, 38 
 
 " Mountain, 169 
 
 ** Snow, 169 
 
 ** Texan, 37, 40. 
 Valley, 58, 62 
 
 " White, 169 
 
 *' White-crested, 49 
 
 " White Topknot, 49 
 Quails, 191 
 Quickiock Falls, 153 
 
 RiDGWAiT, R., 73 
 
 Rio Grande, Foothills of the, 
 
 53 
 Rio Grande, Lower Valley of 
 
 the, 54 
 Rio Grande, Valley of the, 35, 
 
 53. 69 
 Rocky Mountains, 93, 94, 98, 
 
 99, 100, 104, 108, 123, 126, 134 
 Rocky Mountain Region, 88 
 Rocky Mountains, Eastern, 128 
 
 Sage Cock, 137, 199, 205 
 
INDEX. 
 
 219 
 
 Sage Hen, 138 
 
 San Antonio, 69, 120 
 
 San Bernardino County, Cali- 
 fornia, 62, 67 
 
 San Francisco, 41, 42, 46 
 
 San Pedro Mountains, 47, 48 
 
 Seattle, 41 
 
 Sennett, G. B, 53, 180 
 
 Sierra Nevada Mountains, 44, 
 46, 58, 94 
 
 Silver City, 72 
 
 Sitka, 90, 142, 147 
 
 Snake River, 20 
 
 Sonora, 38, 39 
 
 Sonoita Creek, 38 
 Valley, 38 
 
 St. Augustine, 177 
 
 St. John's River, 177 
 
 St. Lawrence, Gulf of, 153 
 
 Staked Plains, 35 
 
 Tamaulipas, 36 
 
 Taos, 69, 167 
 
 Tetrao californicus, 196 
 
 " canadensis, 202 
 
 " cupido, 203 
 
 " lagopus, 205 
 
 *• obscurus, 201 
 
 " phasianellus, 204 
 
 " umbellus, 200 
 
 " urophasianus, 205 
 
 " virginianus, 193 
 Tetraonidae, 191, 192 
 Tetraoninae, 150, 189, 199, 
 
 209 
 Texas, 19, 35, 49, 53, 54, no, 
 
 115, 120, 122, 172, 176 
 Texas, Eastern, 30 
 
 Gulf Coast of, 122 
 
 " Western, 36, 49, 52, 62, 
 67, 69, 72, 120, 182, 185 
 
 Townsend, Mr., 163 
 Tragopans, 209 
 Tucson, 38 
 Turkey, Bronze, 212 
 
 '• Eastern wild, 181 
 
 Elliot's Rio Grande, 
 
 180, 312 
 
 Turkey, Florida wild, 177, 178, 
 
 212 
 Turkey, Mexican, 182, 185, 210, 
 
 211, 212 
 Turkey, Northern Wild, 179 
 " ocellated, 208, 209 
 
 wild, 172, 173, 175, 176, 
 180, 182, 2o8, 212 
 Turkeys, wild, 183, 208, 209, 210 
 Turner, L, M., 154 
 Tympanuchus, 200, 203, 204 
 
 " americanus, 115, 
 
 119, 203 
 Tympanuchus, attwateri, 122, 
 
 204 
 Tympanuchus, crpido, 119, 204 
 " pallidicinctus, 
 
 120, 122, 204 
 
 United States, 19, 38, 49, 51. 
 
 69, 87, 90, 106, III, 123, 124, 
 
 167, 172 
 United States, Eastern, 19, 30, 
 
 80, 85, 88, 180 
 United States, Middle, 19, iii, 
 
 "7 
 UniiL . States, Northern, 19, 
 
 33. 39. 180 
 United States, Northwestern, 
 
 126 
 United States, Southern, 22, 
 
 36, 74, 180, 181, 191 
 United States, Western, 19, 
 
 loi, 117, 162, 166, 167, 171 
 
w^ 
 
 
 220 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Utah, 20, 30, 58, 90, 141 
 " Southeastern, 62, 67 
 
 Valladores, 47 
 Vancouver Island, 42, 81 
 Vermont, State of, 19 
 Virginia, State of, 20, 74, 119 
 
 Washington, State of, 30, 41, 
 42, 55. 57. 84, 87, 106, 108, 
 126, 128, 136, 141 
 
 Western Hemisphere, 191, 
 192 
 
 West Indies Islands, 184 
 
 White-belly, 132 
 White Mountains, 49 
 Willamette Valley, 41, 58 
 Wilmot Horton River, 151 
 Wisconsin, State of, 74. 129, 
 
 134, 172, 176 
 Wyoming, Northern, 99 
 
 State of, 90, 98, 126, 
 
 128, 167 
 
 Yukon River, 89 
 
 " Valley of the, 88 
 
 Zerega, L. a., 150 
 
COLOR CHART 
 
 The Char! at the end of this volume will peatly 
 assist readers to identify the various colors men- 
 tioned in this work. 
 
 ■-%;:. 
 
UNIFORM WITH GAME BIRDS 
 
 lllllinlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllUlllllllllllllllltllllllllllllllllllltH*>IIIIIMMIIIIIMIIItMMIIIIIIIIIIllllMllliril II'MIIII lllltltM'IIIIIIMIIIIMIIIIItllllllllllllllMIIII 
 
 North I 
 American 
 
 Shore Birds I 
 
 2(1 Edition | 
 
 By j 
 
 Prof. Daniel | 
 
 Giraud Elliot | 
 
 lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMIII|i:lltlllllllllllllllllfr. 
 
 A POPULAR history of 
 the Snipes, Sandpi- 
 pers, Plovers, etc., inhab- 
 iting the beaches and 
 marshes of the Atlantic and 
 Pacific Coasts, the Prairies, 
 and shores of the inland 
 Lakes and Rivers of the 
 North American Continent. 
 IVitb 24 fine full-page 
 plates specially drawn for 
 this work by Mr. Edwin 
 W. Sheppard. 
 
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 biographies will prove most welcome," etc. 
 
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