138 | Mr. Dovcras on some Species 
loured. Breast and belly yellowish-white with brown bars. 
Tarsi one inch long, rusty colour. Quills 20, dusky ; outer 
webs irregularly and faintly brown, spotted ; under-coverts 
white. Ruffle of 20 short black feathers, without any azure 
glossiness. Tail 18 feathers, square at the ends, waved or 
barred with lighter tints, terminating with a black band one 
inch broad. The three middle feathers speckled, and want- 
ing the black band, the tips red: under-coverts foxy-red. 
Female smaller; colours less bright; ruffle shorter, and the 
bars on the tail less distinct. Length 18 inches. Breadth 
13 inches. weights two pounds. 
Flight rapid, consisting of a quick clapping of the wing, and 
then a sudden darting or shooting, with scarcely any apparent 
motion. Food, buds of Pinus, Fragaria; Rubus, Corylus and 
Alnus, and berries of Vaccinium. Nest built on the ground in 
coppices of Corylus, Amelanchier, and Pteris, on the outskirts of 
pine-forests, composed of the slender fronds of Pteris, dry leaves, 
and grass. They pair in March. Eggs 9 to 11, dingy white» with 
red spots. 
These birds are not so common as many others ; they asso- 
 ciate in flocks never exceeding eight or twelve, except for a short 
time in the early months of spring; at other seasons it rarely 
happens that more than three or four are seen together. In 
manner this bird is near akin to the well-known Wood Partridge 
of the United States (T. umbellus) and the Canadas, particularly 
in the strong attachment which it has for its young. The over- 
abundant care which it manifests for the brood seldom fails of 
directing the steps of the hunter to the nest or young; and 
should he come within a few yards, out sallies the mother in 
furious rage, with the tail spread, the wings buzzing on the 
ground, and the frill raised, to meet the intruder, continuing to 
3 run 
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: 
4 
