126 



GROUSE, PARTRIDGES, QUAILS, ETC. 



297b. D. o. richardsonii (DougL}. RICHARDSON GROUSE. 



Similar to D. obscurus. but tail without distinct terminal gray band, and 



tail feathers more trun- 

 cated at tip. 



Distribution. Resi- 

 dent in Canadian zone of 

 the Rocky Mountains 

 from northern Wyoming 1 , 

 Montana, and Idaho, 

 north to British Provinces. 



Nest and eggs similar to those of the dusky grouse, 



Richardson grouse is said to remain in the mountains except in 

 the breeding season, when it descends to the valleys. 



201< 



GENUS CANACHITES. 



299. Canachites franklinii (DougL). FRANKLIN GROUSE. 



Similar to Dendragapus, but tail with sixteen feathers, which are more 



truncated at tip. Adult male : 

 orange comb over eye ; upper parts 

 dark, broadly marked with black 

 bands and narrower bars of gray 

 and brown ; tail feathers black to 

 tip, or narrowly edged with white ; 

 upper tail coverts mottled and strik- 

 ingly banded with, white ; throat and chest black, with white band between ; 

 belly banded with white ; flanks mottled and banded with brown and 

 streaked with white. Adult female : upper parts blackish, irregularly 

 banded, barred, and mottled with rusty brown and ash ; white bands of 

 tail narrower than in male ; under parts uniformly banded with black, 

 white, and rusty brown. Length : 14.70-16.20, wing about 6.50-7.35, tail 

 5.00-5.75. 



Distribution. Resident in the mountains of western Montana and 

 Idaho ; westward to the coast ranges of Oregon and Washington ; and 

 northward through British Provinces to southern Alaska. 



Nest. On ground in woods. Eggs: 8 to 15, buffy or pale brownish, 

 more or less spotted with deep brown. 



Food. Grasshoppers, wild berries, and buds and leaves of spruces and 

 tamaracks. 



No bird is more characteristic of the deep fir forests of the north- 

 ern Rockies and Cascades than the Franklin grouse. It is known 

 locally as the ' fool-hen ' from its misplaced confidence in man, its 

 attitude toward him being one of mild curiosity and indifference 

 rather than alarm. A grouse will sometimes walk slowly out of the 

 way to avoid being stepped on, and will often sit quietly beside the 

 trail as you pass. The danger the birds run in keeping quiet is 

 not as great as it appears, however, for in the dark forest their 

 dusky mottling renders them almost invisible. VERNON BAILEY. 



