1S8 Mr. Douglas 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. Weight 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 fdr 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. umbelhis) 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 



run 



