374 GALLTN/E. 



FAMILY IV. 



Tetraonid.e. The Grouse. 



Gen. Chakac. — Bill more or less long, broad at the base, and the sides com- 

 pressed, with the culmen arched to the tip, which is obtuse ; the nostrils 

 basal, lateral, sometimes covered with feathers, or protected with a naked 

 hard scale ; the wings short and rounded ; the tail more or less lengthened 

 and rounded ; the tarsi strong, sometimes clothed with plumes, or naked 

 and scutellated ; the hind toe moderate and elevated. 



The birds of this family are generally of smaller 

 size tliaii those of the preceding group, and far less 

 striking, either for the elegance of their form or the 

 brilliancy of their colour : they are very generally 

 distributed over the surface of the globe, but the 

 typical genera of the family inhabit the forests and 

 heaths of mountainous countries . Their food consists 

 of fruits, seeds, and the young shoots of plants and 

 trees, and occasionally of worms and insects. Some 

 of them are polygamous, but many pair ; and, in the 

 latter case at least, both the males and females assist 

 in rearing their young. 



In this family are arranged the Partridges, the 

 Francolins, the Bush-Quails, the American Par- 

 tridges, the Grouse proper, and the Sand Grouse. 



