TETRAO OBSCURUS, DUSKY GROUSE. 395 



brown, tawny, and white, and is rather less in size than the male : but 

 she has the orange-brown tail-bar, and is substantially of the same form 

 as the male. 



Yar.franliini only differs in wanting the orange-brown tail band, and 

 in having the upper tail-coverts, which are plain in true canadeusis, eon- 

 spicuousiy spotted with white. In this lack of the terminal band on 

 the tail there is shown an interesting parallelism with the Rocky Mount- 

 ain var. richardsoni of T. ohscurus. 



As already observed, the Canada Grouse is chiefly a boreal bird, 

 reaching but a little way over our border. It is common in the conifer- 

 ous forests of Northern ISTew England, but only casually seen as far 

 south as Massachusetts. In Minnesota, where it finds congenial resorts, 

 it is abundant; but I never observed it in aSTorthern Dakota, whore the 

 country is too dry and open. While along the northern boundary, Ijow- 

 ever, 1 heard of a "Black Chicken," which I suppose was this species, 

 and there is reason to exi)ect its occurrence on the wooded Pembina and 

 Turtle Mountains. There is nothing to indicate that it ever comes 

 further south in this longitude. 



Var. franldini is the only form to be properly included among the 

 birds of the Missouri region, and even this is only found in the mount- 

 ains, about the sources of the river and some of its tributaries. Dr. 

 Cooper, who found it abundant in the Rocky and Bitter-root Mount- 

 ains, also ascertained its occurrence in the Cascade Range, where, he 

 says, it lives among the spruces and pines, particularly in swampy tracts, 

 leeding on the buds and leaves of various conifer^e. Dr. Suckley de- 

 termined its abundance in Saint Mary's Valley of the Rocky Mountains. 

 It does not appear to have been met with by any of the parties with 

 which Dr. Ha.vden has been connected. 



The eggs of Franklin's Grouse and the Canada Grouse are indistin- 

 guishable. They are less elongate than tiiose of T. ohscurus^ broader at 

 the butt, and more ]>ointed — ai)proaching the characteristic pointed 

 sli;i[)e of I'artridge eggs, and being like those of Ptarmigan in size and 

 shape. Tbe following measurements of selected examples from a large 

 series show the size, sliai)e, and range of variation : 1.70 by l.lio; 1.70 by 

 L20; 1.05 by 1.25; 1.G5 by 1.15. High in the oviduct the ^g,^ is creamy- 

 white, as I see by some examples in the Saiithsonian stated to have 

 been cut out of the bird. This color is washed over to a varying degree 

 of iuteuNity with rich chestnut-brown — generally pale, a "creiuny"- 

 browu — and is further dotted, spotted, sometimes even splashed and 

 blotched, with a very dark, hea\y shade of the s;inie color, the mark- 

 ings being numerous, strong, and bold, of no determinate shape, and 

 wholly irregularly distributed. These markings are only an intensifi- 

 cation, in spots, of the ground color, but are very heavy, and, in ct)m- 

 ]);irison with those of other (.iironse, show a decided approach to tlie 

 ix'cnliarly dark and heavy pattern of Ptarmigan eggs — the nearest ap- 

 l)roach made among American Grouse. 



TETRAO OIJSCURUS, Say. 

 Dusky (irousc; Bliio Grouse; Pine (Jrouse. 



Tvtrao olmniriis. Say, Loiij^'s ExiumI. R. Mts. ii. l^-j:?, M, "iO-J (not of Snaiiixon antl 

 liirli(ir(lnoii.)—ni:, Syn. IH-JH, U7 ; Am. IMiilos. Trans, iii, l*iO, '.VJl ; Am. Orn. 

 iii, iSto, p. IH'.I, pi. lH._(?)NriT., Man. i, lH;j;i. (;,;i;.— (.') Ai.i... Orn. Mioj;. iv, 

 1838, -IKi. pi. :{<)1 ; Svn. lM:il>, -JU;? ; 15. Am. i, If^U, hi», pi. -j'jri.— Woi.nu.. Silf^r. 

 Rep. lH.-.:{,<Hi (.Santa VV; \. M.).— XkwI!., I'. U. \l. U'cp. vi. \<u, !);{.— Sci.., P. 

 Z. S. ls->s, 1.— Hi)., 15. N. A. K.s, (J-Jo.— IIkkkm., i'. K. \i. Krp. ix. 1KVJ. pt. vi, 

 til.— ll.wi... Rip. isf,-j. 17-2.— Cool'., H. Cal. i, IhTii, .VJil.— Ai.i.kx, iWiil. M.C.Z. 

 iii, 187-J, 181.— JIuLU., I'r. lio.st. Sue. xv, 187::i, 208.- CoUKS, Key, \f*^7•^, 'J:5;{. 



