524 



SCRATCHING BIRDS — (iALLIX.E. 



rare iu Arizona, altlujugli ilitiicult to procure. Some specimens were of eiior- 

 uiuus size, I'ully equalling the largest of the Eastern race. 



Family TETHAOXID.E, The Grouse. 



Char. Tlie Tctmonidw are characterized among gallinaceous hinls hy 

 their densely feathered tarsi, and hy tlie feathers of the nasal fossa or 

 groove, which hll it completely, and conceal the nostrils. The toes are 

 usually naked (feathered to the claws in the genus Lai/ojncs), and witli pec- 

 tinations of scales alonu' the edues. The nuudier of tail leathers varies i'roui 

 sixteen to eighteen and e\'en twenty ; the tail is rounded, acute, or forked. 

 The orbital region is generally somewhat hare, with a naked strijie above 

 tlie upjier eyelid, beset by .short fringe-like processes. 



There are two genera of this family found iu North America, wliich do 

 not occur in California. These are the Cvpichnia ciipido, or pinnated 

 grouse, east of the Mississippi, and the species of Lajjopus or ptarmigan, 

 inhabiting the Arctic regions and snowy summits of mountains. Tlie L. 

 Icucurus, Swainson, lias been found about the snowy peaks near tli(! Co- 

 lumbia River, and in tlie Eocky Mountains down to lat. M'.J°, but not in 

 California. It may, however, yet be detected iu the Sierra Nevada. 



T. obscurus. 



