BIRDS — TETRAONIDAE — TETRAO OBSCIIRUS. 



621 



The prevailing color of this species is dark brown above, with fine mottlings of phmibeous ; 

 beneath nearly uniform plumbeous ; the sides, however, under the wings, the scapulars, and the 

 outer surface of the wings arc like the back, but also niottleil finely with brown, with a t^^'udency 

 to li^ht ashy towards the tips of the feathers, those of the sides streakid centrally, and terminated 

 with white ; the cliiu and upper part of throat have the feathers white, barred ternuually with 

 black, and the loral feathers similarly marked ; there is, however, a dark brown stripe from the 

 bill beneath the eye and over the ear coverts, as well as a half collar on the lower part of the 

 throat, of a dark plumbeous black. The tail feathers are lustrous black beneath ; slaty black 

 above, with a terminal bar of ashy plumbeous, varying considerably in width. The under tail 

 coverts are dark plumbeous, broadly tipped with white. All the feathers on the lower part of 

 the neck are white, except at the tip. 



The female is somewhat similar, except that the feathers of the neck and fore part of the 

 back have conspicuous transverse bars of brownish yellow. The outlines of the dark transverse 

 pectoral collar are indistinct, and the dark streak beneath tiie orbits appears to be wanting. 

 The plumbeous of the under parts is duller, and more obscured with white. The upper tail 

 coverts and inner tail feathers are banded with grayish. 



There are considerable differences in different specimens of this species, varying with age and 

 sex. In one specimen, 4505, from the Cascades, much the largest of all, the back is quite 

 uniformly black, with scarcely any mottling, except on the rump and wings ; the under parts 

 are dark continuous slat€ color, passing insensibly into the darker collar of the throat. The 

 white of the chin is much obscured. In another male (5746) the feathers beneath are all edged 

 with whitish. This specimen (of August 3,) has the tarsi nearly bare. One specimen (2859) 

 has the tail entirely black, without slaty tip. 



List of specimens. 



Caul. Sex and 

 No. ' age. I 



Locality. 



When col- 

 lected. 



Whence obtained. 



c? 

 6 

 o 



9 



Black UiUs.Neb Aug. 



do Aug. 



do Aug. 



do 



Laramie Peatc, Neb Aug. 



do Aug. 



do 



.do.. 



5747 , 



7047.' 



7046 



8919 



B9ie 



8917 



89-20 



8915 ! do Aug. 25 



8919 ' do Aug. 29 



10015 ; St. Mary's PasK, R. mta Oct. 8,1853 



10017 ' Rocky mountains.. 



4505 S Cajscade mountains 



10008 Fort Dalles, Oregon 



10010 Clickat.at, W. T Aug. 4,1853 



10011 I FortSteilacoom July — ,I^S 



10013 Q I do Au,'. — ,1854 



lOOOa do Aug. —,1856 



10012 do 



4398 cJ I do Aprilie,1855 



10014 (J I do May 3,1856 



10027 (J ; do April —,1854 



2,1856 

 3,1856 

 9,1657; 

 do... 



Lieut. Bryan . 

 do 



do 



dn , 



Lt. Warren... 



do 



do 



do 



, do 



, do 



Got. Stevens.... 



, do 



Lt. Williamson.. 



Dr. Sucklcy 



Gov. Stevens ... 

 Dr. Suckley .... 

 Gov. Stevens ... 



Dr. Suckley 



Gov. Stevens,. , 

 Dr. Suckley .... 



do 



Gov. Stevens . . . 



Orig'l 

 No. 



193 

 194 

 385 



Collected by- 



W. S. Wood. 



do , 



do 



do 



Dr. Hayden. 

 do 



387 



sa 



532 

 63 



525 

 67 



194 



368 

 62 



.do., 

 .do.. 



do 



do 



Dr. Suckley . 

 do 



Dr. Newberry.. 



Dr. Cooper . 



Length. | Stretch 

 of wings, 



19.00 



19. 12 { 

 18.50 i 



28.00 

 27.00 



I 



18.00 j 28.00 



20.00 29.50 



17.50 I 24.12 



19.00 



Dr. Suckley . 

 Dr. Suckley . 



Dr. Buckley ... 

 do 



19.00 

 18.00 



19.75 

 20.00 

 19.75 



26.12 



27.00 

 2S.0O 



30.00 

 30.00 

 39.00 



Wing. 



Remarks. 



8.50 



8.75 



9.00 

 9.50 

 8.00 



Iris brown. 



Iris brown. 

 Head 



9.75 

 9.75 



