COCK OF THE PLAINS. 316 



theless the advantage of combining analogy in meaning -witli the indica- 

 tion of a most remarkable characteristic of the bird. This species is in 

 fact distinguished from all others of its genus, and especially from its 

 European analogue, by its long tail, composed of twenty narrow, taper- 

 ing, acute feathers ; thus evincing the fallacy of the character errone- 

 ously attributed to all the Grouse, of having broad and rounded tail- 

 feathers. It is a singular fact that both of the newly discovered species 

 from the north-western part of America, and they only, should be dis- 

 tinguished by the extraordinary number of the feathers of the tail. In 

 the Dusky G-fouse, however, they are broad and rounded. The Cock 

 of the Woods, like the greater part of the species, has but eighteen, 

 which are also broad and rounded. The only Grouse in which they are 

 found narrow is the Sharp-tailed, though Avithout being either acute or 

 tapering, but on the contrary square at tip, and of equal breadth 

 throughout, or if anything, the lateral rather broader at the tip. 



Lewis and Clark first met with this bird on their journey westward 

 near the fountain of the Missouri, in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. 

 They inform us that it is found on the plains of the Columbia in great 

 abundance, from the entrance of the south-east fork of the Columbia to 

 that of Clark's river. It appears also to extend to California, for there 

 can be but little doubt that it is the bird erroneously called Bustard by 

 the travellers who have visited that country. Lewis and Clark state 

 that in its habits it resembles the Grouse (meaning probably T. phasia- 

 nellus), except that its favorite food is the leaf and buds of the pulpy- 

 leafed thorn. The gizzard is large, and much less compressed and 

 muscular than in most gallinaceous birds, and perfectly resembles a 

 maw. When the bird flies, he utters a cackling note, not unlike that of 

 the domestic fowl. The flesh of the Cock of the Plains is dark, and 

 only tolerable in point of flavor, and is not so palatable as either that of 

 the Pheasant or Grouse. It is invariably found in the plains. 



The Cock of the Plains is precisely equal in size to the Cock of the 

 Woods ; at least such is the result of a comparison of the female with 

 the corresponding sex of the European bird, both lying before us. Each 

 part exactly coincides in form and dimension, excepting that the tail 

 rather gives the superiority to the American, so that if the male bears 

 the same relative proportion to his female, the Cock of the Plains must 

 be proclaimed the largest of Grouse. The two females are strikingly 

 similar. The Cock of the Plains is however a much more grayish bird, 

 wanting entirely the reddish that mottles, and occupies so much of the 

 plumage of its analogue. This, the total want of beard-like appendages, 

 and the singular shape of the tail, are the prominent discriminative 

 features ; to which may be added, that the under wing-coverts marbled 

 with black in the European, are pure white in our new species, though 

 this, as well as the want of reddish, might be ascribed to the youth of 



