THE RUFFED GROUSE. 7 1 



and shortly afterward they cease, and stand or move about very 

 quietly, until they are again started by one of their number 

 leading off." 



Nest — A hollow in the ground, generally lined with grass and 

 well-concealed. 



Eggs. — Less richly coloured than those of the northern form. 



THE RUFFED GROUSE. GENUS BONASA. 

 Bonasa, Steph. in Shaw's Gen. Zool. xi. p. 298 (18 19). 

 Type, B, lunbellus (Linn.). 

 Tarsi only partially feathered, the lower part being entirely 

 naked. Toes naked and pectinate along the sides. Tail com- 

 posed of eighteen feathers, rather long and bluntly wedge- 

 shaped, the outermost pair being nearly as long as the middle 

 pair. Sexes similar in plumage. A frilled ruffle of fan-shaped 

 feathers on each side of the neck. Only one North American 

 species is known. 



I. THE RUFFED GROUSE. BONASA UMBELLUS. 



Tetrao umbellus, Linn. S. N. i. p. 275 (1766). 



Tetrao togatus, Linn. S. N. i. p. 275 (1766). 



Bofiasa iinibellus, Steph. in Shaw's Gen. Zool. xi. p. 300 (1819) ; 



Bendire, Life Hist. N. Am. B. p. 59, pi. ii. fig. i (1892) ; 



Ogilvie-Grant, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xxii. pp. 85, 558 (1893). 

 Tetrao umbelloides^ Dougl. Tr. Linn. Soc. xvi. p. 148 (1829). 

 Tetrao sab inii, Dougl. Tr. Linn. Soc. xvi. p. 137 (1829). 

 Bonasa uinbdlus togata, Bendire, Life Hist. N. Am. B. p. 64, 



pi. ii. fig. 2 (1892). 

 Bonasa umbellus umbelloides^ Bendire, Life Hist. N. Am. B. p. 



67, pi. ii. fig. 3 (1892). 

 Bonasa umbellus sabini^ Bendire, Life Hist. N. Am. B. p. 68, 



pi. ii. fig. 4 (1892). 



{Plate VI I I.) 

 Characters and Range. — The plumage of male and female alike 

 is subject to great climatic variation, some individuals having 



