78 REPTILES AND BIRDS. 
the buds of fir and birch trees, insects, and grubs; little, in fact, 
comes amiss to satisfy their appetites. Their bearing, which is 
proud and w arlike, is supported by a robust form. ‘Their plumage 
is black, spotted with white, and clouded as it were with bluish 
diaphanous shades. They are polygamous, and live together in 
families. They seek shelter in trees, both for roosting and in order 
to conceal themselves from their enemies. 
At the first breath of spring the male birds make the woods 
re-echo with the loud notes with which they summon the females. 
For an hour every morning and evening, for over a month, this 
practice is continued. 
The females retire into the thick brushwood to build their nests 
and lay their eggs ; here they devote themselves to incubation, and 
afterwards to rearing their offspring—cares which devolve upon them 
exclusively. They deposit from eight to sixteen eggs on a bed of 
erasses and leaves roughly interwoven. The young birds run about 
as soon as hatched, and remain for several months with the mother, 
who on all occasions watches them with the tenderest solicitude. 
The flesh of the Cock of the Woods is juicy, but possesses a 
flavour of turpentine, from the buds and leaves of the pines on which 
it feeds. In Scotland this species became extinct, but was restored 
by the Marquis of Breadalbane, who imported great numbers from 
Sweden. It is almost as large as a Turkey. 
The Black Grouse (Tetr ‘ao tetrix, Fig. 148) is about the size 
of a Pheasant, and is distinguished by its ‘tail, which in the cock is 
divided into two parts, composed of four lateral feathers on each 
side, curving outwards. 
The Cock of the Plains (Z/rao artimesia), so called from its fre- 
quenting and feeding on the sage that grows in profusion on the far- 
western “uplands of America, is a noble bird, of handsome plumage. 
It is almost as large as a hen Turkey. Its numbers are rapidly 
diminishing. 
The Pinnated Grouse (Zerao Cupido) is a native of the prairies 
of the North American continent; it is the same size as the last- 
described species, but the plumage is a light brown, occasionally 
ticked with white. Its call is deep and sonorous, much resembling 
the bellowing of a bull, and can be heard for miles in still weather. 
It is an exceilent table bird, and affords ‘good sport to the lovers of 
the gun. The Pinnated Grouse, frequently called Prairie Chicken 
or Hen, pair in March; they lay from twelve to fourteen eggs, and 
are most devoted parents. Of this species there are two strongly- 
marked varieties, differing in size and formation of tail. 
