NESTS AND EGGS OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



478^:. Coimnon Sharp-tailed Grouse — pedicecetes phasianellus col- 

 UMBIANUS. Light clay to a dark rusty-brown, uniformly speckled with 

 fine dottings of darker brown; from six to twelve in number; average size 

 about 1.77 by 1.25. The Pin-tail Chicken inhabits the western parts of 

 Minnesota and a small part of Iowa, the whole of Dakota, across Ne- 

 braska and Kansas to northern Colorado and Platte regions ; from thence 

 westward in suitable localities to the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Ranges. 

 The nest is placed on the ground, composed of a few dry grasses arranged 

 in a circular form. The bird is esteemed as highly for the table as the 

 Prairie Hen. 



479. Sage Cock — centrocercus urophasianus. Light greenish-drab 

 to a drab shaded with buff, thickly freckled with small rounded spots of 

 reddish-brown and dark chestnut, very much resembling the eggs of the 

 Turkey; six to fifteen in number; size about 2.20 by 1.50. The Sage 

 Hen, Sage Grouse, or Cock of the Plains inhabits the sage-bush regions of 

 the West. It is to be found in these places in the territories of Wyom- 

 ing, Montana, Idaho and Arizona. They are also to be met with in abun- 

 dance in Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Eastern California and Oregon ; in fact, 

 it is a characteristic species in the barren sage-bush regions from the East- 

 ern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, south into New Mexico and Arizona, 

 north to about 49°, wherever the march of civilization has not destroyed 

 their favorite food, the leaves of the wild sage. The nest is but a mere 

 hollow in the sand among the large and small sage-bushes; it is furnished 

 with a few blades of long, dry grass and small twigs. This is the largest 

 of the American Grouse. 



480. Bob-white; American Quail — ortyx virginiana. Pure white; 

 fifteen to twenty-five, pointed at one end and very blunt at the other; size 

 about 1.30 by i. The celebrated game bird of this country, found in 

 Eastern United States, from Florida to Maine and from the Atlantic to 

 Texas; in the two southern extremes of its habitat it is found in two light 

 and dark climate varieties. The nest is placed on the ground, lined with 

 a few leaves and a little grass. It is hidden beneath the shelter of over- 

 hanging grass, weeds or bushes; often under a heap of brushwood and at 

 the side of logs in thickets. 



Hab. Eastern United States. North to Massachusetts and slightly beyond ; Canada West; Minnesota. 

 West to High Central Plains. Up the Missouri to White River. Salt Lake Valley, introduced. Var. O. 

 V. ie.vana, in Texas. Var. O. 7'. Jloridana, in Florida, and very similar specimens up the Mississippi Valley 

 to Southern Llinois. Litroduced in Bahamas and Santa Cruz. 



480<^. Florida Quail — ortyx virginiana floridana. Eggs and nest- 

 ing same as those of 0. virginiana ; the colors of the bird are darker. 



Hab. Florida, with similar specimens from the lower Mississippi Valley. 



