RUFFED GROUSE 



PHEASANT SHOOTING. 



THE GEOUSE. 



|HE Grouse belong to the family "Tetraonidse," and 

 are characterized among gallinaceous birds by their 

 gg^ densely feathered tarsi ; and by the feathers of the 

 W nasal fossa or groove, which fill it completely, 

 and conceal the nostrils. The toes are usually naked, 

 (feathered to the claws in the Ptarmigans,) and with 

 pectinations of scales along the edges. The tail feathers 

 vary from sixteen to eighteen, and even twenty in num- 

 ber ; the tail is rounded, acute, or forked. The orbital 

 reu-i'on is generally somewhat bare, with a naked stripe 

 above the upper eyelid, beset by short, fringe-like processes, 

 while many genera have an inflatable air-sac on the side of 

 the neck. In this family, according to Baird, Brewer and 

 Ridgway, the following varieties can be found in North 

 America. The common name of each variety, and the 

 places they respectively inhabit, are as follows : 



No. 1. Spruce Partridge, Canada Grouse.— This variety 

 inhabits spruce forests and swamps of the Northern United 

 States to the Arctic seas. West, nearly to Eocky Moun- 

 tains. 



