GALLINACEOUS BIRDS 45 
become congested and large, and by popular writers 
are sometimes called combs. Besides, several American 
grouse, such as the sage hen, the pinnated grouse and 
the dusky grouse, have on the sides of the neck naked 
patches of skin, which in the breeding season are capa- 
ble of being inflated, and when so inflated completely 
change the appearance of the bird. In the prairie 
chicken, these, when inflated, have been compared to 
small oranges ; in the sage grouse they are much larger ; 
while in the dusky grouse they appear smaller, and can 
only just be seen through the white feathers which sur- 
round them. The sharptail grouse has a naked place 
in the same position on the neck, and so has the ruffed 
grouse. 
All the grouse have peculiar and noisy methods of 
ushering in the breeding season, of which the drumming 
of the ruffed grouse, the booming of the prairie chicken, 
the hooting of the blue grouse and the dancing of the 
sharptail are familiar examples. These various actions 
and sounds are not, however, exclusively confined to 
the breeding season. 
Grouse are generally supposed to be polygamous, but 
not all species are so. The quails, or American par- 
tridges, are monogamous, the male and female remain- 
ing together during the season of incubation and hatch- 
ing. In fact, in case of accident to the female, the male 
sometimes hatches out and rears the brood. The Ameri- 
can quails possess shrill and rather pleasing voices, 
while the calls of the grouse are often rough, hoarse 
and disagreeable. 
