DUSKY GROUSE. 
Dendragapus obscurus. 
Dendragapus obscurus fuliginosus. 
Dendragapus obscurus richardsom. 
Dendragapus obscurus sierre. 
The dusky grouse is the largest of the American 
wood grouse, sometimes weighing four pounds. 
Above, the male is dusky gray or dull black, usually 
more or less waved with fine, blacker lines. Sometimes 
there is a variety of light and dark color on the back 
and wings, producing a mottled effect. The tail is 
black with a gray band across the end, usually from 
half an inch to an inch wide. The under parts are 
slaty gray, somewhat streaked with white on the flanks. 
The bird is from twenty to twenty-three inches long, 
and is stout and graceful. On the side of the neck there 
is a patch of white surrounding a naked, inflatable 
bare space which is hardly, or not at all, to be seen, 
except during the breeding season. The throat is also 
white or very pale. 
The much smaller female is grayish or brownish in 
color, marked with spots and bars of blackish. 
This is the typical dusky or blue grouse, and is 
found in the Rocky Mountains, west as far as they ex- 
tend, east to the Black Hills, south to the Mogollon 
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