106 
The northern range of this striking bird was once on our southern 
sea coasts. It haslong been exterminated (?) in Canada and there is little 
chance of its occurring again. 
Order—Gallinz. Scratching Birds. 
As the name implies, these birds are adapted for securing their food 
by scratching in the ground. The best popular representatives are the 
common barnyard poultry, but the order glides almost imperceptibly 
into the Pigeons on one hand and the Shore Birds on the other. They are 
well distributed over the world, being found in almost every country on 
the globe. In Canada we have only one suborder of the group, Phasiani, 
the true fowls. 
SUBORDER—PHASIANI. TRUE FOWLS. GROUSE, QUAIL, AND PTARMIGAN. 
General Description. This suborder is composed of birds with strong, compact feet, 
four toes, and blunt claws adapted for scratching in the ground (Figure 28, p.22). Though 
best adapted for terrestrial life they perch readily in trees and often feed and roost there. 
Bills short, horny, and with strongly arched culmen (Figure 29, p. 23); nostrils set in a 
soft intrusion into the base of the bill; wings short and round. These birds rarely take 
wing except for short flights or to avoid immediate danger. 
Nesting. On ground, eggs laid on the dead grass or leaves with little or no preparation. 
Distribution. Species of this suborder are found in all parts of Canada. The Ruffed 
and Spruce Grouse and the Turkey are birds of the woodlands; the Bob-white, Prairie 
Chicken, and Sharp-tail inhabit open or prairie country; and the Ptarmigan, the barren 
lands of the extreme north. 
Three families of this order are represented in Canada. Odontopho- 
ride the American Quail, Tetraonide the Grouse, and Meleagride the Turkeys. 
Economic Status. Their food is both insectivorous and vegetable— 
grains, buds, leaves, fruit, and insects being equally acceptable to them. 
As several species frequent cultivated fields their economic status is of 
interest to the husbandman and has been the subject of considerable in- 
vestigation, the results of which show that some of them are among the 
most useful birds on the farm. The insect portion of the food of some 
species is decidedly important and very little complaint can be made 
against the other items as they are mostly waste or wild material of little 
or no consequence to the agriculturist. 
Like most of our larger birds they have been greatly reduced in number, 
and should be strictly protected and their killing limited to the natural 
annual surplus, leaving an ample permanent breeding stock untouched. 
The Canadian representatives of this suborder are divided into three 
families: Odontophoride, the American Quails; Tetraonide, the Grouse; 
and Meleagride, the Turkeys. 
FAMILY—-ODONTOPHORIDAH. AMERICAN QUAILS. 
General Description. The smallest representatives of the suborder in Canada. The 
nostril is partly covered with a fleshy scale and not as well hidden in the feathering as it is 
in the feathering of the Grouse. There is only one species of the family in eastern Canada. 
The term “Quail” for our American birds is a misnomer. They are 
not Quails in the European sense but true Partridges. In their turn our 
‘“‘Partridges” are Grouse. These are examples of a common misapplication 
