• Catalogue of the Birds of Illinois. 191 



Order GALLIN^i}. 



(Gallince alectoropodes.) 



Family MELEAGRID^. —Turkey s. 

 Genus Meleagris, Linnteus. 

 *207. M. f/alloparo omericaiia [Bavtr.) Conesi. Wild Turkey.* Resident. 



Family TETEA0NIDJ5.— Grouse. 



Genus Bonasa, Stephens. 



*20S. B. wubellns (Linn.) Steph. Ruffled Grouse. Resident. f 



Genus CupiDONiA, Reichenbach. 



*209. C. citpido (Linn.) Baird. Pinnated Grouse. Resident. The com- 

 mon " Prairie Chicken" or " Prairie Hen." - 



Genus Pedig^cetes, Baird. 



*210. P. phasianellus colnmhianus (Ord.) Cones. Sharp-tailed Grouse. 

 Resident; northern prairies only. Said to be very scarce, and less numerous 

 than formerly. Should be looked for carefully. Has the same habits as the 

 common "Prairie Chicken," and is quite similar in appearance, but may be 

 distinguished by the form of the markings on the lower parts, which are 

 V-shaped, instead of running straight across, bar-like, by the absence of the 

 elongated feathers on the sides of the neck, and other differences. 



Genus Lagopus, Vieillot. 



211. L. «Z6«.5 (Gmel.) Aud. Willow Ptarmigan. Formerly a rare winter 

 visitant to extreme northern counties, according to Kennicott. Not recorded 



*That the common wild turkey of the Eastern United States is identical specifically 

 with the domesticated bird, there is no reason to doubt, since the able and exhaustive 

 discussion of the matter by Judge Caton, in his recent treatise in the American 

 NatumJiftt for June, 1877, pp. 331-3:^0. In view, however, of the perfect correspon- 

 dence in plumag-e between the barnyard turliey, in its perfect normal plumage (we of 

 course except the albinescent, erythrismal, or rufous and cream-colored, and melan- 

 istic varieties,) with the wild bird of eastern Mexico and the southern Kocky Moun- 

 tains of the United States, it seems most reasonable to regard the latter as the orig- 

 inal of the domesticated race— a supposition greatly strengthened by historical cir- 

 cumstances, which unavoidably lead to the conclusion that the bird was originally in- 

 troduced into Europe by the Spaniards, after the conquest of Mexico, and afterward 

 "transplautcil" to the United States by the early European settlers. As to the mat- 

 ter (if ndiiif'iielature, the whole question depends upon whether Linna;us based his 

 diagnosis (in the domesticated turkey or the wild North American iiird. In the event 

 of his M. ijfilloiiacii b(>ing meant for the former, the bird und('r consideiation must be 

 called (U/K/iVvr/irt, after Bartram; but if LinniBUS had the wild liird of North America 

 in view,then the latter name becomes a synonym of (ialh>p)Wii, while the Mexican, and 

 with it the domesticated bird, where unmixed with wild stock, must be called /rtexi- 

 cana, Gould. 



(■As is apparently the case throughout the Southern States, wherever this species 

 is found, all tne Ruffed Grouse of Southern Illinois have, so far as I have seen, rufous 

 tails. In the northern portion of the state examples with gray tails are common, as is 

 the case in New England and the Middle States {■('ucrally, <'speclally in the mountain 

 districts. This prevalence of the rufous-tailed type seems strictly parallel to the case 

 of the little "Screech Owl" {Scops ((.sie), nearly all the individuals of which are of the 

 bright rufous, or foxy-red phase in Sf)uthern Illinois, and is perhaps due to the sai.ue 

 climatic causes. 



