410 
Sharp-tail- 
ed Groufe, 
A JOURNEY TO THE 
that I never heard them in Winter, though 1 
have killed many of them in that feafon. ‘The 
Indians informed me they never make that noife 
but when feeding, which is very probable; for 
it is notorioufly known that all the fpecies of 
Groufe feed very early in the mornings, and 
late in the afternoons. This {pecies is called by 
fome of the Indians bordering on Hudfon’s Bay, 
Pus-pus-kee, and by others Pus-pus.-cue. 
SHARP-TAILED Grouse, or as they are called 
in Hudfon’s Bay, Pheafant. Thofe birds are al- 
ways found in the Southern parts of the Bay, are 
very plentiful in the interior parts of the coun- 
try, and in fome Winters a few of them are fhot 
at York Fort, but never reach fo far North as 
Churchill. In colour they are not very unlike 
that of the Fnglifh hen pheafant ; but the tail is 
fhort and pointed, like that of the common 
duck ; and there is no perceivable difference in 
plumage between the male and female. When 
full-grown, and in good condition, they frequent- 
ly weigh two pounds, and though the flefh is 
dark, yet it is juicy, and always efteemed good 
eating, particularly when larded and roafted. In 
Summer they feed on berries, and in Winter on 
the tops of the dwarf birch, and the buds of the 
poplar. Inthe Fall they are tolerably tame, but 
in the fevere cold more fhy; frequently perch 
on the tops of the higheft poplars, out of mode- 
rate gun-fhot, and will not fuffer a near approach. 
They fometimes, when difturbed in this fituati- 
on, 
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