New Species of Grouse Jiom North America. 373 



have been observed by Lewis and Clarke, by whom it is men- 

 tioned under the name of Cock of the Plains ; and a notice of 

 it was published, some time ago, in the Zoological Journal, by 

 Chas. Lucien Buonaparte, who obtained an imperfect specimen 

 of the male in London. The length of this bird (when full 

 grown) is 32 inches ; its girth 22 ; its weight from 6 to 8 lb. 

 The female is considerably less than the male. Her plumage 

 closely resembles his, except that she wants the lengthened fila- 

 mentous feathers on each side of the neck, and differs slightly in 

 the colour of chin, cheeks, throat, and breast. The flight of 

 these birds is slow and unsteady. Their wings are feeble and 

 proportionably small ; their progress through the air is effected 

 by a fluttering motion, rather than a direct continuous flight- 

 When raised, their voice resembles that of the common pheasant. 

 They build on the ground, beneath the shade of Purshia 

 and Artemisia, or near streams among Phalaris Arundinacea. 

 The nest is carelessly constructed of grass and twigs ; the eggs 

 (from 13 to 17 in number) are about the size of those of a com- 

 mon fowl, of a wood-brown colour, irregularly blotched with 

 chocolate-brown at the larger end. The period of incubation is 

 about three weeks, and the young leave the nest a few hours af- 

 ter they are hatched. In the summer and autumn months, 

 these birds are to be found in small ti-oops ; in spring and win- 

 ter, in flocks of several hundreds. They never perch ; indeed, 

 within their range, not a bush larger than a broom or common 

 whin is to be found. Their food consists chiefly of the buds, 

 leaves, and fruit of Purshia tridentata, Artemisia, the seeds of 

 Cactus, brown and black ants, and sand-bugs. Their flesh is 

 dark-coloured, and not particularly well flavoured. They are 

 plentiful throughout the plains of the Columbia River, and in 

 the interior of North Carolina ; but have never been seen east 

 of the Rocky Mountains. 



The next species, in size and importance, is Richardson's 

 Grouse ^y. Richardsonii), so called in honour of the distin- 

 guished traveller of that name. There is a remarkable differ- 

 ence in this species between the plumage of the male and female. 

 The weight of these birds varies from 2^ to 3 lb. Their voice 

 is a continuation of distinct hollow sounds, like the cooing of ;i 



