14+ AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



DUSKY GROUSE. 



A. O. V. f^o. 297. {"Dendragapuj objctiruj.} 



RANGE. 



This Grouse is found in the Rocky Mts. from Montana and Idaho on the 

 north to Arizona and New Mexico on the south. 



DESCRIPTION, 



Length, about 22 in.; extent, 30 in.; tail, 7.5 in. Bill, black. Eye, 

 brown. 



Adult male: — Back and wings brownish black, finely marked in wavy 

 cross lines with gray and yellowish. Outer webs of primaries mottled 

 with gray and white. Rump, black, waved with whitish. Tail, black, 

 with a broad terminal bar of gray; it contains 20 feathers and is slightly 

 rounded. Top of head and cheeks blackish, shading to blue gray on the 

 back of neck. Throat, white, barred irregularly with black. Breast and 

 under parts dark slate. Feathers on the sides tipped with white and with 

 white shafts. 



NEST AND EGGS. 



The nest consists of a slight depression, alongside an old log or under 

 a small bush. This is lined slightly with a few pine needles or dried 

 grass. The number of eggs varies from eight to twelve. The set is com- 

 pleted about the first of June. The eggs are of a cream color, finely 

 spotted with brown, the spots more numerous at the larger end. 



HABITS. 



A great deal has been said about this bird but there is yet a great deal 

 to be said. 1 have been acquainted with this species for many years 

 past, but each year discloses something new and something interesting 

 concerning them. Nearly every summer I find very young birds that are 

 unable to fly, but I have never been fortunate enough to find its nest and 

 eggs. When the young are following their mother about is the time how- 

 ever when the ever watchful mother is the most cautious. I will explain 

 that in these mountains the Bob-white and even the Scaled Quail cannot 

 prosper. Of course they are not grouse and their habits differ. The 

 quail spend the night on the ground all huddled together and are the easi- 

 est sort of prey for the many foxes and "Bob-cats" that infest the moun- 

 tains, while the grouse like the turkeys go to roost in the trees after the 

 manner of chickens. This is all very well after the young are grown and 

 can roost with the old birds, but when they are quite small and cannot fly 

 a new difficulty presents itself to the mother. 



Their accustomed haunts are the coniferous belts and aspen groves. 



