204 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 



b' Scapulars with conspicuous white ter- \ heath hen. 

 minal spot, neck tufts short. ) T. cupido. 



b. Neck tufts rounded or almost square. 

 Size small. 



LESSER PRAIRIE 



a' . Without band of cinnamon rufous at I hen. 



I 



base of neck. j T. pallidi- 



b' . With band of cinnamon rufous at base 



cinctus. 

 attwater's 

 prairie hen. 



of neck. i ^ 77 T 



) I . a.attwatert 



GENUS PEDICECETES 

 (Greek, TreStov, pedion, a plain; + oIk^ttjs, oiketes, an inhabitant). 



Pedioecetes, Baird. B. North Am., 1868, p. 625. Type, Tetrao 

 phasianellus. Linn. 



No tufts of feathers above air sacs. Head slightly crested. 

 Tarsi and base of toes feathered, the feathers in one species 

 covering the latter, reaching in hairlike webs to the claws. Toes 

 scutellated transversely above, fringed on sides with horny 

 comb-like processes. Tail of eighteen feathers, soft, pointed, 

 with the median pair longest and rather square at tip. Size 

 large, sexes similar. 



One species and two subspecies comprise this genus of the 

 Sharp-tailed Grouse. Terrestrial in their habits, yet not averse 

 to perching on branches of trees and other convenient supports 

 like their allies, the Prairie Hens. They are more shy in their 

 dispositions than the members of the genus Tympanuchus, and 

 are not so fond of loitering about the farm buildings, but prefer 

 wild districts and man's absence. They go in small coveys for 

 the greater part of the year, but like other prairie dwellers, con- 

 gregate in immense packs, in the autumn. They are fine birds, 

 with many game qualities, and are found in the more central 

 portions of North America from the Arctic Sea to New Mexico. 



KEY TO THE SPECIES. 



A. Median tail feathers extending beyond the 

 rest. 



a. General plumage mostly black and white. 



sharp-tailed 



grouse. 



p. phasianel' 



hiS. 



