222 ZOOLOGY. 



CENTROCERCUS UROPHA.SIANUS, Swainson. 



gage Cock ) Cock of tlic Plains. 



Tetrao urophasianus, BONAP, Zool. Jour. Ill, Jan. 1828, 214 IB. Am. Orn III, 1830; pi. xxi, f. 1. IB. Mon. 



Tetrao, in Trans. Am. Phil. Soc. N. S. Ill, 1830, 390. DOUGLAS, Trans. Linn. Soc. XVI, 



1829, 133.NUTTAW., Man. 1, 1832,666. ATID. Orn. Biog. IV, 1833, 503 ; pi. 371. IB Syn. 



205. IB. Birds Amer. V, 1842, 106 ; pi. 297. NEWBERRY, Zool. Cal. & Or. Route ; Rep. P. B. 



R. Surv. VI, iv, 1857, 95. 



Tetrao (Centrocercus) urophasianue, Sw, F. Bor. Am. II, 1831,358 ; pi. Iviii. 



Ckntrocercus urophasianus, JARDINE, Game Birds, Nat. Lib. Birds, IV, 140 ; pi. xvii. BAiRD,Gen. Rep. Birds, p. 624. 

 ff Tetrao phasiandlus, ORD. Guthrie s Geog. 2d Am. ed. II, 1815, 317, based on Lewis & Clark, II, 181. 

 Cock of the plains, LEWIS & CLARK, II, 180, sp. 2. 



g Pl Cn. Tail feathers twenty. Above varied with black, brown, and brownish yellow ; coverts having all the feathers 

 streaked with the latter. Beneath black ; the breast white ; the upper feathers with spiny shafts ; the lower streaked with 

 black ; tail coverts with white tips ; the sides also with much white, Length, 29 ; wing, 11.30 ; tail, 11.50. Female much 

 smaller. Iris brown. 



.Hah Sage plains of the northwest. 



The cock of the plains, known as sage fowl in this Territory, is common on the high, barren hillg 

 and deserts east of the Cascade mountains, being limited in its range, apparently, by the growth 

 of the bitter and turpentine-flavored Artemesia tridentata or &quot;wild sage,&quot; as it is improperly 

 called. The leaves of this shrub seem to be a principal part of its food, and the flesh tastes 

 so strong of it that it is quite unpalatable, though white and tempting as a turkey s. We saw 

 none of these birds north of the Spokane plains, the country being, apparently, too woody for 

 them. On those plains they were common, for though level the surface is dry, sterile, and 

 elevated near a thousand feet above the sea. 



The flight of this species is more heavy and less noisy than that of most grouse, and when 

 they are started, commonly extends a long distance without alighting. C. 



Sage cock are abundant on the sage plains of Oregon, near Snake river, on both sides of the Blue 

 mountains. They are also found along the line of the Columbia, on the open plains, and, again, 

 on the sage barrens of the Yakima and Simcoe valleys, in Washington Territory, about latitude 

 46 and 47 north. In fact, wherever &quot;sage &quot; (artemesia) abounds this bird is found. I have 

 dissected these grouse in situations where there was abundance of grass seeds, wild grain, 

 grasshoppers, and other kinds of food that a person would imagine would be readily eaten by 

 them, yet I have failed to obtain a single particle of any other article of food in their full 

 stomachs than the leaves of the artemesia. This food must either be highly preferred, or else 

 be essential to their existence. They seem to have the faculty of doing a long time without 

 water, as I have found them in habitually dry, desert situations, during severe droughts, a long 

 distance from water. The flesh of this bird is rather strong and bitter, from the nature of its 

 food, and it also quickly decomposes after death. It, however, is very grateful to the palates 

 of those that have been subsisting long on salt provisions. 



I found this bird most abundant on the southern slope of the Blue mountains in the vicinity of 

 Powder river. Here there are immense desert sage plains, well adapted to the species in every 

 respect. The bird hides well, and lies close, frequently allowing a man s approach to within a 

 few feet. 



Lieutenant Fleming, of the United States army, informs me that it is found about twelve 

 miles west of Fort Laramie, but is not seen east of that point, at least so far south. It a 



