SHARP-TAILED GROUSE. 



prairie chicken. 



Pedioc^tes phasianellus. 



Char. Above, black and brown irregular stripes; wings and wing- 

 coverts spotted with white ; head with slight crest, a naked patch of 

 orange color over the eyes ; two middle tail-feathers longer than the others ; 

 lower parts white, with dark V-shaped markings ; legs and feet feathered. 

 Length about 17 inches. 



xVest. In open woodland or on border of grove, or in thicket along a 

 stream, hidden under brush or at foot of a low bush ; a slight depression 

 in the ground scantily lined with grass and feathers. 



Eggs. 6-14 (usually about 12) ; reddish brown or yellowish brown, 

 marked with fine spots of a darker shade of brown ; 1.70 X 1.25. 



This curious species of Grouse is also principally an inhabi- 

 tant of the coldest habitable parts of the American continent, 

 being found around Hudson Bay in the larch thickets through- 

 out the whole year. It is not uncommon in the forests of the 

 Rocky Mountains, and Mr. Say saw it in the spring likewise in 

 Missouri but little beyond the settlements, at which season it 

 also visits the vicinity^ of Fort William, on Lake Superior. We 

 met with it on Larimie's Fork of the Platte in June, where it 

 was breeding. As an article of food it proved plump and well 

 flavored, superior almost to any other of the large species in 

 the United States. These birds are, as usual, shy and solitary, 

 living only in pairs throughout the summer, when they subsist 

 much upon berries. In autumn and winter they are seen mov- 

 ing in famihes, and frequent the thickets of juniper and larch, 

 on whose buds, as well as those of the birch, alder, and poplar, 

 they now principally live. They usually keep on the ground. 



