124 GROUSE, PARTRIDGES, QUAILS, ETC. 



like half a mushroom. This curious feature combined with the 

 compact neck and body feathers and striking facial markings gave 

 him as unique an appearance as could well be imagined." 



VERNON BAILEY. 



GENUS DENDRAGAPUS. 



General Characters. Head not crested ; tail about length of wing, fan- 

 shaped, with twenty stiffish broad, obtuse feathers ; tarsus feathered to 

 toes. 



KEY TO SPECIES. 



1. Tail without distinct terminal band .... richardsonii, p. 126. 

 1'. Tail with bluish gray terminal band. 



2. Tail band wide (.50-.SO on outermost feather) . obscurus, p. 124. 



2'. Tail band narrow (not over .40 on outermost feather). 



fuliginosus, p. 125: 



297. Dendragapus obscurus (Say). DUSKY- GROUSE. 



Adult male. Upper parts dusky or bluish slate, finely mottled with 



gray and brown, buffy brown 

 on wings ; hinder scapulars 

 usually with distinct shaft 

 streaks and terminal spots 

 of white ; tail blackish, 

 with wide bluish gray band 

 1.001.50 wide ; under 



19g parts slaty, marked with 



white on sides of neck and 



flanks. Adult female : similar to male, but decidedly smaller, and upper 



parts, chest, and sides barred and mottled with dark brown and buffy. 



Young: upper parts yellowish brown, with irregular barring or mottling, 



and black spots and white or buff shaft streaks widening at tip ; under 



parts dull whitish, chest and sides spotted with black. Male : length 20- 



23, wing 9.40-10.00, tail 8, weight about 2 to 3| pounds. Female : length 



17.50-19.00, wing about 8.70, tail 6. 



Distribution. Rocky Mountains, from Idaho and Montana south to 



Arizona and New Mexico, and from the East Humboldt Mountains, Nevada, 



east to the Black Hills, Dakota. 



Nest. A slight depression alongside a log or under grass or bushes, 



lightly lined with pine needles and grass. Eggs : 7 to 10, cream or cream 



buff, spotted over entire surface with brown. 



Food. Grasshoppers, worms, grubs, and wild berries such as bearber- 



ries, raspberries, gooseberries, and currants, plant leaves and flowers, buds, 



and fir needles. 



Among the ranches the dusky grouse is commonly known as the 

 ' fool-hen/ on account of its natural tameness and its unsuspicious 

 nature. Back in the mountain ranges where hunters are scarce and 

 usually in quest of bigger game, the grouse are almost as fearless 

 as barnyard poultry, walking out of your path with stately delib- 

 eration, or stopping to watch you near the trail. But after a little 

 experience with hunters and dogs they become as wild as deer and 

 almost as difficult to approach. 



