34 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 56 



/* . 



Dendragapus obscurus obscurus (Say). Dusky Grouse. 



The informants description of f% fits this species well. This 

 large grouse is common in the Jemez Mountains and is said to come 

 down into the canyons about El Kito de los Frijoles in large numbers 

 in the autumn. It is one of the important food birds of the region 

 and is probably to be found breeding in all the mountains of north- 

 central New Mexico. A few flocks were seen by McCall in the moun 

 tains from Santa Fe to Taos. 1 



? 



Lagopus leucurus leucurus (Swainson) . White- tailed Ptarmigan. 



Under the name Lagopus leucurus altipetens Osgood this bird has 

 been reported in the Pecos Mountains and the mountains about 

 Taos, 2 but that form is considered indistinguishable from leucurus. 

 The species has been reported from Summit Peak, Colo., west of the 

 Rio Grande, 3 so that it may occur on the western side of the valley 

 in New Mexico. The ptarmigan is a bird of high latitude and high 

 altitude, preferring the region of perpetual snow. It is exceedingly 

 probable that during the latter part of the glacial epoch, when 

 glaciers extended down most of the upper mountain valleys of 

 Colorado and northern New Mexico, the snow-line was much lower, 

 and the regular range of the ptarmigan, leucosticte, and other birds 

 of alpine habit extended to elevations perhaps several thousand feet 

 lower than at present, and probably considerably farther south. By 

 the retreat of the glaciers their range has been gradually restricted 

 so that now only a few are left on the higher peaks. It is likely that 

 the ptarmigan was known to the ancient inhabitants of the Pajarito 

 Plateau, and it may have occurred in considerable numbers at the 

 head of the Rito, especially during the winter, 10 or 20 centuries ago. 



Centrocercus urophasianus (Bonaparte) . Sage Hen. 

 Reported at Tierra Amarilla by Henshaw. 4 Parts of the Rio 

 Grande Valley are well suited to this bird. If it formerly occurred in 

 numbers, its large size would have made it an important addition to 

 the diet of the inhabitants. 



Di (akin to Isleta duu^e) . 



Pi ydi (pi y, mountain; di , turkey, chicken). 



Meleagris gallopavo merriami Nelson. Merriam s Turkey. 

 The uncompounded di is now applied mostly to the introduced 

 domestic fowl or chicken and not to turkey as it doubtlessly was 

 formerly. Pi y, mountain/ is usually prejoined to distinguish turkeys 



1 McCall, George A., op. cit., p. 222. 



2 Bailey, Florence Merriam, Notes from Northern New Mexico, The Auk, xxn, pp. 316-18, 1905. Addi 

 tional Notes on the Birds of the Upper Pecos, ibid., xxi, pp. 351-52, 1904. 



3 Henshaw, H. W., Note on Lagopus leucurus and Leucosticte australis, The Auk, xxn, pp. 315-lfi, 1905. 

 * Henshaw, H. W., Report upon Ornithological Collections, etc., op. cit., p. 437. 



