172 UPLAND SHOOTING. 



secured three of the covey. By the time we had brought 

 our birds to camp, I had learned three lessons to load 

 with No. 8 shot instead of with No. 6, to let the birds get 

 well under way before shooting, and, last, but not least, 

 to waste no time in searching for a lost or wounded bird. 

 If no dogs are with the party, the most careful marking 

 will be fruitless. 



The preparation of the birds for the frying-pan gave 

 us an opportunity to study their distinguishing charac- 



teristics. Longer than the pinnated grouse, they are 

 much less compact, and they lack the pointed neck- 

 feathers of the prairie fowl. The tail is long, wedge- 

 shaped, and contains eighteen feathers, the central pair 

 being elongated a full inch beyond the rest. The dense 

 feathering of the tarsi, extending onto the toes, the stout 

 bill, the papillous, naked skin above the eye, bordered 

 externally by feathers, are important marks in the deter- 

 mination of the species. The plumage is unique. Above, 

 a light brown (buff rather than rusty) always predomi- 

 nates over black markings, in bars rather than in spots. 

 The scapulars are marked by broad, elliptical, central spots 



