papular SBtrttanarg at &mmatrtt Mature. 287 



Though I have myself ate freely of the flesh 

 of the pheasant, after emptying it of large 

 quantities of laural buds, without experienc- 

 ing any bad consequences, yet, from the 

 respectability of those, some of them eminent 

 physicians, who have particularized cases 

 in which it has proved deleterious, and even 

 fatal, I am inclined to believe, that, in cer- 

 tain cases, where this kind of food has been 

 long continued, and the birds allowed to 

 remain undrawn for several days, until the 

 contents of the crop and stomach have had 

 time to diffuse themselves through the flesh, 

 as is too often the case, it may be unwhole- 

 some and even dangerous. Great numbers 

 of these birds are brought to our markets, 

 at all times, during fall and winter ; some 

 of which are brought from a distance of 

 more than a hundred miles, and have been 

 probably dead a week or two, unpicked and 

 undrawn, before they are purchased for the 

 table. Regulations, prohibiting them from 

 being brought to market unless picked and 

 drawn, would, very probably, be a sufficient 

 security from all danger. At these incle- 

 ment seasons, however, they are generally 

 lean and dry ; and, indeed, at all times, 

 their flesh is far inferior to that of the quail, 

 or of the pinnated grouse. They are usually 

 sold, in Philadelphia market, at from three 

 quarters of a dollar to a dollar and a quarter 

 a pair, and sometimes higher. 



"The pheasant, or partridge of New- 

 England, is eighteen inches long, and twen- 

 ty-three inches in extent ; bill, a horn 

 colour, paler below ; eye, reddish hazel, 

 immediately above which is a small spot of 

 bare skin, of a scarlet colour ; crested ; head 

 and neck, variegated with black, red brown, 

 white, and pale brown ; sides of the neck 

 furnished with a tuft, of large black feathers, 

 twenty-nine or thirty in number, which it 

 occasionally raises ; this tuft covers a large 

 space of the neck destitute of feathers ; body 

 above, a bright rust colour, marked with 

 oval spots of yellowish white, and sprinkled 

 with black ; wings, plain olive brown, ex- 

 teriorly edged with white, spotted with 

 olive ; the tail is rounding, extends five 

 inches beyond the tips of the wings, is of a 

 bright reddish brown, beautifully marked 

 with numerous waving transverse bars of 

 black, is also crossed by a broad band of 

 black, within half an inch of the tip, which 

 is bluish white, thickly sprinkled and 

 speckled with black ; body below, white, 

 marked with large blotches of pale brown ; 

 the legs are covered half way to the feet 

 with hairy down of a brownish white colour; 

 legs and feet, pale ash ; toes, pectinated 

 along the sides ; the two exterior ones joined 

 at the base, as far as the first joint, by a 

 membrane ; vent, yellowish rust colour. 



"The female, and young birds, differ in 

 having the ruif or tufts of feathers on the 

 neck of a dark brown colour ; as well as 

 the bar of black on the tail inclining much 

 to the same tint." 



RED GROUSE ; MOOR COCK, or GORCOCK. 

 (Lagopits Scoticus.) This species is much 

 smaller than the Black Grouse, its length 

 : being only about fifteen inches, and its ex- 



j panded width twenty-six. The bill is black, 

 | and at its base is a white spot on each side : 

 i the throat is red ; each eye is arched with a 

 i large naked spot, of a bright scarlet : the 

 ; plumage on the head and neck is a light 

 ; tawny red, each feather being marked with 

 1 several transverse pars of black the back 

 I and scapulars are a deeper red, and on the 

 i middle of each feather is a large black spot ; 

 i the breast and belly are of a purplish hue, 

 crossed with small dusky lines : the tail 

 I consists of sixteen feathers, of equal lengths, 

 the four middlemost barred with red, the 

 others black : the thighs are a pale red, ob- 

 scurely barred with black ; the legs and feet 

 are clothed with soft white feathers down to 

 the claws, which are strong, and of a light 

 colour. This species seems to be peculiar to 

 Britain : it is very plentiful in the High- 

 j lands of Scotland, and by no means scarce 

 in any of the wild, heathy, and mountainous 

 tracts in the northern counties of England 

 and Wales. Red Grouse pair in spring, and 

 lay from six to ten eggs : the young brood 

 follows the hen during the whole summer ; 

 and, in winter, they unite in flocks of forty or 

 fifty ; they are sometimes seen in the valleys, 

 but generally keep on the summits of hills, 

 where they feed on mountain berries, &c., 

 and are exceedingly shy and wild. 



WHITE GROUSE. [See PTARMIGAN.] 



LONG-TAILED GROUSE. (Tetrao Phasi- 

 anehtts.) This bird, which is about the 

 size of a pheasant, inhabits the mountainous 

 parts of the country about Hudson's Bay, 

 and other northern parts of the American 

 continent. The bill is dusky, the head and 

 neck are of a bright reddish brown, varie- 

 gated with transverse waved dusky lines; 

 the plumage of the back, wings, and tail is 

 black in the middle, indented with bright 

 brown on the sides, and transversely marked 

 with black and brown at the tips ; the outer 

 coverts of the wings, and the quill feathers 

 next the back, have white tips ; and the 

 primaries have spots of white along their 

 outer webs. The two middle feathers of the 

 tail are considerably the longest, the rest 

 I gradually shortening on each side : the upper 

 part of the breast is brown, but by degrees 

 becomes white ; as do the belly, the sides 

 under the wings, and the covert feathers 

 under the tail. The legs are covered with 

 fine filiform feathers of a pale brown colour, 

 transversely variegated with dusky lines. 

 They feed upon juniper berries and buds ; 

 associate in small flocks ; and lay their eggs, 

 which vary from ten to sixteen, in a nest on 

 the ground, artlessly composed of grass, and 

 lined with a few feathers : the eggs are white, 

 and are hatched about the middle of June, the 

 young immediately following the mother. 

 The flesh of these birds is held in great es- 

 timation. 



CANADA GROUSE. (Tetrao Canadensis.) 

 This species, which is found in great abun- 

 dance in the most northerly parts of America, 

 is rather more than thirteen inches in length; 

 the female two inches less. The upper 

 parts of the head, neck, and body of the 

 mule bird are transversely barred with dusky 



