GAME OF AMERICA. 37 



5. The Cock of the Plains, Tetrao Urophasianus ; 



6. The Sharp-tailed Grouse, Tetrao Phasianellus ; 



7. The Willow Grouse, Tetrao Saliceti : ' ■ -.'^t>i*- x.^ ^ti,v.> '4 



8. The American Ptarmigan, Tetrao Mutus ; \ V -^-^^ 5..^ /^^^ '^ • 



9. The Rock Ptarmigan, Tetrao Rupestris ; and} ' 



10. The White-tailed Ptarmigan, Tetrao Leiccur as. '^'''■^■^■^ ^-'-'f^ '^ 

 Of these noble birds, the three species first named are all na- Il>.^,i /l^^ , 



lives of the Eastern States, and a few of all are yet to be found * , -^ 

 in them ; although the Pinnated Grouse, or Heath-Hen, has been 

 nearly exterminated — as I have before observed — and the Canada '-'^^^^' Ct 

 or Spruce Grouse, is a shy, forest-hauntino; bird, rarely met with, hj-. 

 and scarcely ever pursued on his own account alone. I never 

 saw but one alive, which I shot on the Penobscot, in Maine. It 

 is, so far as I can learn, nowhere plentiful, not even in its north- 

 ern haunts. 



The seventh species, the Willow Grouse, is stated in the books 

 to exist from Maine to Labrador. I never, however, have heard 

 of one being killed, or seen south of the St. Ijawrence, above 

 Quebec. If it be found in the States, it is so rare as to be un- 

 worthy of notice, as a species of game. 



The fourth, fifth, sixth, and tenth varieties are indigenous to 

 the Rocky Mountains and the valley of the Columbia, and will 

 probably be, one day, added to the list of American game, and 

 fairly pursued, as such. 



The eight and ninth inhabit the desolate regions northw^ard of 

 Labrador, and Melville Island, and the banks of the Churchill 

 River, where no one is very like to follow them in search of 

 sport. Few of our race have ever seen them living, and they 

 are of course incapable of naturalization to the southward. 



And here ends the list of our game land-birds, proper — al- 

 though as I have stated, two or three varieties of those which 

 are classed by th» naturalist as water-birds, and which are in 

 some sort amphibious, fall under the sportsman's head of Upland 

 shooting. It is on account of this peculiarity, that I propose, 

 after enumerating and classifying the game of the country in 

 general, in its proper orders, families, and genera, to distinguish 



