442 THE COCK OF THE PLAINS. 



land, and shot " for the benefit of science." This bird is also known by 

 the following names: Cock of the Woods, Mountain Cock, Auerhahn, 

 and Capercailzie. 



It is now most frequently found in the northern parts of Europe, 

 Norway and Sweden being very favorite homes. From those coun- 

 tries it is largely imported into England by the game-dealers. 



The Capercaillie is celebrated not only for its great size and the ex- 

 cellence of its flesh, but for its singular habit just previous to and dur- 

 ing the breeding season. 



During this season it holds its " play " or love-song, called in Nor- 

 way the leh. He struts about with drooping wings, spread tail, and 

 ruffled feathers, and utters a peculiar cry. This is a call to the hens, 

 and always attracts them. While the bird is thus engaged he is so 

 intent upon his " play " that, however wary he may be at other times, 

 he can easily be approached and shot. 



The nest of the Capercaillie is made upon the ground, and contains 

 eight or ten eggs ; when hatched the young are fed upon insects, more 

 especially ants and their pupae. The adult birds feed mostly on vegeta- 

 ble substances, such as juniper, cranberry, and bilberries, and the leaves 

 and buds of several trees. 



The color of the adult male bird is chestnut-brown, covered with 

 a number of black lines irregularly dispersed ; the breast is black 

 with a gloss of green, and the abdomen is simply black, as are the 

 lengthened feathers of the throat and tail. The female is easily known 

 by the bars of red and black which traverse the head and neck, and the 

 reddish yellow barred with black of the under surface. In size the 

 Capercaillie is nearly equal to a turkey. 



The Cock of the Plains is an American bird, being found in the 

 dry plains in the interior of the southern portion of California. Like 

 the Cock of the Woods, this bird is accustomed during the breeding season 

 to disport himself after a peculiar and grotesque manner, drooping his 

 wings, spftading his tail like a fan, puffing out his crop until the bare 

 yellow skin stands prominently forward, somewhat after the fashion of 

 the pouter pigeon, and erecting the long silken plumes on his neck. 

 Thus accoutred, he parades the ground with much dignity, turning 

 himself about so as to display his shape to the best advantage, assum- 

 ing a variety of rather ludicrous attitudes, and uttering a loud boom- 

 ing cry that is compared to the sound made by blowing strongly into a 

 large hollow reed. 



The Cock of the Plains is a gregarious bird, assembling in little 

 troops in the summer and autumn, and in large flocks of several hun- 

 dred in number during the winter and spring. 



The male is a very handsome bird, brown on the upper surflice and 

 mottled with very dark brown and vellowish white. The female is less 



