THE COCK OF THE PLAINS. 103 



three and a half pounds. Its meat is dark-colored but fine fla- 

 vored. The neck is furnished with a pair of supplemental 

 wings, about three inches long ; underneath these are orange- 

 colored air-sacs, which can be inflated to the size of a medium 

 sized orange. Audubon says that when these sacs are " per- 

 fectly inflated, the bird lowers its head to the ground, opens- 

 its bill, and sends forth, as it were, the air contained in these 

 bladders in distinctly separated notes, rolling one after another 

 from loud to low, and producing a sound like that of a large 

 mufiled drum. This done, the bird immediately erects itself, 

 refills its receptacles by inhalation, and again proceeds with its 

 ' tootings.' " These tootings can be sometimes heard at the 

 distance of a mile. Their food consists of the seeds of the 

 sumach, grapes, grain, wild strawberries, cranberries, partridge- 

 berries, whortleberries, blackberries and young buds. They 

 also eat worms, grasshoppers and insects, and in winter feed 

 on acorns, the tender buds of the pine, clover leaves, and, 

 when possible, frequent grain stubbles. They are best hunted 

 with a trained dog. 



THE SHARP-TAIL GROUSE. 



This bird is allied to and greatly resembles the preceding. 

 It takes the place of the prairie hen in the far West, on the 

 plains that skirt the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains. 

 It avoids the highlands and mountains, and has its habitat on 

 the prairie and open grounds. There they congregate in 

 flocks, feeding on wild rye. Near settlements they frequent 

 grain stubbles. They hybridize with the pinnated grouse, 

 and are equally excellent for food. They are destitute of the 

 gular sacs on the neck. Their range extends northward 

 into British America. In the far North there is another 

 species called the Arctic Sharp-tailed Grouse. They are 

 about the same in size as the preceding, but are darker in 

 color, being black where the other is brown. 



THE COCK OF THE PLAINS. 



This is the largest of the American grouse. Its common 

 name is the Sage Cock. Its habitat is chiefly on the western 



