172 BIRDS OF ONTARIO. 



SUBFAMILY TETRAONIN^]. GROUSE. 

 GENUS DENDRAGAPUS ELLIOT. 



SUBGENUS DENDRAGAPUS. 

 DENDRAGAPUS OBSCURUS RICHARDSONII (SAB.). 



127. Richardson's Grouse. (2976) 



Adult male: Back and wings, blackish-brown, crossed with wavy lines of 

 slaty -gray, mixed with yellowish-brown on the scapulars ; long feathers of the 

 sides, tipped with white ; under parts, light slate color, mixed with white on 

 the lower parts ; cheeks, black ; chin and throat,, speckled with black ; and 

 white feathers on the sides of the neck slightly enlarged, covering a rudimen- 

 tary air sack; tail, brownish-black, veined and marbled with gray, and having 

 a broad terminal band of the same color. Female: Smaller, more varied and 

 generally lighter in color, but having the under parts and bar at the end of the 

 tail, slaty -gray, as in the male. Length, 20-22 inches; wing, 9-10; tail, 7. 



HAB. Rocky Mountains, from central Montana northward into British 

 America. 



Nest, on the ground, in shelter of a rock or log ; it consists of only a few 

 pine needles scratched together, on which the eggs are laid. 



Eggs, eight to fifteen, creamy-buff, freckled all over with chocolate-brown. 



For a notice of the occurrence of this species in Ontario I am 

 indebted to C. J. Bampton, of Sault Ste. Marie, who has frequently 

 seen it brought into market at that place. 



It bears a strong resemblance to the Dusky Grouse (Dendragapus 

 obscurus [Say.]), of which it is regarded as the northern form. The 

 Dusky Grouse is found chiefly on the west coast, as far south as New 

 Mexico and the White Mountains of Arizona. In the Rocky Moun- 

 tains, toward the north, it gradually assumes the peculiarities of the 

 present species, but many intermediate individuals are found which 

 cannot positively be said to belong more to the one than to the other. 



In richardsonii, the tail feathers are longer and broader than in 

 obscurus; the slate-colored bar at the end is smaller, or wanting, 

 and the general colors darker, specially so on the throat. 



