184 GROUSE, EOB- WHITES, ETC. 



grayish wavy bars on the upper parts, and the smaller bill. For a comparison 

 ofwelcM with rupestris see Auk, ii, 1885, p. 193. 



Range. Newfoundland. 



Nest and eggs unknown. 



" According to Mr. Welch, these Ptarmigan are numerous in New- 

 foundland, where they are strictly confined to the bleak sides and sum- 

 mits of rocky hills and mountains of the interior" (Brewster, /. c.). 



305. Tympanuchus americanus (Reich,}. PRAIRIE HEN. Ad. 

 $ .Upper parts barred with rufous and black and spotted with rufous ; sides 

 of the neck with tufts generally composed of ten or more narrow, stiffened 

 black feathers marked with buffy and rufous, their ends rounded, the skin 

 beneath these tufts bare; tail rounded, fuscous, the inner feathers somewhat 

 mottled with ochraceous-buff, tip white ; throat buffy ; breast and belly 

 white, evenly barred with black. Ad. 9 .Similar, but the neck tufts much 

 smaller and the tail barred with ochraceous-buff or rufous. L., 18-00 W 

 9-00 ; T., 4-00 ; B. from N., -52. 



Range. Prairies of Mississippi Valley, south to Louisiana, west to north- 

 ern Indian Territory, middle Kansas, Nebraska, and eastern North and South 

 Dakota; east to Kentucky, Indiana, northwestern Ohio, southwestern Michi- 

 gan, and southwestern Ontario; north to southern Manitoba (Bendire). 



Nest, on the ground. Eggs, eleven to fourteen, buffy olive, sometimes finely 

 speckled with brownish, 1-70 x 1-25. 



"This familiar game bird inhabits our fertile prairies, seldom fre- 

 quenting the timbered lands except during sleety storms or when the 

 ground is covered with snow. Its flesh is dark, and it is not very 

 highly esteemed as a table bird. 



" During the early breeding season they feed largely upon grass- 

 hoppers, crickets, and other forms of insect life, but afterward chiefly 

 upon our cultivated grains, gleaned from the stubble in autumn and 

 the cornfields in winter ; they are also fond of tender buds, berries, and 

 fruits. They run about much like our domestic fowls,- but with a more 

 stately carriage. When flushed they rise from the ground with a less 

 whirring sound than the Ruffed Grouse or Bob-white, and their flight 

 is not as swift, but more protracted and with less apparent effort, flap- 

 ping and sailing along, often to the distance of a mile or more. In 

 the fall the birds collect together and remain in flocks until the warmth 

 of spring quickens their blood and awakes the passions of love; then, 

 as with a view to fairness and the survival of the fittest, they select a 

 smooth open courtship ground (usually called a ' scratching ground '), 

 where the males assemble at the early dawn to vie with each other in 

 courage and pompous display, uttering at the same time their love 

 call, a loud booming noise ; as soon as this is heard by the hen birds 

 desirous of mating they quietly put in an appearance, squat upon the 



