TETRAOXID^E. BIRDSi THE BLACK GROUSE. 



401 



constantly uttering a loud harsh cry resembling the 

 syllables ca-mac, ca-mac, frequently repeated. The 

 Guinea Fowl is partial to marshy places, where it finds 

 abundance of worms and insects, on which it is fond 

 of feeding; it also eats grain and fruits of various kinds. 

 It roosts in trees, and the female deposits her eggs, 

 sometimes to the number of twenty, on the ground in 

 the midst of a tuft of grass or a thicket. Both the 

 flesh and the eggs of this bird are exceedingly good, 

 and for this reason it is kept in our poultry yards, 

 although its noisy quarrelsome habits render it rather 

 a nuisance. 



THE CRESTED GUINEA FOWL (Numida cristata) is 

 a good deal smaller than the common species, and 

 instead of a casque, the crown of its head is adorned 

 with a crest of decomposed hairy plumage. Its plum- 

 age is blue-black, with numerous small gray spots; 

 the primaries are yellowish-brown, and the edges of 

 the secondaries white. The head and neck are bare, 

 and of a livid blue colour, tinged in part with red. 

 This species is found in Southern Africa ; its habits 

 resemble those of the preceding species. 



FAMILY IV. TETRAONTD^E. 



The birds of this family, which includes the well- 

 known grouse, partridges, and quails, and their allies, 

 are generally of smaller size than those of the preceding 

 group, and far less striking either for elegance of form 

 or brilliancy of colour. They have a short and rather 

 broad bill, of which the upper mandible is considerably 

 arched, compressed towards the tip, and rather obtuse 

 at the point ; the nostrils, which are placed at the 

 base of the upper mandible, are frequently covered 

 with featlrers, or concealed by a hard scale ; and the 

 feet are rather short and moderately stout, generally 

 scutellated, but sometimes covered with somewhat 

 hair-like feathers to the extremity of the tarsi, or even 

 of the toes. The hind toe is small, and slightly elevated 

 upon the back of the tarsus, which is most commonly 

 destitute of spurs. 



These birds are very generally distributed over the 

 face of the globe, but the most typical species of the 

 family inhabit the forests and heaths of mountainous 

 countries. Their food consists partly of vegetable and 

 partly of animal matters, such as seeds, fruits, and the 

 young shoots of plants and trees under the former 

 category, and worms and insects under the latter. 

 Some of them are polygamous, but many pair ; and in 

 the latter, at least, both the male and the female assist 

 in rearing the young. 



THE CAPERCAILZIE (Tetrao Urogattus}, also called 

 the WOOD-GROUSE, and the COCK-OF-THE-AYOODS, 

 one of the largest and finest species of this family is 

 widely distributed over Europe, but is more abundant 

 in the north than in the south of that continent. It 

 was formerly not uncommon in the Highlands of Scot- 

 land, but the species was extirpated there nearly a 

 century ago, and it is only of late years that attempts 

 have been made to introduce it again into the 

 Scotch forests with some degree of success. The cock 

 bird, which is considerably larger than the hen, 



measures about three feet in length, and is mottled 

 with gray and brownish-black, but has the neck and 

 breast black, with a greenish gloss ; the female is of a 

 pale yellowish-brown colour, with white and blackish- 

 brown markings. The bill in the male is white, and 

 in the female brown; and the male has a patch of 

 bright scarlet naked skin over each eye. The tarsi are 

 feathered down to the base of the toes. In Scandinavia 

 the food of the Capercailzie is observed to consist 

 principally of the young leaves and shoots of the 

 Scotch fir (Pinus sylvestris}, but it likewise feeds 

 upon seeds and berries of various kinds. The breeding 

 season commences very early in the spring, when the 

 male takes up his post on some elevation, displays his 

 plumage in the manner of a turkey-cock, and utters a 

 loud cry, compared with the words peller-peller-peller, 

 frequently repeated with constantly increasing rapidity, 

 and terminating in a sort of gulp and drawing in of 

 the breath. This singular call brings the females 

 together from the neighbouring parts of the forest. 

 The cock birds are exceedingly jealous, especially of 

 their younger brethren, whom they endeavour to pre- 

 vent from displaying themselves or calling. The hens 

 lay from six to twelve eggs, which they deposit on the 

 ground. The Capercailzie may be domesticated with 

 ease, and even breeds readily in confinement. 



THE BLACK GROUSE, or BLACK COCK (Tetrao 

 Tetrix) fig. 125 another fine species, is still met with 

 in the mountainous districts of the North of England, 

 and pretty abundantly in those of Scotland. It also 

 commonly occurs in the north of Europe, and on the 

 mountains in the south. The whole length of the 

 male bird is about twenty -two inches ; its plumage is 

 glossy black, with the lower wing and tail coverts and 

 the bases of the secondary quills white, and a large 

 naked patch of bright scarlet over each eye. The tail 

 in the male is also of remarkable construction, the four 

 outer feathers on each side being elongated and turned 

 outwards, so as to give it the appearance of a double 

 hook. This peculiarity is wanting to the female, which 

 is four or five inches shorter than the male ; her plum- 

 age is pale chestnut-brown, barred and freckled with 

 black. The Black Grouse feeds upon the young shoots 

 of heath and other shrubs and trees, and in its habits 

 closely resembles the Capercailzie. 



THE PINNATED GROUSE (Tetrao cupido}. This 

 curious species, which was formerly abundant in the 

 United States of North America, but is now nearly 

 extirpated, at least in the more populous districts, is 

 rather smaller than the black cock, and is of a yellowish- 

 red colour, with black bars and other markings. Its 

 most remarkable character consists in the presence in 

 the male of a pair of curious wing-like tufts on the 

 sides of the neck, each composed of about eighteen 

 narrow feathers, of which the longest are five inches 

 in length. Beneath each of these is a pendulous, 

 wrinkled fold of skin, which is capable of being inflated 

 with air, and then, as stated by Wilson, resembles in 

 bulk, colour, and shape, a middle-sized orange. Dur- 

 ing the breeding season the male produces a curious 

 call, which, from its resemblance to the distant sound 

 of a horn, is called tooting ; and is said to be audible 

 at a distance of three or four, or even five or six miles. 



3E 



