94 YOSEMITE NATURE NOTES 



male except larger, no slate on wings, 

 and under parts streaked heavily with 

 dark brown; rump and tail crossed by 

 black bars. Immature: Resembles fe- 

 male. May be seen poised in the air on 

 rapidly beating wings. Feeds on small 

 rodents and insects which it catches on 

 the ground. 



Frequents open country such as 

 plains, deserts, fields, and unforested 

 hillsides. Uses dead trees, rocks, fence 

 posts, telephone poles and wires as 

 perches. R. at lower elevations; often 

 ranges- higher in mountains in summer. 

 R. in Yoscmite region where in sum- 

 mer it ranges as high as the Hudson- 

 ian life-zone. To be seen about mead- 

 ows in Yosemite Valley. 



SOOTY GROUSE i 





^i4>>i:£.~- 



MOUNTAIN Ql\lAIL 



FOWL-LIKE BIRDS: 

 Order Gallifonnes 



GROUSE: Family Tetraonidae 



SOOTY GROUSE (Dendragapus 

 fuliginosus): 16-19 in. Generally dark 

 gray; wings relatively short and broad; 

 under parts gray; tail blackish, tipped 

 with light gray band; bare skin above 

 and below eye yellow to orange; legs 

 feathered. Female: Above brown mot- 

 tled with black and buff; breast brown, 

 barred with buff; belly whitish. Song 

 a low-pitched series of a half-dozen 

 hoots, becoming fainter toward the 

 end. A single note like broop or boont, 

 of ventriloquial quality. Whirring sound 

 produced in flight. Feeds largely on 

 fir needles. Nests on ground. 



R. in coniferous forests (chiefly of 

 Douglas-fir and white and red firs) of 

 the Sierra up to an elevation of 11,000 

 feet. Fairly common R. in Yosemite re- 

 gion in Canadian and upper Transition 

 life-zones; ranges into the Hudsonian 

 zone in late summer. 



SAGE GROUSE (Centrocercus uro- 

 phasianus): 22-30 in. Above variegated 

 brown, black, gray, and buff; below 

 whitish, marked on throat and breast 

 with black; belly black; tail long with 

 stiff, pointed feathers; bill and feet 

 blackish. Female: Smaller, with shorter 

 tail. Resembles small turkey. Whirring 

 sound produced in flight. 



Inhabits sagebrush flats, depending 

 upon this plant for food. C. V. to Yo- 

 semite region east of Sierran crest. Re- 

 ported from near Granite Lake and 

 Mount Conness. 



QUAIL AND PHEASANTS: 



Family Phasianidae 



MOUNTAIN QUAIL (Oreortyx 

 picta): 10/2-ll?4 in- Above brownish- 

 gray tending toward slaty anteriorly; 

 throat chestnut, bordered on sides of 

 neck with white; breast slaty; sides red- 

 dish-broicn broken by white and black 

 patches; plume long and slender, tip- 

 ping toward back or held erect. Imma- 



