IV 



GALLINACEOUS BIRDS 



THE game birds of North America which most 

 interest sportsmen are included in the orders 

 GallincE, birds of the cock or rooster type, the tur- 

 keys, grouse, pheasants, and partridges : Anatidce, the 

 swimmers — the geese, ducks and brant ; and Limicolce — 

 the shore-birds or waders, the snipes, sandpipers, 

 plovers, etc. First in importance is the order Gallince. 

 The turkeys, grouse, and partridges are indigenous, but 

 there are no quails in North America. The ducks 

 are by many given first place and duck-shooters 

 insist their sport is first and best. There are 

 a few splendid birds, such as the woodcock, snipe 

 and some of the plovers and sandpipers in the remain- 

 ing order of shore-birds. In addition to the birds 

 included in these three principal orders, there are 

 the wild pigeons, the cranes and rails, and the reed 

 birds. 



The gallinaceous birds are divided by ornitholo- 

 gists into the Gallince and the Phasianidce. The 

 former term includes the grouse, partridges, and 

 quails ; the latter includes the pheasants. The wild 

 turkey is the only true pheasant indigenous to North 

 America. We have recently added two more to our 

 fauna by importation — the Mongolian, or ring-neck, 

 • 41 



