80 THE GROUS. 



dress of the turtle dove, with its endearing manners, 

 than all the beauty of the Peacock, with his voracious 

 appetite and pernicious habits. 



THE GROUS. 



Birds of the Grous kind have thick short bills, the 

 upper mandible being a little longer than the lower 

 one, and slightly bent at the end. Their toes are four 

 in number, three forward, of which the middle one is 

 much the longest, and one backward, which is quite 

 short. 



They fly very swiftly, but their wings are so short, 

 that they cannot continue their flight to any great dis- 

 tance. They skulk in the woods, and are seen with 

 difficulty, except when on the wing. 



To this tribe belong the Grous, Partridge, and some 

 others. 



THE PINNATED GROUS. 



How large is the Pinnated Grous ? 



The Pinnated Grous is a foot and a half long, and 

 with the wings extended two feet and three inches 

 wide. It has a second pair of wings on the neck. 



What is the colour of this bird? 



Its colour on the back, is yellowish brown, spotted 

 with black ; the throat is marked with touches of red- 

 dish brown, black, and white ; the breast is marked 

 across with spots of black and brown ; the comb is of 

 an elegant yellow, and in the form of a half moon ; 

 under the neck-wings, there are spots of loose, 



