44 AMERICAN GAME BIRD SHOOTING 



ocellated turkey of Yucatan and Guatemala can com- 

 pare in brilliancy with many of the pheasants of Asia. 



Grouse inhabiting arctic or alpine countries called 

 ptarmigan are notable for their seasonal changes of 

 plumage. They turn white in winter and are said to 

 be in a continuous state of moult at all seasons, except 

 for a brief period when they have assumed their sum- 

 mer dress, and again in winter after the completing of 

 the winter plumage. An exception to this rule is the 

 Scotch grouse, which does not turn white in winter, 

 presumably having lost that protective adaptation, be- 

 cause such a change of coloring is not required in the 

 region which it inhabits. 



The birds of this group are all formed for life upon 

 the ground, in this respect contrasting markedly with 

 that other division of gallinaceous birds, the so-called 

 pigeon-footed group, which shows a tendency toward 

 life in trees. This, of course, does not mean that fowl- 

 footed birds necessarily avoid trees, for as a matter of 

 fact many of them commonly roost in trees, and all re- 

 sort to them for refuge and often for feeding purposes. 



In many of the pheasants and in all the grouse there 

 are patches of naked skin on the body, which are usu- 

 ally particularly obvious during the breeding season. 

 The comb and the wattles of the domestic hen offer ex- 

 amples of such naked patches. The turkey, of course, 

 has the head entirely naked, covered with roughnesses 

 and caruncles, with a notable process on the forehead. 

 The grouse of North America have narrow, naked 

 patches over the eyes, which during the breeding season 



