GALLINACEOUS BIRDS 45 



become congested and large, and by popular writers 

 are sometimes called combs. Besides, several American 

 grouse, such as the sage hen, the pinnated grouse and 

 the dusky grouse, have on the sides of the neck naked 

 patches of skin, which in the breeding season are capa- 

 ble of being inflated, and when so inflated completely 

 change the appearance of the bird. In the prairie 

 chicken, these, when inflated, have been compared to 

 small oranges ; in the sage grouse they are much larger ; 

 while in the dusky grouse they appear smaller, and can 

 only just be seen through the white feathers which sur- 

 round them. The sharptail grouse has a naked place 

 in the same position on the neck, and so has the ruffed 

 grouse. 



All the grouse have peculiar and noisy methods of 

 ushering in the breeding season, of which the drumming 

 of the ruffed grouse, the booming of the prairie chicken, 

 the hooting of the blue grouse and the dancing of the 

 sharptail are familiar examples. These various actions 

 and sounds are not, however, exclusively confined to 

 the breeding season. 



Grouse are generally supposed to be polygamous, but 

 not all species are so. The quails, or American par- 

 tridges, are monogamous, the male and female remain- 

 ing together during the season of incubation and hatch- 

 ing. In fact, in case of accident to the female, the male 

 sometimes hatches out and rears the brood. The Ameri- 

 can quails possess shrill and rather pleasing voices, 

 while the calls of the grouse are often rough, hoarse 

 and disagreeable. 



