DUSKY GROUSE. 



Dendragapus obscurus. 

 Dendragapus obscurus fuliginosus. 

 Dendragapus obscurus richardsoni. 

 Dendragapus obscurus sierra. 



The dusky grouse is the largest of the American 

 wood grouse, sometimes weighing four pounds. 

 Above, the male is dusky gray or dull black, usually 

 more or less waved with fine, blacker lines. Sometimes 

 there is a variety of light and dark color on the back 

 and wings, producing a mottled effect. The tail is 

 black with a gray band across the end, usually from 

 half an inch to an inch wide. The under parts are 

 slaty gray, somewhat streaked with white on the flanks. 

 The bird is from twenty to twenty-three inches long, 

 and is stout and graceful. On the side of the neck there 

 is a patch of white surrounding a naked, inflatable 

 bare space which is hardly, or not at all, to be seen, 

 except during the breeding season. The throat is also 

 white or very pale. 



The much smaller female is grayish or brownish in 

 color, marked with spots and bars of blackish. 



This is the typical dusky or blue grouse, and is 

 found in the Rocky Mountains, west as far as they ex- 

 tend, east to the Black Hills, south to the Mogollon 



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