THE PINNATED GROUSE. 153 



similar to the colours and markings of the European 

 grey hen. The remarkable parts of its adornment 

 are the neck tufts, or, as Wilson terms them, supple- 

 mental wings, composed of about eighteen narrow 

 feathers, the largest of which are 5 inches long, and 

 black. Under each of these are two loose, pendu- 

 lous, and wrinkled skins, extending along the side of 

 the neck for two-thirds of its length, each of which, 

 when inflated with air, resembles in bulk, colour, and 

 surface, a middle-sized orange. The female is con- 

 siderably less, and wants the neck tufts and naked 

 skin** 



It is during the season of spring that the skins on 

 the sides of the neck become most conspicuous. 

 An interesting account of their manners at this season, 

 is given in a letter from Mr Mitchell, New York, to 

 Wilson. 



" The season for pairing is in March, and the 

 breeding time is continued through April and 

 May. Then the male grouse distinguishes him- 

 self by a peculiar sound. When he utters it, the 

 parts about the throat are sensibly inflated and 

 swelled. It may be heard on a still morning for 

 three or four miles ; some say they have perceived it 

 as far as five or six. This noise is a sort of ventri- 

 loquism. It does not strike the ear of a bystander 

 with much fouce, but impresses him with the idea, 

 though produced within a few rods of him, of a voice 

 a mile or two distant. This note is highly charac- 

 * Alexander Wilson. 



