TETRAO CANADENS1S. 247 



GENUS I. TETKAO. THE WOOD GROl > 



GEN. Oil. Posterior mart/in of sternum, In tin , n ;;/. Htiitiiins. i/nite :,/, , tliijhtly indented in lh> mi,ldl, . u-:tl, Ih- 

 esrouni/ul. TSp of kiti, projecting \e<llj'nrar<l. C<>stnl /;n'.s.<, /,i/,:ri:i : / t<> ,i round, d (mint. Tarsus, full,/ /'// rid, 

 as is also the s/taecs between /he toes, hut the /utter are naked. No iinn/nl, ,1 feathers on neck. 



Memlit-rs nf this genii- inhabit hra\ily wooded country, usually li\ing among evergreens. They lire all durk in Color. 

 There is but one species within our limits. 



TETRAO CANADENSIS. 



Spruce Grouse. 

 Tetrao Canculensis LINN., Syst. Nat. I; 1766,274. 



DESCRirriON. 



Sr. CH. Form, robust. Size, not large. Tongue, triangular in form, fleshy, and pointed. Cceca, 17.00 long, rannll 



at base, measuring about '10 in diam.'t-r fir :i'7. r >. then suddenly enlarging to nlxiut '30 in diameter and continues t' is M/.e 

 tu the blind end. tin; termination nf whieh is rounded. It is greenish in cjlor, with eight 1 ngitudinal lines if u lighter 

 shade. Number of tail leathers, sixteen. Sexes, not similar. 



COLOR. Adult male. Blaek throughout, c.\e,-]iting wings wliich nre dark-brown, becoming mucli lighter on the tips 



<>t' -i ndaries and outer edge of primaries. I pprr surface, exeepting tail, and enllnr, finely bunded with rvddisli-hrown 



mi'! nshy-blu.-, t'ie Uttar pr.-d rninati;>j;. S.i its on frt'nrii'-i, line of spot s h.-hiirl eye, line iiloiiv etiiigmi the 



throat, white; biind across breast and abdomen, under tail e i\crts. --ides, llanks, and under wing c i\erts, als . banded with 

 white, ami t-lie feathers of the three last named portions are finely barred witli ashy-brown. The tail i< ii|.p<-il with yel- 

 lo\vish-brown, and the tibia and tar-us are dusky, mottled with white. 



Adult female. Banded above, including tail, withyellowi-li-rcd, ashy-blue, nndblnck, with the white markings of the 

 --capillaries. IVlow. banded asl'ar as the breast, with \cllowish-reil and black; remaining under poi lions, band- 

 ed with yel!'iwis!i-rf .1, b',:i:-k, an 1 w lit ;, in e |;i il p i;> ir;i I:H. 



Youny. Are much redder ab .\e and below than the adult; this is especially notice-able in the female, where there is 

 nearly as much red below Uie hrea-i a- above it. 



V stlini/s. Are at first lined, mottled, and spotted with yellowish-rod, black, and white, both seies being then similar, 

 but they soon assume the plumages last described. Naked space over the eye, scarlet. Iris, bill, and feet, dnrk-hrown in 

 all stages. 



OBSERVATIONS. 



There is a little variation in plumage but this species may be readily known in all stages, by the predominating dark 

 colors as described. Distributed, as a constant resident, from Northern New England to the Arctic Circle. 



DIMENSIONS. 



Average measurements of male specimens from Maine. Length, 15'50; stretch, 21'50; wing, 6 - 32; tail, r.TJ; bill, 

 '63; tarsus. 1 :!.":. Longest specimen, IG'OO; greatest extent of win:;, 'J-J'tK); longest wing. > 7">; tail, 4'7.'i; bill. Til; MIMIS, 

 1-50. Shortest spei'imen, lo-iX); smallest extentof wing, 21'(X); shortest wing, (i'tNl; wil, 4'0(l; bill. 1 .1 -j.V 



DESCRIPTION OF NKSTS AM) EGGS. 



Nests, placed on the ground; they are not elaborate structures, being composed of twigs, leaves, moss, or any other 

 convenient material. 



E>!:i*. fn.m eight to fourteen in number, oblong oval in form, deep buff in color, spotted and splashed with brown of 

 varying si, : ides. Dimensions from l'20xl'68 to r22zl'75. 



HABITS. 



Those who have visited the dark ever^m-n forests of Northern New En^l.-uid, which are 

 mainly composed of giant spruces and hemlocks that raise their hu^c hranchrs hi<rh in air 

 but that an 1 so closely interlaced as to nearly exclude every \rsii-r nl'snn-li^ht, lh;is the. 

 ground about the roots of the trees is in perpetual shadow, yet vegetation thrives in this 

 half-light, and even flowers bloom in prolusion at the proper season, enlivening with their 

 varied hues a scene which otherwise would appear strikingly gloomy; those who ha\e >, . n 

 all this, I say, can form some idea how the Spruce Grouse live, for this is their li 



