TETRA0NIDJ5 — THE GROUSE. 435 



IIadit.s. The Arctic rorni of tho Sliarp-tailcd Grouao is found tlirouf»hoiit 

 tlio Arctic rej,'ioii.s, from Alaskii soutliwiinl and eiistward to an cxttMit not 

 fidly ascertained. Mr. Dall states tliat this variety is not uncommon at 

 Fort Yukon, wliero Mr. Lockliart found it l)reedin;.f and olitained its oj,'j,'s. 

 It lias also been seen some two hundred miles down the river, hut it is said 

 not to he found below the canon known as the Ifamparts. ('ai»taiu Ivetch- 

 uni, in Ilia adventurous winter trip from Nulato to Fort Yukon, is said to 

 have killed .several of these birds. Specimens are in the Smith.soniau 

 Museum from Moose Factory and elsewhere along the southern part of 

 Hudson's IJay, and it is said to bo abundant about Nipigoii Lake, north of 

 Lake Superior. 



Mr. Kennicott found the nest of this bird at Fort Yukon, at the foot of 

 a clumi> of dwarf willows. It was in dry ground, and in a nigioii in which 

 these willows abounded and wereiiiiito thickly interspersed with other trees, 

 especially small spruces, liut no large growth. The nest is said to have been 

 similar to that of Cn/ili/oniu ni/iufo. Mr. L(jckhart also found it breeding 

 in the same region. Tlie nests seen by him were likewise built on a rising 

 ground uniler a few small willows. 



Itichardsoii lussigns as thu northern limit of this species the region of the 

 Great Slave Like, latitude 01°, ami as its most southern ])oiiit latitude 4 P. 

 It was found in abundance on the outskirts of the Saskatchewan jdains and 

 throughout the wooded districts of the fur countries, frequenting the open 

 glades or low thickets on the borders of lakes, especially where the forests 

 have been partially cleared ; i)erching on trees in the winter, but keejiing to 

 the ground in the summer ; and, at all seasons, met with in small Hocks of 

 from ten to sixteen. They are said, early in sjiring, to select some level 

 place, where a covey meets every morning and runs round in a circle of about 

 twenty feet in diameter, so that the grass is worn quite bare. If any one ap- 

 proaches this circle, the birds .S(iuat close to the ground ; but if not alarmed 

 by a too near approach, they soon stretch out their necks to survey the in- 

 truder, and resume their circular course, some running to the right and others 

 to the left, meeting and crossing each other. These " partridge-dances " are 

 said to last a month or more, or until the female begins to incubate- This 

 Grouse rises from the ground with the usual whirring noise, and alights again 

 at a distance of a few hundred yards, sometimes on the ground or on the 

 bnuiches of a tree. In winter they hide in the snow, and make their way 

 with ease through the loose drifts, feeding on the buds of the willows, 

 larches, aspens, etc. In summer and autumn their food is principally ber- 

 ries. They are said to lay about thirteen eggs early in June : the uest being 

 on the ground, formed of grasses lined with feathers. 



The eggs of this variety closely resemble those of the columhianus, but are 

 generally of a decidedly darker ground. They average 1.75 inches in length 

 by I 28 in breadth. Their ground is a dark tawny-brown minutely dotted 

 with darker spots of brown. 



