658 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE TERRITORIES. 
Oupidonia cupido being found in the more central portions of the United 
States, and at one time, we are well aware, was plentiful all along the 
Atlantic Coast, particularly to the northward. C. cupido pallidicincta is 
a variety occurring from Texas to Nebraska, generally lighter in color, 
and decidedly smaller. This is one of the most interesting members of 
the family Tetraonide, and descriptive ornithologists have delighted in 
repsenting us in their works with the engaging history of the famed 
prairie hen. 
There are three species of ptarmigan found in North America, as al- 
ready shown in our table given above. Lagopus albus is confined to 
sub-Arctic and Arctic America, occurring more or less abundantly across 
the continent. L. rupestris is also an Arctic bird, while our last species, 
LL. leucurus, is not only found in these sub-polar regions but inhabits the 
mountainous districts of the West as far south as New Mexico. 
Ihave not had the pleasure of hunting this beautiful Grouse, never 
having been in sections where it was found, so that in the following 
partial synopsis of external characters and appearances of the Tetraonide, 
I am, as far as this species is concerned, indebted entirely to the authors 
of A History of North American Birds, from which valuable work I have 
borrowed the necessary data differentiating this genus from others of 
the group. 
GENERA OF THE TETRAONIDA. 
CaNnacE.—Nasal fosse occupying barely half the culmen. Anextensible bare space 
on either side of neck. No cervical ruffs. Tail broad and rounded at outer angles. 
Toes without feathers, which occur on the basal membranes between them and the 
entire tarsi. The Varieties .C. canadensis and C.. franklini are distinguishable in that 
the former has a rounded tail that terminates with a lightish brown band, and the 
upper tail coverts have ae ash emarginations, whereas the latter bird has nearly 
a square tail, entirely black, only occasionally showing a light colored tipping, and 
the superior tail-coverts have extensive white margins. 
Bonasa.—Crested, cervical ruffs of black and particularly soft and glossy feathers. 
Tail broad and nearly square. Tarsi bare below. Anterior scutelle arranged in two 
rows, approaching the Partridges in this as in many osteological characters. 
B. umbella wmbetloides.—Pale ; slaty-gray the prevailing shade. (Cowes. ) 
B. umbella sabinii.—Dark ; chestnut-brown the prevailing shade. (Coues. ) 
LaGoprus.—No cervical ruffs. Tail but slightly rounded. Tarsi and toes thickly 
feathered to the very claws. Species become white during winter season. 
LI albus.—Bill very stout. ‘ Bill as high as the distance from the nasal groove to its 
tip. Tail always black, narrowly tipped with white; wing (except upper coverts) 
pure white.” 
L. rupestris.—“ Bill slender ; distance from the nasal grove to tip (.35) greater than 
height at base (.27). In summer the ‘feathers of back black, banded distinctly with 
yellowish-brown and tipped with white. In winter white, the tail black; the male 
wile black bar from bill through the eye. Size considerably less than that of 
. albus. ; 
L. leucurus.—“ Entirely pure white, including the tail.” 
CuPIDONIA.—Nasal fosse less than one-third the length of the culmen. Sides ofneck 
ornamented with long and sharp outstanding tufts, composed of thick black feathers. 
Tail shorter in comparison than any other Grouse. Feathers extend to lower end of 
tarsi. Head slightly crested. Inflatable air-sacs below cervical tufts. Osteologically 
Cupidonia and Pediccetes are nearly related and opposed to all the other forms or ge- 
nera of the Tetraonide. As in the following genus, Cupidonia has one well-defined va- 
riety, C. cupido pallidicincta; this form is alluded to in the History of North American 
Birds, above cited, in these words: ‘‘Initsrelations with the C. cupido this race bears 
a direct analogy to Pediccetes columbianus, as compared with P. phasianellus, and to 
Ortyx texana, as distinguished from O. virginiana. Thus in a much less development 
of the tarsal feathers it agrees with the southern Pediwcetes, while in paler, grayer 
colors, and smaller size, it is like the southwestern Orty.x.” 
PEDIGCETES.—Nasal fossz less than half the length of the culmen. Cannot be said to 
be crested, but has the habit of raising the feathers of the crown under the same circum- 
stances that the crested forms elevate their crests. Have seen specimens that certainly 
seemed to possess rudimentary cervical tufts. The mid-pair of tail-feathers produced 
beyond the short and graduated tail proper, theirends being truncate. Tarsi feathered 
