SHUFELPT. ] OSTEOLOGY OF THE TETRAONIDZ. 659 
to the toes. In P. phasianellus the toes are hidden by the feathers and the coloration 
of the two forms differs materially. 
Centrocercus wrophasianus.—Nasal fosse nearly two-thirds the culmen. Large, in- 
flatable air-sacs. Not crested. Feathers of throat with spiny shafts, and those of the 
body with large after shafts. Tail long, graduated, and of twenty acuminate feathers. 
Tarsi covered with feathers, which extend over the basal webs. 
As we do not enter especially into the subject of the osteology of the 
family Perdicidw, we will merely present the reader here with a synopsis 
of the North American forms and their habitats. 
GENUS. SPECIES. HABITAT. 
( 1. Ortyx Patridge) (Ameri- § Estern Sate ae and to 
can Partridge the plains wes 
| Ort 2. O. virginiana _floridana. § mora 
YE eel (Florida Partridge.) ; oneas 
| 3. O. virginiana texana. (Tex- ; Texas and certain localities to 
| an Partridge.) the northward. 
( ( . Northern coast region of Cali- 
| | ’ ass eal pecs ae ; fornia, Washington Territory, 
| g nea: Orortyz Sonia lumifera. sane ee A race 
Re: = (Plumed Quail. ) P that simply differs slightly in 
Famity Perdicide. | > { coloration. 
(The Partridges.) | § 
e Lophortyz californica. (Cali- {ve age to the foot-hills of the 
¢| fornia Quaii.) Pacific region. 
5 Lophortyz - : Colorado Valley of the United 
a Lophortyx gambeli. (Gam- Sieles north to Southern 
i) | bel’s Quail.) Utah, and east to Western 
= Texas. (Hist. of N. A. Birds.) 
| . Callipepla squamata. (Scaled § Texas, New Mexico, and Ari- 
l Oallipepla - ; or Blue Partridge.) ; zona. 
{ Oyrtortyz .. Cyrtonyx massena. (Mas- f New Mexico, Arizona, and Tex- 
sena Partridge.) as, and to the southward. 
To this list, my friend Dr. Coues has added Coturnia dactylisonans, 
the common Migratory Quail of Europe, a bird that at different times 
has been imported and set at liberty in various parts of the Union—in 
New England for one locality—and it is at present supposed that this 
Quail will become a bird of the country, as Passer domesticus has. 
I learn also from Mr. Lucien M. Turner, lately returned from Alaska, 
that he has been so fortunate as to find a new race of Lagopus that will 
be duly described in his report.. 
The anatomical peculiarities of the order Galline has been the favorite 
theme of many an able writer, and we find Huxley, Owen, Gegenbaur, 
Parker, Coues, and others, in their several works, dwelling largely upon 
the osteology of these birds, ably exposing the observed characteristics 
of structure both by pen and pencil; but, as far as our knowledge ex- 
tends, no one has as yet devoted himself to the production of a paper 
devoted exclusively to the osteology of the North American Grouse, 
such as the writer here proposes to undertake with every hope of suc- 
cess, aided as he has been by the kind assistance of many friends in 
different parts of the Union, in sending him valuable material in the 
way of representatives of the Family. 
In this monograph we will omit, as we have in former ones now pub- 
lished, any detailed description of the osseous elements of the ear, or the 
respiratory tube, small sesamoids, or such tendons as may ossify in the 
extremities. The hyoid as an arch of one of the cranial vertebre evi- 
dently is not included in this category, and will in consequence receive 
the attention it undoubtedly deserves in its proper place. 
The study of the bones entering into the cranial vertebre has been 
initiated at a stage in the chick’s life a few days after birth, and their 
