North American Birds Eggs. 



145 



308. Sharp-tailed Grouse. PalUycctcH phamaneUuH 



Range. — Interior of British 

 nortliwest to the Yukon. 



Sharp-tailed Grouse are similar in form to th 

 smaller and very much lighter in color, being 

 nearly white below, with arrowhead markings 

 on the breast and flanks. This species is very 

 abundant in Manitoba and especially so on the 

 plains west of Hudson Bay. Their nests are 

 generally concealed under a thicket or a large 

 tuft of grass, and are lined with grasses and 

 feathers. They lay from six to fifteen eggs of a 

 drab color, very minutely specked all over with 

 brown. Size 1.70 x 1:1b. Data.— t^uill Lake, 

 Saskatchewan, X. W. T. Nest a depression on 

 the ground, lined with grass and feathers. Col- 

 lector, Chris Forge. 



America, from the United States boundarv 



e Prairie Hen, but are finmpwliiit 



[Buffy drab.) 



308a. Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse. Pnlinecctrfi phaaUinelhis rohunhiiinuK. 



Range. — Northwestern United States and British Columbia to central Alaska. 

 Both the nesting habits and eggs of this variety are the same as the last, with 

 which species, the birds gradually intergrade as their ranges approach. 



308b. Prairie Sharp-tailed Grouse. Priliocrrtes ii/Kisiiiiielhis cinnprKtris. 



Range.— Plains of the United States from the Mississippi to the Rockies. 

 This sub-species shades directly into the two preceding where tlieir ranges meet, 

 and only birds from the extreme parts of the range of each show any marked ^ 

 differences. The nesting habits and eggs of all three are not to be distinguished. 



309. Sage Grouse. CenfrorcrcKS uropliasinniis. 



I Pale greenish drab, 

 greenish drab color, spotted with brown. 



11 



Range. — Sage plains of the Rocky 

 Mountain region from British Colum- 

 bia to New Mexico, and from Califor- 

 nia to Dakota. This handsome bird 

 is the largest of the American Grouse, 

 being about 8(1 inches long (the hen 

 bird is about six inches shorter). It 

 may easily be recognized by its large 

 size, its peculiar graduated tail with 

 extremelv sharplv pointed feathers, 

 and the black belly and throat. Their 

 nests are hollows scratched out in the 

 sand, under the sage bushes, gener- 

 ally with no lining. The nesting 

 season is during April and May, they 

 laving from six to twelve eggs of a 

 Size 2.15 X 1.50. 



