84 University of Caiifornioi Publications in Zoology [Vol. 30 



Small chicks were seen on July 8. By the first of September young 

 birds were nearly finished with the post-juvenal molt, and about two- 

 thirds the size of adults by measurement, though of only one-half the 

 weight. The broods are eared for solely by the hen. The old cock is 

 usually solitary during the summer, though males of the previous 

 year sometimes form small coveys, together with non-breeding females. 

 Such gatherings were encountered on several occasions. The hen with 

 a brood is sometimes tame to the verge of stupidity; I found several 

 that were, literally, as indifferent to approach as any barn-yard 

 fowl. I have, however, seen an occasional covey of young birds that 

 was extremely hard to approach. The broods often feed over open 

 meadows, where they are exposed to attack by hawks and other enemies, 

 and there must be a hea'V'y mortality from such causes. That this is so 

 is borne out by the small size of most of the broods encountered, and 

 by the number of hens seen with no broods at all. 



Following is a list of subspecies of the grouse of the genus 

 Dendragapus, arranged according to their geographical position, from 

 north to south. 



1. Dendragapus obscurus flemingi Taverner. Fleming Dusky Grouse. 



2. Dendragapus obscurus richardsonii (Douglas). Richardson Dusky Grouse. 



3. Dendragapus obscurus obscurus (Say). Colorado Dusky Grouse. 



4. Dendragapus fuliginosus fuliginosus (Kidgway). Oregon Sooty Grouse. 



5. Dendragapus fuliginosus sitkensis Swarth. Sitka Sooty Grouse. 



6. Dendragapus fuliginosus sierrae Chapman. Sierra Sooty Grouse. 



7. Dendragapus fuliginosus howardi Dickey and van Eossem. Mount Pinos 



Sooty Grouse. 



• 

 Canachites canadensis osgoodi Bishop. Alaska Spruce Grouse 



Ordinarily this is a common species in the region, but in 1924, for 

 some reason that was not obvious, spruce grouse had declined in num- 

 bers to a point of actual scarcity. Single birds were flushed at long 

 intervals, as were occasionally hens with their broods, consisting of 

 one, two, or three chicks. No larger broods were seen. Early in 

 September, traveling from Atlin to Lake Teslin and back, a week's 

 trip, I saw all told only ten or twelve spruce grouse. This was in 

 country that was throughout suitable to the species, and where during 

 other years it had been found in abundance. 



The spruce grouse is primarily a lowland species in the Atlin region. 

 In the valleys it occupies the spruce woods almost entirely, being 



