44 AMERICAN GAME BIRD SHOOTING 
ocellated turkey of Yucatan and Guatemala can com- 
pare in brilliancy with many of the pheasants of Asia. 
Grouse inhabiting arctic or alpine countries—called 
ptarmigan—are notable for their seasonal changes of 
plumage. They turn white in winter and are said to 
be in a continuous state of moult at all seasons, except 
for a brief period when they have assumed their sum- 
mer dress, and again in winter after the completing of 
the winter plumage. An exception to this rule is the 
Scotch grouse, which does not turn white in winter, 
presumably having lost that protective adaptation, be- 
cause such a change of coloring is not required in the 
region which it inhabits. 
The birds of this group are all formed for life upon 
the ground, in this respect contrasting markedly with 
that other division of gallinaceous birds, the so-called 
pigeon-footed group, which shows a tendency toward 
life in trees. This, of course, does not mean that fowl- 
footed birds necessarily avoid trees, for as a matter of 
fact many of them commonly roost in trees, and all re- 
sort to them for refuge and often for feeding purposes. 
In many of the pheasants and in all the grouse there 
are patches of naked skin on the body, which are usu- 
ally particularly obvious during the breeding season. 
The comb and the wattles of the domestic hen offer ex- 
amples of such naked patches. The turkey, of course, 
has the head entirely naked, covered with roughnesses 
and caruncles, with a notable process on the forehead. 
The grouse of North America have narrow, naked 
patches over the eyes, which during the breeding season 
