GROUSE, PTARMIGAN 



(305) Tympanuchus ameri = 

 canus americanus 



{Reich.) (Lat., a kind of kettle-drum). 



PRAIRIE HEN; PRyURIE 

 CHICKEN; PINNATED GROUSE. 

 Tarsus scantily feathered to the toes. 

 Head slightly crested. Neck with 

 a tuft of lengthened feathers on 

 either side, beneath which is a 

 tympanum of bare yellowish skin 

 capable, on the male, of being in- 

 flated to the size of a small orange. 

 The hen differs from the cock in 

 smaller size and shorter pinnates. 

 L., 17.00; W., 8.50; T., 4.50. 



Range — Plains from Sask. and 

 Man. south, west of the Miss. River 

 to Tex. Rare in Ind. 

 (305a) T. a. attwateri Bcndire 



ATTWATER'S PRAIRIE 

 CHICKEN. A smaller variety in 

 La. and Tex. 



tree or stone. When discovered, her actions and those of 

 the chicks are nearly Uke those of the Bob-Whites. 



PTARMIGAN are northern forms of grouse with com- 

 pletely feathered toes, whose plumage is almost wholly 

 white in winter, but in summer is largely mottled or barred 

 with blacks, grays, and browns. In either season, the dress 

 perfectly matches the surroundings. This protective dress 

 is a necessity, especially during the long winters, when many 

 a bird, many a beast, and many humans depend for food 

 largely upon the plump bodies of these snow grouse. In 

 order to avoid being tracked and captured by night-prowling 

 mammals. Ptarmigan, like our Ruffed Grouse, plunge into 

 the snow from the air, thereby leaving no telltale tracks 

 leading to their hiding places — just a hole in the snow, that 

 the prowler must discover by sight before he can scent his 

 quarry. 



Ptarmigan are in an almost continual state of moulting; 

 nearly every month in the year shows a different plumage for 

 the same species. There are several species and many sub- 



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