COCK OF THE PLAINS. 307 
ing, but, on the contrary, square at tip, and of equal breadth 
throughout, or, if anything, the lateral rather broader at the tip. 
Lewis and Clark first met with this bird on their journey 
westward, near the fountain of the Missouri, in the heart of 
the Rocky Mountains. They inform us that it is found on 
the plains of the Columbia in great abundance, from the 
entrance of the south-east fork of the Columbia to that of 
Clark’s river. It appears also to extend to California, for 
there can be but little doubt that it is the bird erroneously 
called bustard by the travellers who have visited that country. 
Tiewis and Clark state, that in its habits it resembles the 
grouse (meaning probably J. phastanellus), except that 
its favourite food is the leaf and buds of the pulpy-leafed 
thorn. The gizzard is large, and much less compressed and 
muscular than in most gallinaceous birds, and perfectly re- 
sembles a maw. When the bird flies, he utters a cackling 
note, not unlike that of the domestic fowl]. The flesh of the 
cock of the plains is dark, and only tolerable in point of flavour, 
and is not so palatable as either that of the pheasant or grouse. 
It is invariably found in the plains. 
The cock of the plains is precisely equal in size to the cock 
of the woods ; at least such is the result of a comparison of the 
female with the corresponding sex of the European bird, both 
lying before us. Hach part exactly coincides in form and 
dimension, excepting that the tail rather gives the superiority 
to the American, so that if the male bears the same relative 
proportion to his female, the cock of the plains must be pro- 
claimed the largest of grouse. ‘The two females are strikingly 
similar. The cock of the plains is, however, a much more 
greyish bird, wanting entirely the reddish that mottles and 
occupies so much of the plumage of its analogue. This, the 
total want of beard-like appendages, and the singular shape of 
the tail, are the prominent discriminative features ; to which 
may be added, that the under wing-coverts, marbled with 
black in the European, are pure white in our new species, 
though this, as well as the want of reddish, might be ascribed 
to the youth of our specimen. However this may be, the 
