344 



NORTHERN ZOOLOGY. 



Dimensions. 





Inch. 



Lin. 





Inch. 



Lin. 





Inch. 



Lin 



Length, total . 



. 18 . 







Length of bill above . 



. 



n 



Length of middle toe . 



. 1 



7 



,, of tail . 



. 7 



3 



,, of bill to rictus . 



1 







„ of its nail . 







6 



,, of wing 



7 



6 



„ of tarsus 



. 1 



8 



„ of hind toe 

 ,, of its nail . 



. 



. 



5 

 4 



[123.] 2. Tetrao obscurus. (Say.) Dusky Grouse. 



Genus, Tetrao, Linn. Swains. Typical group, I, Swains. 



Tetrao obscurus. Say, Long's Exped., ii., p. 202, An. 1823 ; female. 



Tetrao Richardsonii. Douglas, Linn. Trans,, xvi., p. 141. Wils. Illust., pi. xxx., xxxi. 



Dusky Grouse (Tetrao obscurus). Bonap. Orn., iii., pi. 18 ; Syn., No. 207- 



Plate lix. Male. Plate lx. Female. 



This large Grouse inhabits the Rocky Mountains from latitude 40° to 64°, and 

 perhaps to a greater extent, for the limits of its range either northward or south- 

 ward have not been ascertained. It has been known to the fur-traders for nearly 

 thirty years ; but it was first introduced to the scientific world by Mr. Say, who, 

 in 1820, accompanied Major Long to the source of the Missouri ; and a female 

 specimen, deposited by him in the Philadelphia!! Museum, has lately been figured 

 by the Prince of Musignano in his splendid continuation of Wilson's Ornithology* . 

 I had no opportunity of observing the habits of this bird myself, but was informed 

 by Mr. Drummond that, in the mornings during pairing time, the usual station 

 of the male is on some rocky eminence or large stone, where he sits swelling out 

 the sides of his neck, spreading his tail, and repeating the cry of " Coombe, 



* The description and figure of Mr. Say's specimen agree so completely with our younger female specimens, that 

 there can be no doubt of their specific identity ; but it is proper to observe that there is some discrepancy in the dimen- 

 sions. The Prince of Musignano states the total length of the bird to be eighteen inches, that of the wing nine inches 

 and a half. The wing of the largest of our males is scarcely so long ; while the biggest of our females, measuring 

 twenty-one inches in total length, has a wing barely eight inches long. This, perhaps, merely indicates the uncertainty 

 of measurements taken from prepared specimens. Mr. Douglas's specimens in the Edinburgh Museum are of younger 

 birds than ours, but evidently the same species. — R. 



