104 



NORTH AMERICA. 



Tlic SJiai p-tiiilcd Grouse. 



This bird is never seen in any of the Atlantic States, though numerous in higli northern lati 



tudes. It iniiabits the uncultivated lands near 

 the southern parts of Hudson's Bay. It is 

 sometimes found near Lake Superior in the 

 spring. 



The sharp-tailed grouse is very shy and soli- 

 tary in summer, but lives in flocks during the 

 winter. Their favorite places of resort are the 

 juniper plains, where the buds of juniper bush- 

 es constitute their favorite food. They frequent 

 the woods as well as the plains ; sometimes 

 feeding on berries, and sometimes on the tops 

 of evergreen, poplar.^ and birch trees. They 

 breed on the ground, near low bushes ; the nest 

 is composed of grass, and lined with feathers 

 Their flesh is excellent eating. One of these 

 birds will sometimes weigh upwards of two 

 pounds. The general color of the plumage is a mixture of white and rusty, on a glossy black- 

 ish ground ; the feathers of the head and neck are tipped with wliite. 



The Spotted Grouse ( T. Canadensis) visits Canada in the winter, and is known there by 

 the name of wood partridge. Its favorite resort is in pine wood atjd cedar swamps, where it 

 feeds on buds, oily seeds, and evergreen foliage. It builds its nest on the ground, and is un- 

 suspicious, and easily taken. The Willow Grouse is found on the coast of Hudson's Bay. 

 Its habits are similar to those of the jireceding bird. It subsists on berries, and on the tops 

 and seeds of the dwarf willow, from which it takes its name of willow partridge. The White 

 Grouse., or Ptarmigan of Europe, is found in the northern ])arts of the Hudson's Ba}' country. 

 The Whooping Crane (^Grus Americana) is the tallest and most stately species of all the 



feathered tribes of the United States ; the 

 watchful inhabitant of extensive salt marshes, 

 desolate swamps, and open morasses, in the 

 neighborhood of the sea. Its migrations are 

 regular, and of the most extensive kind, reach- 

 ing from the shores and inundated tracts of 

 South America to the arctic circle. In these 

 periodical journeys, they pass at such a pro- 

 digious height in the air as 1o be rarely ob- 

 served. During winter, they are frequently 

 seen in the low ground and rice plantations of 

 the Southern States, in search of grain and 

 insects. They are extremely shy and vigilant, 

 so that it is with the greatest difficulty they 

 can be shot. They sometimes rise in the air 

 to a great height, and fly round in large circles, 

 as if reconnoitring the country to a vast ex- 

 tent, for a fresh quarter to feed in. Their 

 flesh is said to be well tasted. They swallow 

 rats, mice, moles, &c. with great avidity. 

 They build their nests on the ground, amidst 

 solitary swamps, and raise them more than a foot in height. The Sand Hill Crane is said by 

 Mr. Flint to be a fine, stately bird, as majestic in the water as a swan, and considerably taller, 

 of a sleek, compact, and oily plumage, of a fine grayish-white color. They are to be seen in 

 countless numbers on the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, seeming, at a distance, like immense 

 droves of sheep. They migrate in company with the pelicans, and fly at such a height in the 

 air as scarcely to be seen, uttering at the same time a deep cry. 



The Louisiana Heron {Ardea Ludoviciana) is a rare and delicately formed species, occasion- 

 ally found on the swampy rivers of South Carolina, but more frequently along the borders of the 

 Mississippi. The Yellow Croioned Heron is one of the nocturnal species of the heron tribe, 

 whose manners, place and mode of building its nest, resemble greatly those of the night heron 



Whooping Crane. 



