118 



PINNATED GROUS 



the fields, where they paid little regard to their nurse ; and in a 

 few days only three of them remained* , These became extremely 

 tame and familiar, were most expert fly-catchers ; but soon after 

 they also disappeared* 



The Pinnated Grous is nineteen inches long, twenty-seven 

 inches in extent, and when in good order, weighs about three 

 pounds and a half; the neck is furnished with supplemental wings, 

 each composed of eighteen feathers, five of which are black, and 

 about three inches long, the rest shorter, also black, streaked late- 

 rally with brown, and of unequal lengths; the head is slightly 

 crested ; over the eye is an elegant semicircular comb of rich 

 orange, which the bird has the power of raising or relaxing; un- 

 der jthe neck wings are two loose pendulous ^and wrinkled skins> 

 extending along the side of the neck for two-thirds of its length, 

 each of which, when inflated with air, resembles, in bulk, color and 

 surface a middle sized orange; chin cream-colored; under the eye 

 runs a dark streak of brown; whole upper parts mottled trans- 

 versely with black, reddish brown and white ; tail short, very much 

 i*QM,ixded, ^nd of; .a ;plain brownish soot color ; throat elegantly 

 marked with touches of i^eddish brown, white and black; lower 

 p^rt of the breast and belly pale brown, marked transversely with 

 white; legs covered to the toes with hairy down of a dirty drab 

 color ; feet dull yellow, toes pectinated ; vent whitish ; bill brown- 

 isJi,l^orn, color ; ^^ye reddish hazel. The female is considerably 

 less, of a lighter color; destitute of the neck wings, the naked yel- 

 low skin on the neck, and the semicircular comb of yellow over 

 the ey^»_ . 



On dissecting these birds the gizzard was found extremely 

 niuscular, having almost the hardness of a stone; the heart re- 

 markably large; the crop was filled with briar knots, containing 

 the larvae of some insect, — quantities of a species of green lichen, 

 small hard seeds, and some grains of Indian corn. 



