CHICAGO ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 
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which frequently will fly down and steal the dinner from Rome hungry 
dog, if he is not on the alert, or the fish, hung up in camp by the Indians 
to dry. It breeds very early, occupying the same nest year after year. 
The nest is very large, and composed entirely of soft materials, moss, 
hair, and the like. Having offered a large reward for the eggs, to my 
surprise, about April 20th, an Indian brought me a nest with four half- 
fledged young, so that it must lay some time in March. The eggs have 
been obtained at Fort Yukon, and the bird is abundant every where on 
the Yukon River, but not south of it. D. 
90. Tetrao ohscurus Say. (459.) Dusky Grouse. Seven speci- 
mens of this species collected at Sitka were received from Bischoff. 
D. 
91. Tetrao canadensis Linn^. (460.) Spruce Partridge. Although 
called the spruce partridge, it lives among the willows in retired places, 
and feeds, at Nulato, exclusively on willow buds. The eye is light 
brown ; the flesh is white and very delicate, altogether the best eating of 
any of the partridges. The body and breast bone and intestine are much 
longer proportionally than in the other species. The Indian name is 
TchiXnkCiter, and it is called Rapchik by the Russians. It is the least 
common of the grouse at Nulato. D. 
92. Pedioecetes phasianelltis Bd. (463.) Sharp -tailed Grouse. 
This species is not uncommon at Fort Yukon, where Lockhart obtained 
the eggs; and it is found some two hundred miles down the river, but 
does not pass the canon known to the English as the Ramparts. 
Captain Ketchum killed several of these birds on his adventurous 
•winter trip from Nulato to Fort Yukon. D. 
93. JBonasa tanbellus Steph. (465.) Rufled Grouse. Not uncom- 
mon in the vicinity of Nulato. Loves the deep spruce groves, away 
from the river, and feeds exclusively on the spruce buds, with the flavor 
of which its flesh is aromatic. When aimed at, it does not fly, but 
dodges around the trunk of the tree on which it is sitting. Lays its eggs 
in May ; once I found them in the hollow of a decayed stump, about six 
feet above the ground. Its flesh is not as good as that of T. canade7isis, 
but much better than that of X. albus. D. 
94:, Sonasa Sabinii Baird. (466.) Oregon Grouse. A few were 
obtained in Sitka and British Columbia by Bischofi" and Elliott. D. 
95, Lagopus albns Aud. (46*7.) White Ptarmigan. Tebnukka, 
Indian ; Corapdtka, Russian. Two specimens obtained at Sitka, and 
one at Kadiak, by Blschofl". 
Abundant from Fort Yukon to the sea. It feeds exclusively in winter 
on willow buds, and I have taken a double handful from the crop. 
