THE PINNATED GROUSE. 
153 
similar to the colours and markings of the European 
grey hen. The remarkable parts of its adornment 
are the neck tufts, or, as Wilson terms them, supple- 
mental wings, composed of about eighteen narrow 
feathers, the largest of which are 5 inches long, and 
black. Under each of these are two loose, pendu- 
lous, and wrinkled skins, extending along the side of 
the nock for two-thirds of its length, each of which, 
when inflated with air, resembles in bulk, colour, and 
surface, a middle-sized orange. The female is con- 
siderably less, and wants the neck tufts and naked 
skin.* 
It is during the season of spring that the skins on 
the sides of the neck become most conspicuous. 
An interesting account of their manners at this season, 
is given in a letter from Mr Mitchell, New York, to 
Wilson. 
“ The season for pairing is in March, and the 
breeding time is continued through April and 
May. Then the male grouse distinguishes him- 
self by a peculiar sound. When he utters it, the 
])arts about the throat are sensibly inflated and 
swelled. It may be heard on a still morning for 
three or four miles ; some say they have perceived it 
as far as five or six. This noise is a sort of ventri- 
loquism. It does not strike the ear of a bystander 
with much force, but impresses him with the idea, 
though produced within a few rods of him, of a voice 
a mile or two distant. This note is highly charac- 
* Alexander Wilson. 
