COCK OF THE PLAINS. 215 
si,!- ar a es t of grouse. The two females are strikingly 
^ilar. The cock of the plains is, however, a much 
grayish bird, wanting entirely the reddish that 
J^les, and occupies so much of the plumage of its 
^ T°gue. This, the total want of heard-like appendages, 
ijr the singular shape of the tail, are the prominent 
? i| Sci 'inii nati ve features; to which may he added, that 
p" Under wing-coverts, marbled with hlack in the 
°Pean, are pure white in our new species, though 
O as well as the want of reddish, might he ascribed 
tp'he youth of our specimen. However this may be, 
‘'emaining differences will be better estimated by 
tiding to the following minute and accurate descrip- 
(.Jhe female of the cock of the plains, is from twenty- 
to thirty inches in length. The bill is one inch 
i i r a quarter long, pei'fectly similar to that of T. 
(i (Mlus, perhaps a trifle less stout, and with the base 
, ! 'Ids remarkable character be not accidental in our 
A ®itnen,) farther produced among the feathers Of the 
j the whole plumage above is blackish, most 
ti' lu tely dotted, mottled, and sprinkled with whitish, 
liA'jd here and there with very pale yellowish rusty, 
worth mentioning; on the head, and all the 
the feathers being small, minutely crossed trans- 
p| Se ly with blackish and whitish lines, gives the 
'"ago quite a minutely dotted appearance ; the 
o^teiliar line is slightly indicated by more whitish ; 
spot above the eye, in the space between the bill 
|! f( , eye, and along the mouth beneath, the black 
c 0l j°Uii nates, being nearly pure : on the throat, on the 
H' ■ r y, it is the white that prevails, so as to be 
k' s h dotted with black ; on the lower portion of the 
f e 3 the black again is the prevailing colour, the black 
*iH„ ts there beiug nearly tipped with grayish ; the 
L. s of the neck are pure white for a space ; from the 
O* portion of the neck to the upper tail-coverts 
Ol*ly, the back, scapulars, wing-coverts, and 
Varies, the blackish feathers have each two or 
"" yellowish white bands, which are broader, espe- 
