TET 
of spring they withdraw to the mountains, 
and contests occur between the males, 
wliicli are carried on w'ith extreme vio- 
lence and fury, and during which tliey are 
so agitated by rage, that tl.ey may be ap- 
proached without observation, and knocked 
down witli a club. The birds of this spe- 
cies, and of the last, do not pair like ether 
birds, and the male is generally seen with 
several females in his train. They subsist 
on seeds and herbage, and are particularly 
fond of the seeds of the birch and Siberian 
poplar. 
T. Canadensis, or the spotted grouse, is 
thir^en inches long, abounds in the neigh- 
bouniood of Hudson’s Bay, and feeds upon 
juniper berries, and the cones of spruce. 
These birds are eaten by the natives, botli 
in summer and winter, during the latter 
season being hung up by the bill, and pre- 
served by the frost. They are extremely 
stupid, and will scarcely make an effort to 
evade danger. 
T. lagopus, or the ptarmigan grouse, is 
fourteen inches long, and inhabits the north 
of Europe. It is not uncommon in the 
Orknies and the Hebrides, and is some- 
times found in Cumberland. These birds 
subsist on seeds, fruits, and berries, and are 
like the last, silly and inadvertent to dan- 
ger. 
T. perdix, or the common partridge, is 
thirteen inches long, and abounds in the 
temperate regions of Europe. It is unable 
to sustain rigorous cold, or intense heat. 
It feeds on green corn and other plants, 
and almost every species of grain ; but the 
eggs of ants constitute its favourite food, 
and are almost essential for the nourish- 
ment and preservation of the young ones. 
Experiments have been repeatedly, but in- 
effectually, made, to induce the breeding 
of this bird in confinement ; its eggs, how- 
ever, are frequently introduced into the 
nest of a common hen, and are thus ma- 
tured, and the young are treated affection- 
ately by that bird, and may be brought to 
perfection if provided with their appropri- 
ate food. The attachment of the male and 
female partridge to their offspring is highly 
interesting. They both sit, covering them 
frequently at the same time, and, when 
danger approaches, will expose themselves 
to its direct attack, in order to decoy the 
attention of the enemy from those whose 
security they prefer even to their own ex- 
istence. They pair early, build with dry 
leaves upon the ground, and the young run 
after their parent as soon ag they are ex- 
TET 
tricated from the slrell. They breed in Eng. 
land only once a year, and live to the age 
of twelve years. They are highly valued 
for food. 
T. coturnix, or the quail, is between 
seven and eight inches long, aud inhabits 
almost every country of the old world, but 
is not found in America. It is migratory, 
and moves in spring towards the colder cli- 
mates, returning southerly in autumn. In 
these progresses quails fly in immense mub 
titudes, aud ar e taken in the islands of the 
Archipelago in sach numbers as for a short 
time to be the principal article of food for 
the inhabitants, and to constitute an im- 
portant source of income and revenue. 
Within a few miles, along the coasts of 
Italy, a hundred thousand are said to have 
been taken in a single day. Latham informs 
ns, that they used to be an article of im- 
portation from France to England, in cages 
formed with several divisions, and contain- 
ing about a score of birds in each, and that 
he had often seen these cages filled with 
them, and attached to the stage coaches 
between Paris and London. They breed, 
however, in this country, and though many 
migrate beyond the island, many only 
change their residence within it, on the ap- 
proach of winter, from the more exposed 
to the more sheltered parts. These birds 
were proverbial among the Komans for 
captiousness and quarrelling, and are em- 
ployed among the Chinese for the same 
amusement as game cocks in England. They 
were so used, indeed, likewise among the 
ancients. It appears highly probable that 
the extraordinary supplies of the Israelites 
were derived from this species of birds, in 
their vast flights to and from Africa, and 
though represented in the Jewish history as 
a permanent supply, this circumstance may 
easily be accounted for from the exaggerat- 
ing and superlative phraseology which cha- 
racterizes all oriental description. 
TETRATOMA, in natural history, a 
genus of insects of the order Coleoptera. 
Antennae clavate, the club perfoliate; lip 
rounded, entire ; feelers thickish, unequal ; 
shells as long as the abdomen. There are 
two species, viz. T. fiingorum, found on 
tree-fungi, in Germany ; and T. ancora. 
TETRODON, in natural history-, a ge- 
nus of fishes of the order Cartilaginei^ Ge- 
neric character : jaws bony, divided at the 
end; body roughened beneath; no ventral 
fins; aperture of the gills linear. These 
fishes are chiefly met with in the seas be- 
tween the tropics, and imagined to subsist 
