TETKAONID.E. BIRDS. The Black Geouse. 401 
constant!}^ uttering a loud harsh cry resembling the 
syllables ca-mac, ca-mac, frequently repeated. The 
Guinea Fowl is partial to marshy places, where it finds 
abundance of worms and insects, on which it is fond 
of feeding; it also eats grain and fruits of various kinds. 
It roosts in trees, and the female deposits her eggs, 
sometimes to the number of twenty, on the ground in 
the midst of a tuft of grass or a thicket. Both the 
flesh and the eggs of this bird are exceedingly good, 
and for this reason it is kept in our poultry yards, 
although its noisy quarrelsome habits render it rather 
a nuisance. 
THE CRESTED GUINEA FOWL {Numida cristata) is 
a good deal smaller than the common species, and 
instead of a casque, the crown of its head is adorned 
with a crest of decomposed hairy plumage. Its plum- 
age is blue-black, with numerous small gray spots; 
the primaries are yellowish-brown, and the edges of 
the secondaries white. The head and neck are bare, 
and of a livid blue colour, tinged in part with red. 
This species is found in Southern Africa ; its habits 
resemble those of the preceding species. 
Family IV.— TETRAONIDiE. 
The birds of this family, which includes the well- 
known grouse, partridges, and quails, and their allies, 
are generally of smaller size than those of the preceding 
group, and far less striking either for elegance of form 
or brilliancy of colour. They have a short and rather 
broad bill, of which the upper mandible is considerably 
arched, compressed towards the tip, and rather obtuse 
at the point; the nostrils, which are placed at the 
base of the upper mandible, are frequently covered 
with feathers, or concealed by a hard scale ; and the 
feet are rather short and moderately stout, generally 
scutellated, but- sometimes covered with somewhat 
hair-like featiiers to the extremity of the tarsi, or even 
of the toes. The hind toe is small, and slightly elevated 
upon the back of the tarsus, which is most commonly 
destitute of spurs. 
These birds are very generally distributed over the 
face of the globe, but the most typical species of the 
family inhabit the forests and heaths of mountainous 
countries. Their food consists partly of vegetable and 
partly of animal matters, such as seeds, fruits, and the 
young shoots of plants and trees under the former 
category, and worms and insects under the latter. 
Some of them are polygamous, but many pair ; and in 
the latter, at least, both the male and the female assist 
in rearing the young. 
THE CAPERCAILZIE [Tetrao Urogallus), also called 
the Wood-grouse, and the Cock-of-the-woods, 
one of the largest and finest species of this family is 
widely distributed over Europe, but is more abundant 
in the north than in the south of that continent. It 
was formerly not uncommon in the Highlands of Scot- 
land, hut the species was extirpated there nearly a 
century ago, and it is only of late years that attempts 
have been made to introduce it again into the 
Scotch foresft with some degree of success. The cock 
bird, which is considerably larger than the hen, 
VoL I. 51 
measures about three feet in length, and is mottled 
with gray and brownish-black, but has the neck and 
breast black, with a greenish gloss ; the female is of a 
pale yellowish-brown colour, with white and blackish- 
brown markings. The bill in the male is Yhite, and 
in the female brown ; and the male has a patch of 
bright scarlet naked skin over each eye. The tarsi are 
feathered down to the base of the toes. In Scandinavia 
the food of the Capercailzie is observed to consist 
principally of the young leaves and shoots of the 
Scotch fir {Pinus sylvestris), but it likewise feeds 
upon seeds and berries of various kinds. The breeding 
season commences very early in the spring, when the 
male takes up his post on some elevation, displays his 
plumage in the manner of a turkey-cock, and utters a 
loud cry, compared with the words peller-peJler-peUer, 
frequently repeated with constantly increasing rapidity, 
and terminating in a sort of gnilp and di'awing in of 
the breath. This singular call brings the females 
together from the neighbouring parts of the forest. 
The cock birds are exceedingly jealous, especially of 
their younger brethren, whom they endeavour to pre- 
vent from displaying themselves or calling. The hens 
lay from six to twelve eggs, which they deposit on the 
ground. The Capercailzie may be domesticated with 
ease, and even breeds readily in confinement. 
THE BLACK GROUSE, or Black Cock {Tetrao 
Tetrix)— fig. 125 — another fine species, is still met with 
in the mountainous districts of the North of England, 
and pretty abundantly in those of Scotland. It also 
commonly occurs in the north of Europe, and on the 
mountains in the south. The whole length of the 
male bird is about twenty -two inches ; its plumage is 
glossy black, with the lower wing and tail coverts and 
the bases of the secondary quills white, and a large 
naked patch of bright scarlet over each eye. The tail 
in the male is also of remarkable construction, the four 
outer feathers on each side being elongated and turned 
outwards, so as to give it the appearance of a double 
hook. This peculiarity is wanting to the female, which 
is four or five inches shorter than the male; her plum- 
age is pale chestnut-brown, barred and freckled with 
black. The Black Grouse feeds upon the young shoots 
of heath and other shrubs and trees, and in its habits 
closely resembles the Capercailzie. 
THE PINNATED GROUSE {Tetrao cupido). This 
curious species, which was formerly abundant in the 
United States of North America, but is now nearly 
extirpated, at least in the more populous districts, is 
rather smaller than the black cock, and is of a yellowish- 
red colour, with black bars and other markings. Its 
most remarkable character consists in the presence in 
the male of a pair of curious wing-like tufts on the 
sides of the neck, each composed of about eighteen 
narrow feathers, of which the longest are five inches 
in length. Beneath eacdi of these is a pendulous, 
wrinkled fold of skin, which is capable of being inflated 
with air, and then, as stated by Wilson, resembles in 
bulk, colour, and shape, a middle-sized orange. Dur- 
ing the breeding season the male produces a curious 
call, which, from its resemblance to the distant sound 
of a horn, is called tooting ; and is said to be audible 
at a distance of three or four, or even five or six miles. 
