482 
DUSKY GROUSE. 
base of the bill covering the nostrils are tinged with ferrugi- 
nous, those immediately nearest the forehead have but a single 
band, and are slightly tipped, while the larger ones of the 
neck, back, rump, and even the tail-coverts, as well as the 
feathers of the breast, have two bands and the tip. These ru- 
fous terminal margins, on the upper portion of the back, and 
on the tail-coverts, are broad, and sprinkled with black, so as 
to be often blended with the lower band. The sides of the 
head and the throat are whitish, dotted with blackish, the 
black occupying both sides of each feather, deepening and 
taking a bandlike appearance on the inferior portion of the 
upper sides of the neck ; on each feather of the breast is a 
whitish band that becomes wider on those nearest the belly ; 
the flanks are varied with rufous, each feather having, besides 
the small tip, three broad cross lines of that colour, and a 
white spot at the tip of the shaft, increasing in size as they 
are placed lower ; the belly feathers are plain dull cinereous, 
the lower tail-coverts are white, black at their base, with one 
or two black bands besides, and tinged between the bands 
with greyish ochreous ; the wings are nine and a half inches 
long, with the third and fifth primaries subequal ; the coverts, 
as well as the scapulars, are of the general colour, with about 
two bands, the second of which is sprinkled as well as the tip, 
each feather being white on the shaft at tip ; the primaries, 
secondaries, and outer wing-coverts, including their shafts, are 
plain dusky ; the secondaries have ochreous zigzag marks on 
their outer webs, and are slightly tipped with dull whitish; 
the primaries themselves are somewhat mottled with dingy 
white externally, but are notwithstanding entirely without the 
regular white spots so remarkable in other grouse ; the lower 
wing-coverts, and long axillary feathers, are pure white. The 
tail measures in length seven and a half inches, is very slightly 
rounded, of twenty broad feathers, of which the lateral are 
plain blackish, with the exception of a few whitish dots at the 
base of their outer webs, and the middle ones being varied 
with rufous dots disposed like the bands across their whole 
