r 
LYRUKUS TETRIX. 
and liopiug ai’e you 'witliont amusement. The time does not seem long Avhile ohserving their habits and drollery. On the siioav such 
dancing and trampling' leave sufficient marks; and the spot u'here the birds have met is like the ring of a circus after an equestrian per- 
formance. As it \vill of course be understood, it is the cocks only ryhich are shot. And of these but a certain number ; care always 
being taken to leave some of the old ones behind, to lead the young generation in the following season to the accustomed trysting place. 
And next year, in March, they are there on the very same spot as before.” 
The female — or, as she is commonly known, the Gray Hen — does not make much of a nest, and lays from eight to twelve eggs. The 
chicks make their appearance in three weeks’ time, and leave the nest to follow their mother, who Ifeads them to new fields, and gathers 
them under her wings wlierever night overtakes them. She roosts upon the ground, and does not perch until the young are sufficiently 
strong to accompany her. During the period of incubation the male remains in the neighborhood, keeping vigilant watch over his family, 
and shows considerable skill in decoying any intruder from the vicinity of the brood. Late in the fall the males associate together in 
considerable numbers, and live peaceably with each other until the spiiug, when they again separate to seek the hens. 
I have included as a synonym of this species the Tetrao Derbianus of Goidd, which appears to be only an old Black Cock, with the 
tail feathers slightly elongated. This character I have observed in several examples, coming from various localities, and is hardly sufficient 
to constitute a separate species. 
The adult male is black, w'ith the .head, neck, and back glossed with deejj steel-blue reflections. Wings brown; a conspicuous baud of 
white crosses the secondaries, which are also tipped with the same. Primaries brown, outer edges mottled with yellowish brown, and 
having shafts of a brownish white. Tail black, much forked, with the four lateral feathers on either side elongated and curved outward. 
Under tail coverts white, some in the centre projecting beyond the tail. Planks and breast brownish black. Bill black. The legs yellow- 
ish brown, mottled with black. Feet brown. Superciliary membrane blood red. 
Female has head and neck rufous, barred with brownish black ; lower part of back and upper tail coverts of a deeper red, similarly 
barred. Upper part of breast light red, crossed Avith cm'A'ed bars of black, and each feather broadly tipped with white. Abdomen mot- 
tled with dark brown. Flanks same color as the back, and similarly barred. The wings are reddish broAvn, mottled and barred wdth 
black, feathers tipped wdth an angular white spot. Primaries dark brown, mottled on their outer webs Avith reddish ; secondaries similar, 
but their edges more broadly mottled and their tips white. Tail forked and black, irregularly marked with red, tipped with white, 
broadest on the central feathers. Under coA'erts white, sometimes with patches of brown or light red in the centre towmrd the end. The 
tai’si are covered Avith grayish AAhite feathers mottled wdth brownish. Feet broAvn. Bill black. 
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