RUFFED GROUS. 
GENERIC CHARACTER. 
I 
Bill short and arched. 
A naked spot near the eyes. 
Two toes on each foot connected to the first joint by a thin 
membrane. 
SPECIFIC CHARACTER. 
Tetrao Umbeelus. T. cervicale umbone extante. Linn. Syst. 
Nat. Gmel. 1 . p. 752. 
With a ruff round its neck. 
Ruffed Heathcock. Edw. Glean, pi. 248. 
Attagen Pensylvania:. Briss. Av. 1. 
p. 214. no. 11. 
Ruffed Grous. . Buff. Birds, 2. p. 246. Arct. Zool. 2. 
p. 301. no. 179. Lath. Syn. 2. p. 738. 
no. 8. Ruffed Heath-cock. Phil. Trans . 
v. 48. p. 499 . t. 15. Edw. Glean, t. 248. 
There is something in the natural history of 
most animals which is calculated to excite our curi- 
osity, if we will only give ourselves the trouble to find 
it out. This is certainly true with respect to the 
ruffed grous, which inhabit North America, from 
Hudson’s Bay to the Carolinas. These birds are 
noted for what the hunters call their thumping ; a 
