SHARP-TAILED GROUSE. 
205 
territory ; it is in the autumnal dress, and was brought 
from the Rocky Mountains by the expedition under Major 
Long. It is now in the Philadelphia Museum, and we 
think proper to insert here in detail the description we 
took from it at the time, thus enabling the reader to 
contrast it with that made from a northern specimen 
in spring plumage, rather than point out each and all 
the numerous, and at the same time minute and unim- 
portant, variations. 
This female was fifteen inches long ; its general 
colour mottled with black and yellowish rufous ; the 
feathers of the head above are yellowish rufous banded 
With black, the shaft yellowish ; a line above the eye, 
the cheeks, and the throat, are pure yellowish rusty, 
with very few blackish dots, and a band of the latter 
colour from the bill beneath the eye, and spreading 
behind ; all the lower parts are whitish cream, with a 
yellowish rusty tinge ; each feather of the neck and 
breast, with a broad blackish subterminal margin, in 
the shape of a crescent, becoming more and mor© 
narrow and acute as they are lower down on the belly, 
until the lowest are reduced to a mere black mark in 
the middle ; the lower tail-coverts and the femorals are 
entirely destitute of black ; all the upper parts, viz. the 
back, rump, upper tail-coverts, and scapulars, have a 
uniform mottled appearance of black and rusty, each 
feather being' black with rusty shafts, spots, bands, or 
margins, the rusty again minutely dotted with black ; 
on the rump, but especially on the tail-coverts, the 
rusty predominates in such a manner that each feather 
becomes first banded with black and rusty, then de- 
cidedly rusty, varied wfith black, which, however, does 
not change in the least the general effect. The wing- 
coverts are dusky, each w ith a large round w hite spot 
at tip, the inner gradually taking the markings of the 
back and scapulars; the lining of the shoulder is 
plain dusky, as well as the spurious wing and the 
primaries, each feather of the spurious wing having 
about five large round spots of white on its outer 
web ; the primaries are regularly marked on the 
