334 
ACCOUNT OF SEVERAL 
flesh is dark coloured ; and, I am sorry to add, not par- 
ticularly good in point of flavour. 
u The next species in size and importance is Richard- 
son’s grouse, ( Tetrao Richardsonii ,) so named in 
honour of Dr Richardson, the distinguished traveller* 
The most remarkable feature in the plumage of this 
species is the contrast between the plumage of the male 
and female. The prevailing colours of the former are 
obscure lead colour and brown, those of the latter 
yellowish brown and black, with a few streaks and 
spots of white. 
“ The weight of these birds varies from two and a half 
to three pounds. Their flesh is white and excellent. 
They pair in April, and form their nests of small twigs, 
leaves, and grass, on the declivities of subalpine hills. 
They usually select, for the purposes of nidification, 
small coppices of hazel and birch, in the vicinity of 
springs or mountain rills. They lay from thirteen to 
nineteen eggs, which are nearly as large as those of the 
domestic fowl, and are marked with larger and smaller 
specks of red. According to Mr Douglas their period 
of incubation is three weeks. They feed on the buds 
of the pine, the catkins of birch, alder, and hazel, and 
the fruit of Fragaria and Vaccinium. Their voice i^ 
a continuation of distinct hollow sounds like the cooing 
of a dove. Their flight is swift, steady, and particularly 
graceful. When startled from the sombre branches of 
the overshadowing pine trees, their usual roosting 
places, they descend, or rather drop, to within a few 
feet of the ground before they commence flying* — a 
circumstance which, Mr Douglas observes, often leads 
the hunter to think he has secured his bird, until he 
sees it in the distance winging its way through the 
forest. This trait seems peculiar to the species. No 
bird, however, is more easily destroyed, for they will 
often continue to sit, with apparent tranquillity, on the 
rocks or pine trees, after several shots have been tired. 
In spring they are seen in great numbers basking in the 
sun on the southern declivities of the low hills, and in 
