124 
GROUSE, PARTRIDGES, QUAILS, ETC. 
like half a mushroom. This curious feature combined with the 
compact neck and body feathers and striking facial markings gave 
him as unique an appearance as could well be imagined.” 
Vernon Bailey. 
GENUS DENDRAGAPUS. 
General Characters. — Head not crested ; tail about length of wing, fan¬ 
shaped, with twenty stiffish broad, obtuse feathers; tarsus feathered to 
toes. 
KEY TO SPECIES. 
1. Tail without distinct terminal band .... richardsonii, p. 126. 
1'. Tail with bluish gray terminal band. 
2. Tail band wide (.50-.80 on outermost feather) . obscurus, p. 124. 
2'. Tail band narrow (not over .40 on outermost feather). 
fuliginosus, p. 125. 
297. Dendragapus obscurus (Say). Dusky- Grouse. 
Adult male. — Upper parts dusky or bluish slate, finely mottled with 
gray and brown, buff y brown 
on wings ; hinder scapulars 
usually with distinct shaft 
streaks and terminal spots 
of white ; tail blackish, 
with wide bluish gray band 
— 1.00-1.50 wide ; under 
parts slaty, marked with 
white on sides of neck and 
flanks. Adult female: similar to male, but decidedly smaller, and upper 
parts, chest, and sides barred and mottled with dark brown and buffy. 
Young: upper parts yellowish brown, with irregular barring or mottling, 
and black spots and white or buff shaft streaks widening at tip ; under 
parts dull whitish, chest and sides spotted with black. Male: length 20- 
23, wing 9.40-10.00, tail 8, weight about 2£ to 3£ pounds. Female: length 
17.50-19.00, wing about 8.70, tail 6. 
Distribution. — Rocky Mountains, from Idaho and Montana south to 
Arizona and New Mexico, and from the East Humboldt Mountains, Nevada, 
east to the Black Hills, Dakota. 
Nest. — A slight depression alongside a log or under grass or bushes, 
lightly lined with pine needles and grass. Eggs : 7 to 10, cream or cream 
buff, spotted over entire surface with brown. 
Food. — Grasshoppers, worms, grubs, and wild berries such as bearber- 
ries, raspberries, gooseberries, and currants, plant leaves and flowers, buds, 
and fir needles. 
Among the ranches the dusky grouse is commonly known as the 
* fool-hen,’ on account of its natural tameness and its unsuspicious 
nature. Back in the mountain ranges where hunters are scarce and 
usually in quest of bigger game, the grouse are almost as fearless 
as barnyard poultry, walking out of your path with stately delib¬ 
eration, or stopping to watch you near the trail. But after a little 
experience with hunters and dogs they become as wild as deer and 
almost as difficult to approach. 
Fig. 199. 
