126 
GROUSE, PARTRIDGES, QUAILS, ETC. 
297b. D. o. richardsonii (Dougl.). Richardson Grouse. 
Similar to D. obscurus, but tail without distinct ter¬ 
minal gray band, and tail feathers more truncated at 
tip. 
Distribution. — Resident in Canadian zone of the 
Rocky Mountains from northern Wyoming, Montana, 
and Idaho, north to British Provinces. 
Nest and eggs similar to those of the dusky grouse. 
Fig. 200. Tlie Richardson grouse is said to remain in the 
mountains except in the breeding season, when it descends to 
the valleys. 
GENUS CANACHITES. 
299. Canachites franklinii (Dougl.). Franklin Grouse. 
Similar to Dendragapus , but tail with sixteen feathers, which are more 
truncated at tip. Adult male: orange 
comb over eye ; upper parts dark, broadly 
marked with black bands and narrower 
bars of gray and brown; tail feathers 
black to tip, or narrowly edged with 
white; upper tail coverts mottled and strik¬ 
ingly banded with white; throat and chest black, with white band between; 
belly banded with white ; flanks mottled and banded with brown and 
streaked with white. Adult female : upper parts blackish, irregularly 
banded, barred, and mottled with rusty brown and ash ; white bands of 
tail narrower than in male; under parts uniformly banded with black, 
white, and rustv brown. Length : 14.70-16.20, wing about 6.50-7.35, tail 
5.00-5.75. 
Distribution. — Resident in the mountains of western Montana and 
Idaho ; westward to the coast ranges of Oregon and Washington; and 
northward through British Provinces to southern Alaska. 
Nest. — On ground in woods. Eggs : 8 to 15, buffy or pale brownish, 
more or less spotted with deep brown. 
Food. — Grasshoppers, wild berries, and buds and leaves of spruces and 
tamaracks. 
No bird is more characteristic of the deep fir forests of the north¬ 
ern Rockies and Cascades than the Franklin grouse. It is known 
locally as the ‘ fool-hen ’ from its misplaced confidence in man, its 
attitude toward him being one of mild curiosity and indifference 
rather than alarm. A grouse will sometimes walk slowly out of the 
way to avoid being stepped on, and will often sit quietly beside the 
trail as you pass. The danger the birds run in keeping quiet is 
not as great as it appears, however, for in the dark forest their 
dusky mottling renders them almost invisible. 
Fig. 201. 
Vernon Bailey. 
