266 
Tetraonida;.—Grouse. 
143. Canace obscurus, (Say.)—Dusky Grouse. 
This Grouse is an inhabitant of high latitudes, hut finds in the Rocky and Sierra Ne¬ 
vada Mountains a climate and vegetation analogous to the far northern districts. In 
California, it is found in both the Coast and Sierra ranges as far south as latitude 35°, 
and probably even lower. It was present, though not very common, in the mountains 
near Fort Tejon, and was rather numerous in the region about Mount Whitney. Its 
presence depends much upon the conifers. It cares less for the pines, but the thick 
tangled forests of spruce, fir, and tamerack will rarely be entered without grouse sign 
being very soon apparent. In the Sierras, they are very fond of staying about the 
vicinity of the little grassy cienagas that are found scattered here and there on the 
flanks of the mountains, sometimes entirely environed with the coniferous trees. 
Lieutenant Carpenter, who has enjoyed most excellent opportunities for observing 
this bird both in Oregon and the Rocky Mountains, thus speaks of their habits: “ Late 
in the fall, the Dusky Grouse disappear entirely from the grounds frequented by them 
in summer. At this latter season, their range is much wider. They leave, to a great 
extent, the thick woods, and are found much in the open glades, where many kinds 
of berries, as the wild strawberry, afford them a varied and luscious fare. About 
November, however, they wholly disappear, and a person looking for game in the 
places where in summer there were an abundance of these birds, would now see no sign 
of their presence. The idea credited by some, that they have migrated to warmer 
climes, or that they are passing the long winter hidden away in a torpid state, is alike 
erroneous. In the Rocky Mountains, about the time of the first heavy snows, they 
betake themselves to the densest pine-woods, where they live entirely in the conifers. 
The buds of the pine and spruce now furnish them their only food, and upon these they 
subsist till the next spring, when the genial sun, with returning ^warmth, having 
released the streams and removed the snow, they again descend to mother-earth. In 
Oregon, too, even along the coast where no snow falls, this same habit obtains. They 
leave the ground entirely, resort to the pines, and their terrestrial mode of life does 
not begin till the next summer, when berries and small seeds afford a greater attrac¬ 
tion than their usual piny fare. About the 1st of April, the males begin their booming 
notes, which may now be heard coming from all parts of the forest as the emulous 
birds begin their courtships. It is at this time that many are shot, the gunners now 
having a sure guide to their prey in the love-notes, which seem to proceed from the 
mid-air, as the birds give utterance to them when perched on the branch of some tall 
pine.” 
These notes, which are so characteristic of the species in Washington Territory and 
Oregon, do not appear to have been noticed by any observer in the Rocky Mountains, 
and Lieutenant Carpenter tells me that not only has he himself not heard this, but all 
his inquiries among hunters and trappers have failed to establish this habit as belong¬ 
ing to the bird in the various parts of the Rocky Mountains he has visited. 
PERDiciDiE.—Q uails. 
144. Laj>hortyx Calif or nicus, (Shaw).—California Valley Quail. 
Tetrao californicus, Sliaw, Nat. Miss., pi. 345. 
Gallipepla californica , Newb„ P. R. R. Rep., vi, 1857, 92.—Heerm., ibid., x, 1859, pt. vi, 60. 
Lophortyx californica , Bd., B. N. A., 1858, 644.—Xantns, Proc. Phila. Acad. Nat. Sci., 1859, 192.— 
Bd., Xantus, ibid., 305 (Cape St. Lucas).—Coop. & Suckl., P. R. R. Rep., vol. xii, pt. 11,1860, 
225.—Coop., B. Cal., i, 1870, 549.—Coues, Key N. A. B., 1872, 238.—Nelson, Proc. Bost. Soc. 
Nat. Hist., vol. xvii, 365 (California). 
The Valley Quail, as its name implies, is an inhabitant of the lower districts in 
California, where it is found overspread over all the country to the west of the 
Sierra Nevada range. On the north it reaches to the Columbia River. The most 
extreme limit at which I found it was in the mountains near Fort Tejon, where 
I saw the species on several occasions at an altitude of 6,000 feet. At this height, 
I found the young. Here they meet the Mountain Quail, or rather the ranges of 
the two were found at this point to overlap each other; for the Mountain Quail was 
found somewhat lower than this. Such, however, is rarely the case, as the Valley Quail 
is a much less hardy bird than its mountain-loving relative, and courts the warmth of 
the pleasant valleys. As the number of its natural enemies, in the shape of wild ani¬ 
mals and snakes, lias been very much diminished through the agency of man, and its 
increase goes on almost without check, its numbers in some sections of the State are 
simply enormous. On the island of Santa Cruz, the attempt has been made to intro¬ 
duce them, but with only measurable success, and it is not likely that they will ever 
there become very numerous; for the number of foxes on this island would be sufficient 
to keep them in check, were every other condition favorable. 
The average time for laying in Southern California seems to be along in April or 
