DUSKY GROUS. 
35 
neck and breast; the small short feathers at the base of the bill 
covering the nostrils are tinged with ferruginous, those immediately 
nearest the forehead have but a single band, and are slightly 
tipped, while the larger ones of the neck, back, rump, and even 
the tail-coverts, as well as the feathers of the breast, have two 
bands and the tip. These rufous terminal margins, on the upper 
portion of the back, and on the tail-coverts, are broad, and 
sprinkled with black, so as to be often blended with the lower 
band. The sides of the head, and the throat, are whitish dotted 
with blackish, the black occupying both sides of each feather, 
deepening and taking a band-like appearance on the inferior 
portion of the upper sides of the neck; on each feather of the 
breast is a whitish band that becomes wider on those nearest the 
belly; the flanks are varied with rufous, each feather having 
besides the small tip, three broad cross lines of that colour, and 
a white spot at the tip of the shaft, increasing in size as they are 
placed lower. The belly feathers are plain dull cinereous, the 
lower tail-coverts are white, black at their base, with one or two 
black bands besides, and tinged between the bands with grayish 
ochreous. The wings are nine and a half inches long, with the 
third and fifth primaries subequal, the coverts as well as the 
scapulars are of the general colour, with about two bands, the 
second of which is sprinkled as well as the tip, each feather being 
white on the shaft at tip; the primaries, secondaries, and outer 
wing-coverts, including their shafts, are plain dusky; the second¬ 
aries have ochreous zigzag marks on their outer webs, and are 
slightly tipped with dull whitish; the primaries themselves are 
somewhat mottled with dingy white externally, but are notwith¬ 
standing entirely without the regular white spots so remarkable 
in other Grouse; the lower wing-coverts and long axillary feathers 
are pure white. The tail measures in length seven and a half 
inches, is very slightly rounded, of twenty broad feathers, of 
