u 
FRANK FORESTER’S FIELD SPORTS. 
Next to this fine bird, both in bis game qualities and the 
excellence of his flesh, I note, unhesitatingly, 
THE RUFFED GROUSE. 
Tetrao Umbellus. Linn: Wilson: Audubon. La Gelinotte Hup - 
pee de Pennsylvanie. Brissot.—The Pheasant , or Partridge. 
“ Male, 18.24. 
“ Common from Maryland to Labrador, and, in the interior, 
from the mountainous districts to Canada and the Jashatchewan, 
Columbian River. Resident. 
u Adult Male. 
u Bill short, robust, slightly arched, rather obtuse ; the base 
covered by feathers ; upper mandible, with the dorsal outline, 
straight in the feathered part, convex toward the end, the edges 
overlapping, the tip declinate; under mandible somewhat bulg¬ 
ing toward the tip ; the sides convex. Nostrils concealed among 
the feathers. Head and neck small. Body bulky. Feet of or¬ 
dinary length. Shank feathered, excepting at the lower part in 
front, where it is scutellate, spurless ; toes scutellate above, pec¬ 
tinate on the sides ; claws arched, depressed, obtuse. 
“ Plumage compact, glossy. Feathers of head narrow, and 
elongated into a curved tuft. A large space on the neck desti¬ 
tute of feathers, but covered by an erectile ruff of elongated fea¬ 
thers, of which the upper are silky, shining, and curved forward at 
the end, which is very broad and rounded. Wings short, broad, 
curved, and much rounded. Tail long, ample, rounded, of 
eighteen feathers. 
u Bill brown color, brownish-black toward the tip. Iris hazel. 
Feet yellowish-gray. Upper part of the head and wing part 
of the neck bright yellowish-red. Back rich chesnut, marked 
with oblong white spots, margined with black. 
“ Tail reddish-yellow, barred and minutely mottled with black, 
and terminated by a broad band of the latter color, between two 
narrow bands of bluish-white, of which the one is terminal. A 
