young precisely in the majmer of the common fowl, the chickJ
being carefull^proteeted hy the mother only, with whom they
remain all the autumn and winter, not separating until the return
of the %ree(fing season. Iuds only at this period that the males
seek the society of /She feifrales.
T h e^ ro u se are remarkably wild, shy, and untameable birds,
dwelling in mrests -or in barren uncultivated grounds, avoiding
cultivated and thièkly inhabited countries, and keeping together
in families... The Lagopodes only live in very numerous flocks
composed of several brools, parting company whettsthe return of
spring invites them to separate in pairs of different sexes, Which
is* always done by tbe birds of this division.. Except in thg,
breeding season, the Grouse' keep always on the ground, alighting
on trees only when disturbed, or when going to roost at night |
by day retiring to the deepest part of-the forest. T h e flesh,of
all Grouse is -delicious food, dark-colouiiiL in some, and white in
others, the dark being more compact, juicy, and richly flavoured,
as in Tetrao cupido; while the white, enough somewhat dry1, is
distinguished for delicacy and lightness. Such are the Bonasiae,
T. umbellus of- America, and T . bonosia of Europe.
ifttr* distinguished by a ' short stout bill, f e a th e r ^
at bnse, <and thiif ute o f all the,
upper mandible is the most vaTOfdi the f |a tf ers of ifig ^ill are
very thick and d ose, and eqtig^the nojgrilmga#4y. TJie^Rgue
is Short, fleshy, acuminate, and jhetoe. Thé e fe^ s surmounted
by a conspicuous ted and papillous naked space. Tfafctffiai are
generally spurless in both sexes, and partly 01^ wholqPflpvered
with slender feathers, which in the Lagopodes are thicker and
longer than in the rest, extending nojf only beyond the foe|, |p t
growing even on the sole bf the foot; E^feffeculiarity which, agreeably
to the observation of Buffon, of all animals is again met
with only in the hare. These feathers5 in winter become still
longer and All the others have the toes scabrous beneath,
andf furnished, with h pectinated row of processes each side.*
This roughness* ©f the sole of the feet enables them to tread
firmly on-A© slippery surface of Aetground or frozen snow, or to
grasp the branches of trees covered with ice.' Their nails are
manifestly so formed as to suit them for scratching away the
snow covering1 the vegetables wMohs ©ompose their food'.-' The
wings, of the, Grouse^are short and- rounded, the- first primary is
shorter than the third and wltfch *re longest. The tail
is« usually composed of eighteen featfcers, generally broad and
rounded. The Red> Grouse T. scoticus, however, and thé European
Bonasiag, canadensis or j o t t e d Grous, have*<but sixteen;
while our two -new North American species have twenty, one
of them having these. feathers very narrow and pointed, the
narrowness being|also1 observed in the Sharp,-tailed Gtous. They
have- the head small, tb |, neck short, and the body massive and
■bery fleshy.
The females of the larger species- differ greatly from the males,
which-are glossy black, or blackish, while-the former are mottled
with grayy blackish, and rufous: such are all- the typical Tetraones
„of Europe, and the Cock of. the Plains, the Dusky, and the Spotted
Grouse of America. The- smaller species, in which both sexes
are mptttèd, such- as T. phasianellus and T . cupido, exhibit little or
no difference in the' plumage of the two sexes; which is- also the
case in all the Bonasiae and Lagopodes. T h e young in their first
feathers are in all bespeets like the female, and the males- do> nbt
acquire their M l plumage until after the second moult. All moult
twicei'a year, and most of the Xogopocfes1 change their colours with
the seassbns in a remarkable manner.
* -These processes are liable ijMall off, at least in preserved skins. It is owing to this
circumstance that we committed several errors in cMraêteruutig these birds in our
Synopsis of the Birds qf the Wdted States.