discovery, the manners, habitation, and aipartieular. description
of ekehiof these, we shall refer the reader to theimsevecal articles.
The Dusky KGfons|igf*enfeieiitily distingmsh'ed- from -alb#i®|§r
known Species-, by h aviftg, the -tail slightly : founded, and composed
of twenty broad and->roand&dtfeathers. This peculiarijt.y>of«**fche
c«^pa©iii©^fy number of tail-feathers,- is only found-besides in?*he
.(Sock of -the Plains, in which'5however.^they‘ are not- rOunded^tibut
-very sfendCPy tapering, and ucut'ei< In' size and-rolow,Hbe,Dusky
Grousifunay- be .compared? to the Black, Grous o f “Europe*- so
remarkable for the. outward curvature | of the lateral feathers of
the tail.- |
The figure in our plate is taken from the specimen on .which
Say- .established the species : this was killed' dm a mountain- in
the greaWehflttdldividing the waters1 of
which How towards the,Pacific; at a-spot where, on thesl(0fl|of July
l'S^Osf the e:rpldring party/of"-Major L o n ^ ^ r# ^ ^® l® 0^kim^|ftbffo.
an elevation ofpfteor twp. thousand feet, a wide extent-of eoumtcy.
A small river poured down the side of the mountain through, a
•deep and-., inaccessible-.. chasm, forming a continued eake’add# of
several hundred feet.; The surface of the country. appeaped-dbrOken
€or»;seve®al miles, and in^mafty.of - the valleys G'ouMfhjewdisherdfed
columnar and pyramidal masses of- sandstone, some^'feqitteely^
naked,r'apd /^%eBs beariogfieHiall tufts o f buSh^ #siht|p#ethfflr
.summits. | Whemy-the bird flew, and at the dm^pe^d^moment
of -its dehth, if uttered, a cackling note somewhat :resemblimg that
of the domestic fowl., i
0 The.female Dusky Grous is eighteen,-inches in length. .The
bilbmeasures-precisely an incbj,vwhxch is small in proportion^ dt
is blackish, with the »base, of the under mandible whitish. The
general colour of the plumage is blackish brown, , much lighter
oft the^neek .-and beneath, a ll the- featbep-thaviHgi-fwo^or th-yee
narrow, bars of ypale ochreousj much-dess pure and bright on -the
-neck and breast; the »small shoi-tffeSthers a-fthe base of the bill
covering tbe>ftostpil& ardisillged with ferruginous; tho'se immediately
nearest t/h'e - forehead} -have but aO-eirigle' band, -*and. are slightly
tipped, wMle i,fee''dapg.erd3ii,e'svKof 4-the de%k,vhctek;s rump»,;, and -even
the tail-coverts^, afcsvwell as^lhe^fda-thers ‘o&fthe ^breast, have two
-bands ancpthe’tipa ^■CPhese rufous,4qbminal margins, on the upper
portion ;ef> the- .back,, and^ on^itbe^ tail-covert s-^Ede abroad, and
sprinkled with^bMck# so ak to 'be toftenI blended1 with »the lower
hand.-ufighe sides-of, fneihekd, and the11 throat,' are whitish dotted
with* blackish,' the blacky'Ol#^y®gr both sides «M each-?feather,
deepening, Cand taking a; haiid-like appearance i on the ^inferior
portione-f the upper -sides11 of-irthe neOk$-kioB.r each "feajli&P^of the
breasts^is!» w’hjtish band,i'|h # ti*bi|^0'iBie'S,V®id'er4bn t-hosC* nearest* the
belly jWfe^fiariks- are^varied with kutfoiis,? eaeh ‘ featherv haviftg
'hefidfO^the* sixfall- tip, three bro’ad epos's 4inb's • <#- thatn'eOfo'hi%’-a‘nd
a* white spot at-the tip;of the^haft,• metea-$ing> im-slze as< they? are
placed lower. The belly feathers^ are? plain ^u]I',“einhreoiUS’,^i6ih'e
lower tail-coverts a re >wlffltC-^oiafk at theirfcbase, with, one or two
black bands besides^, and tinged between thefbands\wi#h grayish
ochreousv -The'/wings‘are nine and a half ' inches long, wittDfh.e
third- -and (fifth - primariesVsubfequal,ffijjjSfjjj e^ertsifHas |well- as'-^the
-scapulars-ape of^the general-'‘colour, With "about two -ban'ds;l)fthe
seeond ofj.which is- sprinkled as.wellftas theftip^ea&h feUAejWkoing
white on--the-shaft a tej^-Jthe prith aeries, ^©'ohdk#es, and-outer
f?i|^-'e0p6Pts, including their shafts, afp plain- dusky-jBthe secondaries'have
ochreifus/zigzag marksjwi'' theiai•Outer webs,.- a n d ’Sere
slightly tipped tilth -dull whMsl^ fhe'^riiftaVifes themselvdk afe
• somewhat mottled -with- dfrijgy^wbite* externally, but ar^-notwMi-
litanding entirely witbotihfffiife «regular white- spots •sosvremarkable
in other Gfouse; tbedower -wimg-cOverts u u ^ lo lg axillary feathers
-m e. pure white. The tail meUsufes'Gii|^i^ng'th‘*s^ven'-'ahd a half
inches, is very- slightly- roundpa, olLtwenty broad feathers, of