that we have seen? ft, w#cèn determine its place in thel s||j|em,
and now give%faithful-Jèpresentati<^i of at lefcst o n l sex.
We hav# a|§fru to- a^powledge ourselves indebted, no less t |j
the indus|gy iin d th lh i|to th#-' liberal views, of^S|r,
Leadbeater, for the present opportunity of represahtaug this bird.
His. m v a ^ l^ a g u lf lB K t contains the' only spef-.mieii knrvwri >n be
any 'whpre jprUgerv^^, *
The "name | f #ock of ^ e Plains waMriveniby^e^isf and'fclark,
and we -fc^e retailed it, as„being nöt onl||frJ)iprop|iate, b p | at flic
® n l# m e anf^^Qus to that of the large Ipropean jpe.cj.es called
CocWTof the "Woods. Similar • reasons*hav?in flu
selecting the -scientific nameywhich tfr<ij|ffh kanig^ Mdl
ill .compounded, has nevertheless a ^ a h r a ^ ^ f ó ' có|pbin|ng
analogy'' in • meaning with a Jhost jjgfiharkable
characteristic of the bird. This species is in fact distinguished
from all others o f its g^Ms^and especially.from its'European
analogue, by its dpng jftili composed of twenty narrow^ftapen^^J
acute feathers;- thuj| - evincing thé- fallacy of t h ^ ^ ^ a c t e r %ftr4’
neously attributed torallJt|te Grouse,ofhaving broad a nd iroundedj
tail-feathers.. It i l a singular fact that both of the newly* discovered
Species from thgnorth-western part, of America,' and thf^onkfi
should be distinguished by thejj extraordinary nu-mbefl^of the
feathers of tl^gttail. In the Dusky Grous, however, they^efbrdltd
and rounde^: :Thepock of the^W^ds, likefthe greater »part of the.'
Species, ha^but èighteen,-whiehmre a]|o broad and rounded# Tlmi
only Grous in which- they are found narrow is the Sharp-tailed,,
though wigfout bei^gv e ithfc acute or tapering, hut o n th ecltntrary’
square at tip, and^ofgqual bjfgadth throughout, or ijjfjfaby thing, the
la^raLratJies Wj^ê^ÊJÊjiÉte tip.
I *%E2jK an4^jplark first met with this bird on .thefpEourney
westward riiaP ,the fountain of the limsouri, ip the heart of the
Rocky Moujatains. **,They inform us that it is fpund on the plains
o f ■thC'SColumbia in great, abundance, from the entrance of the
$sputh-east fork of the 'Columbiaitd that o f Clark’s river. It appears
also to extend'torCalifornia, for there can1 bf.but little doubt that
it is the dj-ird- errotid&iisly called ':jBustard'%y^&frë* travellers! who
have visited..that .country. ' Lewis and- Clark »gthfie1 t^at "in its'
habits it resembles the Grabs, "(meaning phob^bly.jjF. pkasianellus)
except that its fafpurite food is the lea f and buds^of "the pulpy-
leafed th o rn .. 'Jjhe gizzard d s large, and much. 1'elfs - compressed
and muscujar than in„ most »^^ifrbeebuS''birds, and "perfectly*
resembles a maw< Wh#n ‘ thé' bfrd fries, fre utters, a eaeMing
note, not unlike that of the domestic fowl. 'wfp.he ffbsh omthe
Qpck of the Plains is-dark, and-OUly tolerablefrn point of flavour}
an|fe|s not so palatable as dither th $ t;b f the Pheasant or Grous.
It js.invarjably found in the plains.
-Tnq jgock of the Plains is precisely'ê^ual in size to the ’Cb&k’of
the Woods; a t least such is the resudt'*of a comparison, öf ifh’é
female with the corresponding” s.ex of the European bird, both
lyingbeföfFtts* Each part ex$ptiy‘ceincidés-ifi form and dimension,
excepting that the tail rather gives the superiority to-the American,
,§o that ’*jf the male bears the samp* relative proportion to his
female, the Cock of *the-Plains must be proclaimed »the largest of
Grouse, Phe two females are strikingly similar. TheCoek of the
plains is however a much more grayish bird, wanting entirely the
reddish thaH mottles, and oepupi'es-so much1, of the plumage of its
analogue::. This, the total want of beard-like appendages, and the
singular shape of the tail, are the prominent discriminative
features; to which may be added, that SiM under wing-coverts,
marbled' with black in the European, are pure white in our new
spfecieSj- though this, as well as fh e want ;,of; reddish, might be
ascribed to the youth (jf oun spfemmeii.% Howevctefhis' may bt^:
the-remaining differences will be better estimated by attending to
the following minute and eccurate descriptiön.
. VOL, I I I .— p