The Natural History of Game Birds

The Common Partridge

Perdix cinerea.—Aldrovandus, Ray.

Perdix cinerea, Montague, Latham, Bewick, Selby, &c.

A detailed description of this familiarly known bird is unnecessary. It is distributed extensively over Europe, and, according to Temminck, extends to Barbary and Egypt, where it is migratory. It is almost everywhere abundant in our own island, the more northern muiry districts excepted. It follows the steps of man as he reclaims the wastes, and delights in the cultivation which brings to it as to the labourers a plentiful harvest of grain. They are perhaps most abundant in the lower richly cultivated plains of England, but even the south of Scotland supplies many of the more northern markets with this game.

Very early in spring—the first mild days even of February—the partridges have paired, and each couple may be found near the part selected for their summer abode, long before the actual preparations for incubation has commenced. These are begun at a later period than generally imagined, and even in the beginning of September, particularly in the wilder districts, the young are not more than half grown. The nest is formed, or rather the spot where the eggs are to be deposited, is scraped out in some ready made hollow or furrow, or placed under cover of a tuft of grass, and from twelve to twenty eggs are deposited. This mode of nidification prevails through the whole genus. No nest is made, and often no great care of concealment is displayed. In cultivated countries the young grasses and corns are their favourite breeding places, the former often fatal from the hay-harvest having commenced before the breed is hatched. The choice of a place of security for their eggs is not always the same, for Montague mentions a pair which successively selected the top of an old pollard oak, and Mr Selby writes of having known several parallel cases. It is a singular trait in the habits of many birds, that those often of a wild nature will select the most frequented parts for their nests. Both partridges and pheasants are often discovered with the nest placed within two or three feet of a highway or footpath, where there is a daily passage of men and animals. The parents, as if knowing their safety depended on sitting close, remain quiet amidst all the bustle, and often hatch in such places.

During incubation the male sedulously attends, and will generally be found near if the female is intruded upon by any of her less formidable enemies. When the brood is hatched, both lead about the young and assist them to their food; and mild and timid as the partridge is generally described, instances have been seen where the love of offspring prevailed, and a vigorous defence was successfully maintained against a more powerful assailant. Among the many instances of such defence mentioned by various authors, we shall notice one of the latest which Mr Selby has recorded in the last edition of his History of British Ornithology:²—

Their parental instinct, indeed, is not always confined to mere devices for engaging attention; but where there exists a probability of success, they will fight obstinately for the preservation of their young, as appears from many instances already narrated by different writers, and to which the following may be added, for the truth of which I can vouch. A person engaged in a field, not far from my residence, had his attention arrested by some objects on the ground, which, upon approaching, he found to be two partridges, a male and female, engaged in battle with a carrion-crow; so successful and so absorbed were they in the issue of the contest, that they actually held the crow, till it was seized, and taken from them by the spectator of the scene. Upon search, the young birds (very lately hatched) were found concealed amongst the grass. It would appear, therefore, that the crow, a mortal enemy to all kinds of young game, in attempting to carry off one of these, had been attacked by the parent birds, and with the above singular success.

Such displays are, however, comparatively seldom witnessed or indeed exercised, for nature has implanted another device in the greater numbers of this family, in which the organs of defence are in reality weak, against their many assailants, both animal and feathered. Stratagem is resorted to, and the parent feigns lameness and even death to withdraw the aggressor. The noise and confusion which occurs when a person suddenly and unawares comes on a young brood of partridges is remarkable, The shrieks of the parents apparently tumbling and escaping away with broken legs and wings is well acted, and often succeeds in withdrawing the dog and his young attendant beyond the possibility of discovering the hiding places of the brood. When this is attained, their wonted strength is soon recovered, a flight to a considerable distance is taken, but by the time the aggressor has reached the marked spot, the bird has again circuitously come up with her charge, and is ready to act her part if again discovered.

Partridge shooting is one of the most esteemed sports of the British fowler; and when pursued in a sportsman-like manner, with finely bred dogs, is of considerable interest. The county of Norfolk has been long celebrated for the number of its partridges, as well as for her zealous agriculturist, Mr Coke, one of the first shots in the kingdom. The following account from Pierce Egan’s anecdotes, will give some idea both of the abundance of the partridge, and the excess to which the sport may be carried.

The bet between Mr William Coke and Lord Kennedy, was for 200 sovereigns a-side, play or pay, who shot and bagged the greatest number of partridges in two days sporting; both parties to shoot on the same days, the 26th of September 1823, and the 4th of October in the same season. Mr William Coke to sport upon bis uncle’s manors in Norfolk; and Lord Kennedy in any part of Scotland he pleased. The result of Mr Coke’s first day’s shooting was eighty and a half brace of birds bagged. On Saturday, October 4, Mr W. Coke took the field soon after six o’clock in the morning; he was accompanied by his uncle, T. W. Coke, Esq. M. P., and by two umpires; Colonel Dixon for Mr Coke, and F. S. Blunt, Esq. for Lord Kennedy; also by two of his friends, Sir H. Goodrich, Bart., and F. Hollyhocke, Esq. He was attended by several gamekeepers, and by one dog only, to pick up the game. Several respectable neighbouring yeomen volunteered their services in assisting to beat for game, and rendered essential service throughout the day. Mr Coke sported over part of the Wigton and Egmere manors. The morning was foggy, and the turnips were so wet that the birds would not lie among them. Very little execution was done, in consequence, in the early part of the day; in the two first hours only six brace of birds were bagged. The day cleared up after eight o’clock, and the sportsman amply made up for his lost time. He found birds plentiful among Mr Denny’s fine crop of turnips on the Egmere farm, and in one and twenty acre breck of Swedes, he bagged thirty-five and a half brace of birds. He concluded his day’s sport soon after six in the evening, and had then bagged eighty-eight brace of birds, and five pheasants; but a dispute having arisen among the umpires about one bird, Colonel Dixon gave the point up, and the number was ultimately declared to be eighty-seven and a half brace of birds bagged; pheasants and other game not counted in the match; so that Mr W. Coke’s number of birds bagged in the two days shooting, stands 173 brace. He had much fewer shots in the second than in the first day, but he shot better, as will be seen from the comparative number of birds bagged. On Saturday he bagged 180 birds from 327 shots, which was considered good shooting in a match of this nature, when a chance, however desperate it may appear, is not to be thrown away. His uncle, T. W. Coke, Esq. loaded a great part of the gun on Saturday, and as a finale to the day’s sport, shot at and killed the last bird, which his nephew had previously missed Lady Ann Coke was in the field a great part of the day; her ladyship carried refreshments for the sportsmen in her pony gig. Lord Kennedy chose for the scene of his exploits Montreith, in Scotland, a manor belonging to Sir William Maxwell, considered equal to any lands in Scotland for rearing partridges. On the first day of trial his lordship bagged fifty, and on the second, eighty-two brace, being in all 132 brace of partridges in two days.

Varieties of the partridge frequently occur, the most common are those varied with white, which sometimes prevails through a whole covey. Specimens entirely of a cream-colour are also not unfrequent, and here, although the tint may be said to be uniform, the various markings of the plumage appear conspicuous in different lights, as if from a variation of the structure of the feathers. But the most curious variety of the partridge is one which, by many authors, has been thought to be distinct—the Perdix montana. We have given a representation of this variety on our next plate, from a specimen in the Edinburgh Museum.

The Mountain Partridge

Perdix cinerea.—var. Montana.

This variety has been said to be more frequently found in alpine districts than in lowlands, but they are known to mingle occasionally with those of common plumage. The colour is remarkable to be assumed as a variety, though it is often, we may say, generally mingled with whitish or reddish-white. The whole plumage is of deep sienna-brown, and this colour, somewhat like that of the common grouse, prevails in many species entirely upon the breast, lower parts, and shoulders. The specimens are generally less than those of ordinary plumage.

The partridge, therefore, seems to have a more extensive range of variation than almost any bird we are acquainted with, and according to Temminck and some other authors, is somewhat influenced by almost every change of climate. Those broods which frequent and are bred on the marshy grounds of the Zuyder Zee and mouth of Meuse are less in size and of a duller tint than those found in the drier lands of Belgium. Dry or parched districts, abundance of food and water, will always influence their condition, and it is to the same causes, with variation of climate, that Temminck attributes the migrations of the partridge on some parts of the continent, and which are also said to be of a smaller size than those which do not migrate. This migratory bird has by some been also raised to the rank of a species, and named the Damascus partridge. By the modern ornithologists of this country, it is very little known, or its claims upon which even the variety rests ascertained, beyond the fact of its migration. And our latest, or indeed only authority from actual examination, is that of Temminck, who says that among many individuals he has been able to discover no good distinctions.

The Rock or Barbary Partridge

Perdix petrosa.—Linnæus.

The Red-Legged Partridge from Barbary, Edwards’ Birds, pl. 70.—Lath. General History, vol. viii. p. 293.—Perdix petrosa, Latham.—Temminck, Pigeons et Gallinacés, iii. Ind. p. 727.—Perdix Gambra, Temminck, Pigeons et Gallinacés, iii. 368.

With this handsome bird we enter a small group of the partridges which are remarkable for the beautifully marked and shewy appearance of the feathers covering the flanks. The general tint of plumage is very regular throughout; the bill and legs are always red, and the latter are sometimes slightly spurred and knotted. They inhabit Europe, the north of Africa, and India. The most familiar example will be the common Red-legged, French, or, as it is sometimes termed, Guernsey Partridge; but we have selected two equally beautiful, but less known birds, as examples of it.

The Rock or Barbary Partridge inhabits the most southern-countries of Europe, stretching into Spain, and thence upon the coast of Africa. It is also met with upon the banks of the Gambia, and in the island of Teneriffe. It delights in rocky districts, and the rugged precipices of the southern Alps, and seldom or never strays down upon the plains. The accompanying figure will convey an idea of the colours of this species. It is distinguished from all the others by the patch of deep chestnut upon the sides of the neck, beautifully relieved by the clear white spots. It is not very commonly met with in collections, being like almost all the birds of southern Europe, more difficult to be procured than those of more distant countries.

The Chukar Partridge

Perdix chukar.—Latham.

Perdix chukar, Gould’s Century, vol. lxxi.—Gray’s Illustrations of Indian Zoology.

The general colour of the upper plumage is ash-grey, tinged with a shade of purple, particularly across the centre of the back; a deep black line passes across the forehead through the eyes, and extends downwards in a crescent form upon the sides of the neck and chest, the threat, and inside of the circle, being pale yellowish-white. The breast is nearly of the same colour with the centre of the back, but paler, and the rest of the lower parts are of a dull yellow. The conspicuous barring on the sides is alternately yellowish-white, chestnut, and black.

We are indebted to Mr Gould for the use of his illustration, taken from a Himalayan specimen. That gentleman also tells us that specimens are alive in the Zoological Garden, where they have the same pugnacious and irritable temper of the Common Red-legged Partridge, being perpetually at war with their fellow captives.

The Common Francolin

Perdix francolinus.—Latham.

Perdix francolinus, Latham, General History, viii. p. 271.—Le Francolin, Buffon, Pl. enluminée, M. and F. pls. 147 and 148.—Francolin à Colier Rousse, Temminck, Pigeons et Gallinacés, iii. p. 340.

The Common Francolin has been placed at the extremity of those with one or more spurs upon the legs, of a very much barred and spotted plumage, the bill stronger, the tail more lengthened, and forms the genus Francolinus of Stephens. All the members of it perch as well as frequent the ground, and in some of the species, the legs are armed with spurs of very great strength and sharpness. We have represented the common bird, as it is the only European species, though not the most typical.

The Francolin is a native of the south of Europe, Sicily, and the islands of the Greek Archipelago, Africa, and India, where it inhabits the marshy grounds, and thence has received the name of Meadow Partridge. In Africa, particularly upon the coast of Barbary, and in India, it is every where esteemed for its excellency at the table, and admired for its fine plumage. It is not a large species, the male scarcely exceeding twelve inches in length; the colouring is black, white, rufous, and yellowish-brown, disposed in decided and contrasted markings of large patches, spots, or bars, but yet so distributed as to want all harshness, and to have a chaste and blended appearance. The female wants all the deep black and white markings of the male, as well as the rufous collar; the ground colour of the plumage is a yellowish-brown, waved and barred with umber-brown, and having the markings of the wings and tail nearly the same as in the male, but of a paler colour.

The Coromandel Quail

Coturnix textilis.—Temminck.

Coromandel Quail, Latham, General History, viii. p. 310.—Caille Nattée, Coturnix textilis, Temminck, Pigeons et Gallinacés, iii. p. 512. Pl. Coloriées, pl. 35.

The Quails, forming the genus Coturnix of moderns, are at first sight so similar to the partridges, that they are not to be distinguished without a knowledge of their habits, and examination of their forms. In the bill and legs there are slight modifications, but the form of the wing is quite different, the first three quills being longest, while in the partridges the third is the longest, and a rounded wing of less power is the consequence. It may be recollected that, though the partridges were said to migrate in some countries, the migration is comparatively very partial, and often only from one part of a continent to another; on the other hand, almost all the quails migrate to a certain distance, and hence perform lengthened journeys often across the seas. In their habits they also shew considerable difference, as they never perch. They often assemble in large flocks after the breeding season: and although they pair regularly, so soon as the female commences to sit, she is left alone, and the male attends no longer, nor afterwards assists in protecting the brood. They delight in cultivated countries, and never frequent woods. They are found in Europe, Asia, Africa, and New Holland. The allied birds of America come under a different section.

The pretty little species figured will give an exact idea of the form of the quails. It is rather less than the European species, being in length only about six inches. The upper parts somewhat resemble those of the common bird, but are more broadly marked, while the deep black markings on the lower parts at once distinguish it, and are beautifully relieved from the paler parts of the breast and belly. The female differs from the male in wanting the greater part of the black on the lower parts, indications of the two bands on the throat being only seen. The breast is reddish-brown, the feathers with a black centre, and the other lower parts are of a dull white. This quail seems abundant, and is pretty generally distributed over the continent of India. Among the quails there are many beautifully marked species, all of diminutive size. We shall only, however, be able to notice that of Europe, an occasional visitor to Britain.

The Virginian Quail or Partridge

Ortyx Virginianus.—Bonaparte.

Quail or Partridge, Perdix Virginianus, Wilson’s American Ornithology, pl. xlvii.—Perdix borealis, Temminck, Pig. et Gallin.—Ortyx borealis, Stephens, Continuation.—Ortyx Virginianus, Bonaparte, Synopsis, p. 124.

The genus Ortyx was formed by Stephens, the continuator of Shaw’s General Zoology, for the reception of the thick and strong-billed partridges of the new world. They hold the same place there with the true partridges, francolins, and quails of the other parts of the globe, living on the borders of woods, among brushwood, or in the thick grassy plains, and occasionally frequenting cultivated fields in search of grain or roots. During night they generally roost on trees, and occasionally perch on them by day, particularly when alarmed, when they immediately take refuge, and even walk with ease upon the branches. Their general shape is robust, the bill is strong, and apparently fitted for a mode of feeding requiring considerable strength, such as the digging up of bulbous or tuberous roots. The colours of the plumage are generally different shades of brown, red, orange, grey and white. The head is almost always crested.

This bird is best known by the description of Alexander Wilson. Audubon has also figured a whole covey on one of his immense plates. It is a general inhabitant of North America, from the northern parts of Canada and Nova Scotia, to the extremity of the peninsula of Florida. They become very familiar, frequenting the vicinity of well cultivated plantations; but when alarmed, seek shelter in the woods, perching on the branches, or secreting themselves among the brushwood. Where not too much persecuted by the sportsman, they become almost half domesticated, approach the barn, particularly in winter, and sometimes in that severe season, mix with the poultry to glean up a subsistence. Immense havock is at this season made among them with the gun and by snares, and they are sold in the markets from twelve to eighteen cents each.

They begin to build early in May, and, according to Wilson, the nest is made most carefully. It is formed on the ground, usually at the bottom of a thick tuft of grass, that shelters and conceals it; the materials are leaves and fine dry grass, in considerable quantity; it is well covered above, and an opening left on one side for entrance. The female attends the young when hatched with great care, and performs the same part of counterfeiting lameness with our own partridge. They have been frequently brought up by placing the eggs under the common hen, and become very domesticated, but always desert in the first spring, when the season of incubation commences.⁴

Among the many methods taken to capture these birds, one related by Audubon seems eminently successful. A cylindrical. net is used thirty or forty feet in height, and about two in diameter, except at the mouth, where it is wider. This is fixed to the ground with the mouth open, and two additional pieces of net are fixed at each side, to enlarge as it were the entrance. Into this the birds are driven by a number of persons on horseback, who surround the covey when discovered. Fifteen or twenty partridges are thus often caught at one driving, and sometimes many hundreds during the day.⁵

The Virginian partridge has been attempted to be introduced in several parts of the European continent, but we are uncertain with what success. They have also been tried in some of the English counties.

The Californian Ortyx

Ortyx Californica.—Stephens.

Californian colin, Ortyx Californica, Stephens, Continuation, vol. xi. p. 384.—Californian Quail, Gardens of Zoological Society, ii. p. 29. a beautiful woodcut.

This graceful and beautifully marked species is found in the low woods and plains of California, and was met with during both the voyages of La Perouse and Vancouver; and a figure is given in the atlas of plates accompanying the former. A single specimen, part of the produce of the latter voyage, was deposited in the British Museum, and served for the descriptions and figures given in this country, previous to the return of Captain Beechey from his voyage to the Pacific, &c., who brought with him specimens alive. One only survived its arrival to the Zoological Gardens, but seemed to bear the change of climate perfectly.

The general colour of the upper plumage is a brownish-grey. The feathers on the back and sides of the neck have a deep black margin, and often a white tip. The throat is deep rich black, but between and the angular markings of the sides there is a crescent band of pure white. The feathers of the lower part of the belly are deeply margined with black, and the long plumes of the flanks are marked along the centre with a stripe of yellow. But the beautiful and remarkable adornment is the crest upon the crown, composed of several feathers, narrow at the base broadening towards the tip, and folded as it were together from the shaft. They are of a dull rich black and lie generally backwards, but can be raised at pleasure; and upon any excitement are erected, almost bending forward upon the front.

The Long-Tailed Ortyx

Ortyx macroura.—Jard. and Selby.

Ortyx marcoura, Illust. of Ornithol. pl. xlix.

On this Plate we have figured a species of Ortyx, of a form at variance with those already noticed, being remarkable for its long and broadly formed tail. We regret that nothing is known of its habits. It is a native of Mexico, and the only specimen we know of was purchased at the sale of Bulloch’s Mexican collection. Its length is about 13 inches, the bill very strong, and with the legs orange-red. The feathers on the crown, throat, and cheeks are black, those on the head lengthened into a crest and tipped with reddish-brown. A line of reddish-white extends above the eyes and auriculars, and loses itself on the sides of the neck; another of the same colour runs under the eyes upon the auriculars. The back, sides of the neck, and upper parts of the breast, are reddish-brown; the middle of the belly and vent silvery grey, passing into bluish-grey, and minutely freckled with black. The rest of the upper parts are wood-brown, barred and spotted with black, and blotched with large spots of yellowish-white. The length of the tail-feathers is 5\(\frac{1}{2}\) inches, they are broad and rounded.

The Canadian Grouse

Tetrao Canadensis.—Linnæus.

Tetrao Canadensis, Bonaparte’s Continuation.—Variety, North. Zool. ii. pl. 61.

The figure of this species is taken from a specimen in the Edinburgh Museum, and from the distribution of the colouring, strongly resembles the markings of the variety dedicated to Captain Franklin as distinct. Among several of the lesser grouse, there is a certain variety in the tints and distribution of the plumage; and during the breeding season, and at the different ages, these become very different indeed. On these accounts, we do not consider that sufficiently distinctive marks have yet been assigned to the birds which have been designated T. Canadensis and Franklinii.

The entire length is about seventeen inches. It is common in Hudson’s Bay through the whole year. It inhabits Canada in winter, and abounds on the Rocky Mountains. Bonaparte writes,

The favourite haunts of the spotted or Canada Grouse are pine woods and dark cedar swamps, in winter resorting to the deep forests of spruce, to feed on the tops and leaves of these evergreens, as well as on the seeds contained: in their cones, and upon juniper berries. Hence their flesh, though at all times good, is much. better in summer, as in winter it has a strong flavour of spruce. At Hudson’s Bay, where they are called indifferently Wood or Spruce Partridge, they are seen throughout the year. Like other grouse, they build on the ground, having perhaps fewer eggs; these are varied with white, yellow and black. They are easily approached, being unsuspicious, by no means so shy as the common ruffed grouse, and are killed or trapped in numbers, without much artifice being necessary for this purpose. When much disturbed, like their kindred species, they are apt to resort to trees, where, by using the precaution of always shooting the lowest, the whole of the terrified flock may be brought down to the last bird.

Mr Douglas says that they (the var. Franklinii) are the most common birds in the valleys of the Rocky Mountains from 50° to 60°, and that some small troops are found in the higher mountains, which form the base of the snowy peaks. The alarm-note is two or three hollow sounds, ending in a yearning disagreeable grating note, like the latter part of the call of the Guinea fowl. The male is represented on the accompanying plate; the female is smaller, more varied, with less of black, and more of dusky; the upper parts are confusedly mottled with dull rusty orange and grey. The sides of the head, throat, and all the neck below, are dull rusty brown, each feather varied with black; on the lower part of the breast the black bands are broad and very deep, alternating equally with rusty orange.

The Ruffed Grouse

Tetrao umbellus.—Linnæus.

Tetraoumbellus, Linnæus.—Northern Zool.—Ruffed Heathcock, Edwards.—Bonasia umbellus, Bonaparte.—Ruffed Grouse, Wilson, Audubon.

This curious and beautiful grouse is found from the 56° parallel to the Gulf of Mexico. It is common in Pennsylvania and the United States, and very abundant in the Kentucky and Indiana territory, and it was found on the banks of the Saskatchewan by the Northern expedition, frequenting the horse-paths and cleared spaces about the forts. The following account of the manners of this bird, given by Alexander Wilson, will be acceptable:—

The manners of the pheasant are solitary; they are seldom found in coveys of more than four or five together, and more usually in pairs, or singly. They leave their sequestered haunts in the woods early in the morning, and seek the path or road, to pick up gravel, and glean among the droppings of the horses. In travelling among the mountains that bound the Susquehanna, I was always able to furnish myself with an abundant supply of these birds every morning without leaving the path. If the weather be fogey, or lowering, they are sure to be seen in such situations. They generally move along with great stateliness, their broad fan-like tail spread out in the manner exhibited in the drawing.. The drumming, as it is usually called, of the pheasant, is another singularity of this species. This is performed by the male alone. In walking through solitary woods, frequented by these birds, a stranger is surprised by suddenly hearing a kind of thumping very similar to that produced by striking two full-blown ox-bladders together, but much louder; the strokes at first are slow and distinct, but gradually increase in rapidity, till they run into each other, resembling the rumbling sound of very distant thunder, dying away gradually on the ear, After a few minutes’ pause, this is again repeated, and, in a calm day, may be heard nearly half a mile off. This drumming is most common in spring, and is the call of the cock to his favourite female. It is produced in the following manner:—The bird, standing on an old prostrate log, generally in a retired and sheltered situation, lowers his wings, erects his expanded tail, contracts his throat, elevates the two tufts of feathers on the neck, and inflates his whole body, something in the manner of the turkey cock, strutting and wheeling about with great stateliness. After a few manœuvres of this kind, he begins to strike with his stiffened wings in short and quick strokes, which become more and more rapid until they run into each other, as has been already described. This is most common in the morning and evening, though I have heard them drumming at all hours of the day. By means of this, the gunner is led to the place of his retreat; though, to those unacquainted with the sound, there is great deception in the supposed distance, it generally appearing to be much nearer than it really is.

The Prince of Musignano has formed anew genus for the reception of this bird, under the title Bonasia. The principal distinctions are the unplumed tarsi, contrasted with Tetrao and Lagopus. It is also remarkable for the tufts of feathers springing from each side of the neck, twenty-nine or thirty in number, of a deep rich black. These it can raise at pleasure, and uncover two bare patches of naked-looking skin, which during the drumming noise are distended and as it were blown up. The length of the bird is about 18 inches, and the whole plumage is a beautiful mixture of brown chestnut and grey, relieved by the black tufts upon the neck, and a broad band of the same colour at the extremity of the tail. The female, according to Audubon, is generally of a lighter colour than the male; the ruff, though present, being smaller and of a duller black. The nest is made by the side of a prostrate tree or at the foot of a low bush, composed of dried leaves and herbaceous plants. From five to twelve eggs are laid, which are of a uniform dull yellowish colour.

In America this bird is termed the pheasant, and is one of the best. game of the country, only excelled by the pinnated grouse, which we shall immediately notice. In winter and fall many hundreds are brought to the markets, and in Philadelphia, in Wilson’s time, they sold at from three quarters of a dollar to a dollar and a quarter per pair.

The Sharp-Tailed Grouse

Centrocercus phasianellus.—Swainson.

Tetrao phasianellus, Buonaparte’s Continuation of Wilson.—Long-Tailed Grouse, Edwards.—Sharp-Tailed Grouse, Pennant.—Centrocercus phasianellus, Northern Zoology.

The two following specimens are remarkable for the elongated form of the tail, and have been placed by Mr Swainson, as the scantorial forms of the family, particularly the next bird, where the feathers are rigid and sharp pointed, and almost bare at the tips. The present bird, though previously hinted at by several authors, appears never to have been authentically known or described, until after the return of Say from the Rocky Mountain expedition; but the best description is given by Bonaparte in his continuation, who has also figured the female.

It is common in the southern parts of the Hudson Bay settlements. According to the Northern Zoology, the most northern limit is the Great Slave Lake, 65° parallel, and its most southern recorded station, 41° on the Missouri. It abounds on the outskirts of the Saskatchewan plains, and is found throughout the woody districts of the fur countries, haunting open glades and low thickets on the borders of lakes.¹⁰

Buonaparte thus details their manners.

The Sharp-tailed Grouse is remarkably shy, living solitary, or by pairs during summer, and not associating in packs till autumn; remaining thus throughout the winter. They, of choice, inhabit what are called the juniper plains, keeping among the small juniper bushes, which. constitute their food. They are usually seen on the ground, but when disturbed fly to the highest trees. Their food in summer is composed of berries, the various sorts of which they eagerly seek: in winter they are confined to the buds and tops of evergreens, or of birch and elder, but especially poplar, of which they are very fond. They are more easily approached in autumn than when they inhabit large forests, as they then keep alighting on the tops of the tallest poplars, beyond the reach of an ordinary gun. When disturbed in that position, they are apt to hide themselves in the snow; but Hearne informs us, that the hunter’s chance is not the better for that, for so rapidly do they make their way beneath the surface, that they often suddenly take wing several yards from the spot where they entered, and almost always in a different direction from that which is expected.

Like the rest of its kind, the sharp-tailed grouse breeds on the ground, near some brushwood, making a loose nest of grass, and lining it with feathers. Here the female lays from nine to thirteen egos, which are white, spotted with blackish. The young are hatched about the middle of June; they utter a piping noise, somewhat like chickens. Attempts have been repeatedly made to domesticate them, but have as constantly failed, all the young, though carefully nursed by their step-mother, the common hen, dying one after another, probably for want of suitable food. This species has several cries: the cock has a shrill crowing note, rather feeble; and both sexes, when disturbed, or whilst on the wing, repeat frequently the cry of cack, cack. This well known sound conducts the hunter to their hiding place, and they are also detected by producing with their small, lateral, rigid tail-feathers, a curious noise, resembling that made by a winnowing fan. When in good order, one of these grouse will weigh upwards of two pounds, being very plump. Their flesh is of a light brown colour, and very compact, though, at the same time, exceedingly juicy and well tasted, being far superior in this respect to the common ruffed, and approaching in excellence the delicious pinnated grouse.

The adult male is about sixteen inches in length. The general colour a mixture of white, different shades of dark and light chestnut, on a rather deep and glossy blackish ground. The tail is composed of eighteen feathers; the centre: ones, according to Bonaparte, exceeding the others only by an inch. Between the sexes there is almost no difference in plumage; the female is merely less bright and glossy, the size is however somewhat less.¹¹

The Cock of the Plains

Centrocercus urophasianus.—Swainson.

Cock of the Plains, Lewis and Clark.—Tetrao urophasianus, Bonaparte, Continuation, pl. xxi.—Pheasant-tailed grouse, Wilson, Illust. of Zool. pls. xxvi. and xxvii.—Centrocercus urophasianus, North. Zool. ii. p. 353 358.

This splendid bird is the largest of the American grouse; and, as far as beauty, size, and rarity are concerned, bears the same rank in the American Fauna with the wood-grouse or cock of the wood of Europe. He is equally sought after by the huntsman, and is even now as difficult to procure as that we have just compared him to. But the form and habits are quite distinct. In our once native bird the form is remarkably powerful, the tail rounded and very ample, the habitation, the most extensive forests, delighting to perch on the highest trees. The bird of America inhabits only the uncovered plains, never perches, and the form of the tail is lengthened, the feathers narrowing to a point. This acquisition to the grouse was first noticed in the expedition of Lewis and Clark, who met with it near the fountain of the Missouri, in the heart of the Rocky Mountains, and also on the Columbia River. A figure was first given of it by Bonaparte, from a specimen in the possession of Mr Leadbetter. Both sexes were again figured in Mr Wilson’s Illustrations of Zoology, and an excellent representation of the male is given in the Northern Zoology.

The total length of the male is thirty-one and a half inches, that of the female twenty-two. The colour of the plumage is a beautiful mixture of yellowish-brown, mottled and varied with deeper tints, the under parts nearly white, with longitudinal streaks of brown, and the centre of the belly dotted with large black patches. On each side of the breast are two round naked protuberances, placed farther forward than those of T. cupido, or pinnated grouse. Above each there is a tuft of feathers, having their shafts considerably elongated, naked, and tipped with black radii. On the sides of the neck and across the breast, below the protuberances, the feathers are short, rigid, and sharp-pointed, but lie over each other with the same regularity as the scales of a fish. The tail is eleven inches long, each feather lanceolate, and is gradually attenuated to a fine point. The female has the whole of the upper plumage umber-brown and yellowish-white, barred or mottled in equal proportions. Under part nearly as in the male, but without the projecting stiff feathers.

The description of the manners of this species by Mr Douglass, is. the best account we yet have.

The flight of these birds is slow, unsteady, and affords but little amusement to the sportsman. From the disproportionately small, convex, thin-quilled wing,—so thin, that-a vacant space half as, broads as a quill appears between each,—the flight may be said to be a sort. of fluttering, more than any thing else the bird giving two or three claps of the) wings in quick succession, at the same time hurriedly rising; then shooting or floating, swinging from side to side, gradually falling, and thus producing a clapping, whirring sound. When started the voice is cuck, cuck, cuck, like the common pheasant. They pair in March and April. Small-eminences on the banks of streams are the places usually selected for celebrating the weddings, the time generally about sunrise. The wings of the male are lowered, buzzing on the ground, the tail spread like a fan, somewhat erect, the bare yellow œsophagus inflated to a prodigious size, fully half as large as his body, and, from its soft. membranous substance, being well contrasted with the scale-like feathers below it on the breast, and the flexile silky feathers on the neck, which on these occasions stand erect. In this grotesque form he displays, in the presence of his intended mate, a variety of attitudes. His-love-song is a confused grating, but not offensively disagreeable tone—something that we. can imitate, but have a difficulty of expressing—“Hurr-hurr-hurr-r-r-r-hoo,” ending in a deep hollow, tone, not unlike the sound produced by blowing into a large reed. Nest on the ground under the shade of; Purshia and Artemisia, or near streams, among Phalaris arundinacea, carefully constructed of, dry grass and slender twigs. Eggs from thirteen to seventeen, about the size of a common fowl, of a wood-brown colour, with irregular chocolate blotches on the thick end. Period of incubation from twenty-one to twenty-two days. The young leave the nest a few hours after they are hatched.

In summer and autumn months these birds are seen in small troops, and in winter and spring in flocks of several hundreds. Plentiful throughout the barren, arid plains of the river Columbia; also in the interior of North California. they do not exist on the banks of the river Missouri; nor have they been seen in any place east of the Rocky Mountains.

The Common Ptarmigan

Lagopus mutus.—Leach.

Tetrao lagopus, Linnæus.—Ptarmigan, Pennant, Latham.—White Grouse, Bewick’s Birds.—Common Ptarmigan, Selby’s Illustrations, lix. and lxix lx. p. 433.

This delicately marked bird in its summer dress, and of snowy whiteness in winter, appears also to be a native of both the European and American continents, though it is certainly more abundant in the former, It is a species confined to the most alpine districts, and may be said to be very generally spread over those of Europe. In Great Britain, its only habitation now seems to be the high mountain ranges in the middle of Scotland, increasing in abundance as the same kind of wild country reaches to the north, and it also extends to the Hebrides. According to Pennant, and some contemporary writers, these birds were once found on the hills of Westmoreland and Cumberland; and, I believe, recollections even exist of a few having been seen upon the high ranges which appear on the opposite border of Scotland. These have been for some time extirpated, and unless a few solitary pairs remain on Skiddaw, or some of its precipitous neighbours, the range of the Grampians will be its most southern British station. Another bird has lately been found in this country, which was before thought to be an inhabitant of America only, the Lagopus rupestris or Rock Ptarmigan. From its close resemblance in plumage, it has been confounded with the common ptarmigan; but one or two specimens have lately been got in the more northern Highland districts. In both birds the plumage is of the most unsullied white during winter. In summer they are mottled with tints of black; in the first mingled with grey and yellow, in the second with yellow alone. The size varies also, the last being about two inches less than the Common Ptarmigan. The chief distinctions to be seized upon at first sight, are the less size, and the black feathers of the back being cut into upon the edges, with patches of yellow only, contrasted with the larger size and grey plumage of the other.

They inhabit the most barren and rocky spots, often where nothing is to be seen but an interminable series of rugged rocks distributed in boulder masses, varying in size, from huge lumps to pieces of a few inches in diameter. Here, during spring and summer, the pairs and their broods remain the only inhabitants, and are discovered with the greatest difficulty, the mixture of the colours of the plumage forming a tint which harmonizes with that of the grey rocks around. At this season they are also tame and familiar, running before the intruder, and uttering their peculiarly low wild call, which is often the means of their discovery. In this way they will often reach the opposite edge of the rock, and will, as it were, simultaneously drop off; but the expectation of finding them on some lower ledge will be disappointed, for they have perhaps by that time sought for and reached the opposite side of the mountains, by a low, wheeling flight, as noiseless as the solitudes by which they are surrounded. The nest is made under the rocks and stones, and is very difficult to be found, for the female on perceiving a person approach, generally leaves it, and is only discovered by her motion over the rocks, or her low clucking cry. In winter they descend lower, but seldom seek the plains.

The Common Black Grouse

Lagopus tetrix.—Swainson.

Tetrao tetrix, Linnæus.—Black Grouse, Black Cock, Male; Grey Hen, Female, Pennant, &c.—Black Grouse, Selby, Illustrations, lviii. and lviii.* p. 423.

The most proper place to have described this beautiful bird was after the true American grouse, the ptarmigan being more naturally succeeded by the next Plate (Pl. XXIII.) As it is, it has been placed here, and we must refer to the conclusion for the situation of the different groups.

This species is pretty generally spread over Europe, being found in France and Germany, while, as we reach the north, in Russia, Sweden, Norway, &c. it becomes very abundant. In Britain it occurs in the three countries, most sparingly, however, in England, from the rich cultivation and champagne character of the country. The New Forest, Hampshire, Somerset, and the wild parts of Staffordshire, can boast of it, but these are nearly all the English stations, until we reach the borders, where it becomes abundant in the wild districts, which conduct to its still more frequent haunts in Scotland.

The favourite abode of the black grouse is an alpine sheep country, where there is comparatively little heath, moist flats or meadows, with a rank and luxuriant herbage, and where the glades or passes among the hills are clothed with natural brush of birch, hazel, willow, and alder, and have a tangled bottom of deep fern. These afford both an abundant supply of food, and shelter from the cold at night, and from the rays of the mid-summer’s sun.

Like the greater proportion of the true grouse, the black game is polygamous; and during the months of January, February, and March, when his adult breeding plumage of glossy steel-blue is put on, he is a noble-looking and splendid bird. In the warmer sunny days at the conclusion of winter and commencement of spring, the males after feeding may be seen arranged, on some turf fence, rail, or sheep-fold, pluming their wings, expanding their tails, and practising, as it were, their murmuring love-call. If the weather now continues warm, the flocks soon separate, and the males select some conspicuous spot, from whence they endeavour to drive all rivals, and commence to display their arts to allure the female. The places selected at such seasons are generally elevations; the turf enclosure of a former sheep-fold which has been disused, and is now grown over, or some of those beautiful spots of fresh and grassy pasture, which are every where to be seen, and are well known to the inhabitants of a pastoral district. Here, after perhaps many battles have been fought and rivals vanquished, the noble full-dressed blackcock takes his stand, commencing at first dawn; and where the game is abundant, the hill on every side repeats the murmuring call, almost before the utterers can be distinguished. They strut around the spot selected, trailing their wings, inflating the throat and neck, and puffing up the plumage of those parts, and the now brilliant wattle above the eyes, raising and expanding their tail, displaying the beautifully coutrasting white under-covers, and imitating, as it were, the attitudes of a little turkey-cock. He is soon heard by the females, who crowd around their lord and master.

This season of admiration does not long continue; the females disperse to seek proper situations for depositing their eggs, while the males, losing their feeling for love and fighting at the same time, reassemble in small parties, and seek the shelter of the brush and fern beds to complete a new moult, and are seldom seen except: early in the morning, being now the very reverse in stupidity to what they were formerly in vigilance. The sexes continue separate until the winter, when the old males join with the young broods, and all resort, morning and evening, to some favourite feeding grounds, spending the middle of the day in basking, pluming, or sporting upon some sunny hillside. Upon the females devolve the whole duties of rearing and protecting the young. The nest is made on the ground like that of the other grouse, and when hatched the young are conveyed to the low rushy hollows, where there is abundance of water, and plenty of food, in tender seeds of the rushes, and alpine grasses. The young are seldom full grown before the first of September; and even at this season, if they have been undisturbed previously, they will almost suffer themselves to be lifted from among the rank herbage before the pointers. At this time the plumage of the young is somewhat like that of the female, a lighter tint of yellowish-brown, mottled and crossed with bars of black, the males commencing to get the black feathers of the adult plumage, or to spot, as sportsmen term it; this is almost always completed by the beginning of October, but does not gain its richness of gloss and lustre before the following spring.

During summer the general food is the seeds of the various grasses, and the berries of the different alpine plants, such as the cran and crow berries, blaeberries, &c.;¹³ and in winter the tender shoots of the fir, catkins of birch and hazel, afford them support in the wilder districts, and often give their peculiar flavour to the flesh; but in all the lower districts, where, indeed, this bird is most abundant, the gleaning of the stubble yields a plentiful meal. Fields of turnips or rape are also favourite feeding places, and the leaves yield them a more convenient supply of food during hard frost, than they could elsewhere provide. In some places flocks of hundreds assemble at feeding times, for of late years this species has increased to an immense extent, and from the life of the hens being to a certain degree protected, a sufficient. breeding stock is always kept up. At the season of their thus assembling in flocks, they are extremely shy and wary.

The plumage of the adult male is, on all the upper parts, of a rich steel-blue; on the under parts, pitch-black, which duller colour also is seen on the secondaries and wing-coverts. The secondaries are tipped with white, forming a bar across the wings conspicuous in flight, and the under-tail coverts are of the same pure colour. The form of the tail is, however, the most curious or anomalous structure in this bird, differing from all the others, (except one, where it is very slightly indicated,) in being forked, and having the feathers bending outward. From this circumstance, it has been formed into a subgenus by Swainson, under the title Lyrurus, and is made in that gentleman’s system to represent the fissirostral form among the Tetraonidæ, bearing analogy in its forked tail and glossy plumage to the Drongo shrikes of Africa and India. The female bears the more unobtrusive colours which run through the sex in the rest of the group; and has a chaste and beautiful arrangement, of brown, black, and greyish-yellow. The fork of the tail is very slightly seen.

Pallas’s Sand-Grouse

Syrrhaptes Pallasii.—Temminck.

Tetrao paradoxa, Pallas.—Heteroclite grouse, Latham.—Heteroclite Pallas, Syrrhaptes Pallasii, Temminck, Pigeons et Gallinacés; Pl. Coloriées, 95—Delanoue, Dictionnaire Classique d’Histoire Naturelle, viii. p. 182.

The entire length of this curious bird, figured by Temminck, was scarcely nine inches, of which the very long tail feathers occupy three; but the specimens procured by M. Delanoue from the borders of China, were above eleven inches, exclusive of the tail, which was above three. The colours of these birds were much more brilliant also, and he is of opinion that the subject of our plate was a young male of small size. The plumage is generally of the brownish-yellow tint, the common colour of the whole; upon the back and wings of a clearer and more yellow tint than on the other parts. Across the lower part of the breast, the feathers have a black band at the tip, which forms a bar across; and upon the centre of the belly there is another broader band of brownish-black. The feathers on the back are tipped also with a circle of black, and the secondaries are terminated with reddish-brown, forming a bar of that colour across the wings. The wings are long, the outer feather surpassing the others, and lengthened to a fine narrow point: in the same way are the centre feathers of the tail much extended beyond the others, and terminate in the same kind of narrow setaceous plume.

The feet of this bird are very extraordinary. According to Delanoue, who appears to be the only one who has seen them alive, the toes are so short as to be scarcely distinguishable, the centre one only deserving that appellation, and they are covered to the claws with thick down, these parts being alone observable without putting aside the covering. The consequence is a slow, and, as it were, painful manner of walking; while on the contrary, the flight is rapid and high. The same traveller found the nest of the female among some stones collected under a shrub, containing four eggs of a reddish-white spotted with brown. The nest was perfectly simple, constructed with only a few stalks of grass, and the female exhibited the utmost solicitude for her precious deposit. The female differs little from the male, except in size, and a little less brilliancy of plumage.

The genus Syrrhaptes was established by Illiger for the reception of this curious bird, and M. Temminck dedicated the only species yet known to the celebrated Pallas, its first describer.

The Banded Sand Grouse

Pterocles arenarius.—Temminck.

Tetrao arenarius, Pallas.—Ganga unibande, Pterocles arenarius, Temminck, Pig. et Gallinacés, and Pl. Coloriées, pls. 52 and 53.

In this beautiful sand-grouse, we see, if such an expression may be used, a more perfect form. The form of the bird is strong but light, the wings long and ample. The tarsi feathered only in front, and the feet evidently adapted for running. We have, however, the same prevailing colour of grey and yellowish-brown, of the peculiar opaque lustre which prevails among them. The belly of the male is deep brownish-black, the throat is marked with a spot of the same colour, and below the breast there is another similarly coloured band, from which Temminck has derived his trivial name. The female is of the same general tint. The dark parts of the under plumage are paler, and the patch on the throat is wanting, but apparently replaced by another of grey, while the head, breast, and upper parts are covered with brownish-black bars and crossings, somewhat akin to those which distinguish the females of the true grouse. The tail in this species is rounded, but rather lengthened; it varies in length from twelve to fourteen inches.

The banded sand-grouse is found on the vast sandy plains in the south of the Russian empire, upon the banks of the Volga, but most abundantly in the north of Africa. Temminck also thinks that it is entitled to the rank of a European straggler, one or two instances having occurred of its being met with in Spain and Germany. Nauman killed one on the territory of Anhalt, and several others were said to have been found in the same season; Temminck possesses two specimens killed in Spain. The nest is made among stunted brush, upon the ground, and four or five eggs only are deposited. The principal food during the season is the seeds of an astragalus.

Pterocles exustus, coronatus, Lichtensteinii, are other delicately marked species, inhabiting the African deserts, and having nearly the same manners, while a beautiful species inhabiting India was made known by Sonnerat, under the name of Gelinote des Indes. The Pterocles quadricinctus of Temminck, is so named, from four bands of brown, white, black, and again white, which encircle the breast of the adult males.

The Black-Necked Ortygis

Ortygis nigricollis.

Turnix cagnan, Hemipodius nigricollis, Temminck, Pigeons et Gallinacés, iii. p. 619.

This is a stronger species than the last, coming nearer to the true quails, being rather more than six inches in length. The head and neck are deep black, mingled above with white and brown, but upon the throat generally of a solid black. The upper plumage is varied with irregular markings of yellowish-brown and black, and the breast is largely barred with the latter colour upon a pale yellowish-brown ground. It inhabits the island of Madagascar, and most probably also the continent of Africa.

The Tataupa

Crypturus tataupa.

Tinamou tataupa, Tinamus tataupa, Temminck, Planches Coloriées, pl. 415.

This bird is also a native of Paraguay, and has nearly the manners with the last, a little more familiarity is displayed, and it approaches commonly nearer to cultivation, whence it has received the provincial name of Tataupa. It breeds in similar places to the last, and the eggs are of a deep brilliant blue. Violet and blue are remarkable colours in the eggs of the gallinaceous birds, the former very rare among any, and the tinamous seem to lead off in this respect as well as many other peculiarities.

The Tataupa is a small species, being only about nine inches in length. The head, neck, breast, and belly are of a greyish leaden colour; the throat pure white, the back and wing-coverts brownish-black, the feathers on the thighs and rump are dull black, bordered with a narrow band of white. The bill is brilliant red, and the legs are of a purplish-red, both contrasting well with the otherwise dull and chaste plumage.