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continued noise, as might have been heard a mile off. When snow comes, they become half domesticated, visit the barns, and farmhouses, and mix with the poultry. Great numbers are then taken in traps. Their nests are built on the ground, formed with little art, and few materials.

The pinnated grouse is nineteen inches long, and, when in good order, weighs three pounds and a half. There are small wings on each side of the neck, whose upper parts are mottled transversely with black, brown, and white. Over the eye is a semicircular comb of rich orange. The breast and belly are white, marked with brown.

THE DUSKY GROUSEL

IN size and color, may be compared with the black grouse of Europe. A specimen was killed by an exploring party under Major Long, in 1820, on a mountain of the chain which divides the Mississippi from the waters which flow toward the Pacific. When the bird flew, it uttered a cackling note, somewhat like that of the domestic fowl. The general color of the plumage in the female is blackish brown; that of the male is entirely black.

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WAS first met with by the lamented Governor Lewis, on the upper waters of the Missouri. It is said to be the inhabitant of the great plains of the Columbia. The expedition under Major Long brought a specimen, now in the museum at Philadelphia. This bird is never seen in any of the Atlantic

1 Tetrao obscurus, SAY.

2 Tetrao phasianellus, LIN.

states, though numerous in high northern latitudes. It inhabits the uncultivated lands near the southern parts of Hudson's Bay. It is sometimes found near Lake Superior in the spring.

The sharp-tailed grouse is very shy and solitary in summer, but lives in flocks during winter. Their favorite places of resort are the juniper plains, where the buds of juniper bushes constitute their favorite food. They frequent the woods as well as the plains; sometimes feeding on berries, and sometimes on the tops of evergreen, poplar, and birch trees. They breed on the ground, near low bushes; the nest is composed of grass and lined with feathers. Their flesh is excellent eating. One of these birds will sometimes weigh upwards of two pounds. The general color of the plumage is a mixture of white and rusty on a glossy blackish ground; the feathers of the bead and neck are tipped with white.

The other American birds of this family are, the spotted grouse, and the cock of the plains.

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THIS bird is about thirteen inches in length. The general color of its plumage is brown and ash, elegantly mixed with black; each feather is streaked down the middle with buff color; the sides of the head are tawny; the eyes are hazel, and under each eye there is a small saffron-colored spot,

1 Perdix cinerea, LATH. The genus perdix, has the bill short, compressed, stout, base naked; upper mandible arched, convex, strongly curved towards the tip; nostrils basal, lateral, half closed by an arched and naked membrane; the three anterior toes united by membranes to the first joint; tail composed of eighteen, or of fourteen feathers, short, rounded and slanting downwards; wings short.

which has a granulated appearance, and between the eye and the ear is a naked skin of a bright scarlet, which is not very conspicuous but in old birds; on the breast there is a crescent of a deep chesnut color; the tail is short; the legs are of a greenish white, and are furnished with a small knob behind. The bill is of a light brown. The female has no crescent on the breast, and her colors in general are not so distinct and bright as those of the male. There are generally from ten to fifteen in a covey; and if unmolested, they live from fifteen to seventeen years.

This bird is found in nearly every part of Europe. The manners of the partridge, in most circumstances, resemble all those of poultry in general; but their cunning and instinct seem superior to those of the larger kinds. Perhaps, as they live in the very neighborhood of their enemies, they have more frequent occasion to put their little arts in practice, and learn, by habit, the means of evasion or safety. The affection of the female for her young is peculiarly strong and lively; she is greatly assisted in the care of rearing them by her mate; they lead them out in common, call them together, point out to them their proper food, and assist them in finding it, by scratching the ground with their feet. They frequently sit close by each other, covering their young with their wings, like the hen; in this situation they are not easily flushed; but when, at length, they are compelled to move, the male employs many interesting stratagems, such as fluttering along the ground, hanging his wings, and feigning to be wounded, in order to attract the pursuit of the enemy, and afford to the female an opportunity to escape with her infant brood. Partridges, though tamed when young, will almost invariably return to the wild state.

THE EUROPEAN QUAIL1

Is about half the size of a partridge. Its flesh is a great delicacy. The feathers of the head are black, edged with rusty brown; the breast is of a pale yellowish red, spotted with black; the feathers on the back are marked with lines of pale yellow, and the legs are of a pale hue.

The quail is by all known to be a bird of passage; and yet, if we consider its heavy manner of flying, and its dearth of plumage, with respect to its corpulence, we shall be surprised how a bird so apparently ill qualified for migration should take such extensive journeys. Nothing, however, is more certain. "When we sailed from Rhodes to Alexandria," says Bellonius, "about autumn, many quails, flying from the north to the south, were taken in our ship; and sailing at spring time the contrary way, from the south to the north, I observed them on their return, when many of them were taken in the same manner." This account is confirmed by many others; who

1 Perdix coturnis, LATH.

aver, that they choose a north wind for these adventures; the south being very unfavorable, as it retards their flight, by moistening their plumage. They then fly two by two; continuing, when their way lies over land, to go faster by night than by day; and to fly very high, to avoid being surprised, or set upon by birds of prey. On the western coasts of the kingdom of Naples, and on the shores of Provence, such prodigious flights have appeared that a hundred thousand have been taken in a day within the space of four or five miles. It is now, however, asserted by some, that the quail only migrates from one province of a country to another. For instance, that in England they fly from the inland counties to those bordering on the sea, and continue there all the winter.

These birds are much less prolific than the partridge; seldom laying more than six or seven whitish eggs; marked with ragged, rust-colored spots. Quail fighting was a favorite amusement among the Athenians; they abstained from the flesh of this bird, deeming it unwholesome, as supposing that it fed upon the white hellebore; but they reared great numbers of them, for the pleasure of seeing them fight; and staked sums of money upon them as we do with cocks, upon the success of the combat. The same practice is at this day carried on in China and in some parts of Italy.

THE AMERICAN QUAIL,1

CALLED partridge in the southern states, is an inhabitant of North America, from Canada and Nova Scotia to Florida, and it has been seen in the interior of Louisiana. These birds rarely frequent the forest, and are most numerous in the vicinity of well cultivated plantations, where there is plenty of grain. They however occasionally seek shelter in the woods, perching on the branches, or secreting among the brushwood; but are found most usually in open fields or along fences sheltered by thickets of brier. In winter, they approach the barns and sometimes mix with the poultry. At this time great numbers of them are shot and taken in traps.

The quail builds its nest on the ground, at the bottom of a thick tuft of grass that shelters and conceals it. The materials are leaves and fine dry grass. It is well covered above, and an opening left for entrance. The young are guided by their mother's voice, which resembles that of a young chicken, and sheltered by her wings in the same manner as those of the domestic fowl. In this situation, should the timid little family be unexpectedly surprised, the utmost alarm and consternation instantly prevail. The mother throws herself in the path, fluttering along and beating the ground

1 Perdix Virginiana, LATH.

with her wings, as if sorely wounded; using every artifice she is mistress of, to entice the passenger in pursuit of herself, uttering at the same time peculiar notes of alarm well understood by the young, who dive separately among the grass, and secrete themselves till the danger is over; and the parent, having decoyed the pursuer to a safe distance, returns by a circuitous route to collect and lead them off.

In the fall, the quails associate in flocks or coveys, of four or five and thirty. At this time the notes of the male are frequent, loud, and distinct. His common call consists of two notes, and is similar to the sound produced by pronouncing the words "Bob White." This call may be imitated by whistling, so as to deceive the bird itself, and bring it near. While uttering this, the bird is usually perched on the rail of a fence or on a low limb of an

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apple tree, where he will sometimes sit, repeating, at short intervals, "Bob White," for half an hour at a time.

The food of the partridge consists of grain, seeds, insects, and berries of various kinds. Buckwheat and Indian corn are particular favorites. They roost at night in the middle of a field on high ground. They fly with a loud whizzing sound, occasioned by the shortness, concavity, and rapid motion of their wings, and the comparative weight of their bodies. The flesh is peculiarly white, tender, and delicate.

The quail is nine inches long. It is of a red brown color, sprinkled with black. The under parts are white, spotted with black, and the sides of the neck spotted with white.

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