Chapter XI: Introduction (10)

The genus _Perdix_ contains the Common Partridge (_P. cinerea_), so valuable for purposes of food and sport, of which it is needless to describe the plumage; yet attention may be drawn to the dark chestnut horse-shoe mark on the grey breast, nearly obsolete in most adult females, and the broad ruddy bars on the sides and flanks. The hen may be invariably distinguished by wide-set buff bands on the black scapulars and adjoining wing-coverts, which in the cock are light brown with black vermiculations and chestnut blotches. The latter sex, moreover, has grey instead of brown sides to the neck.[161] Great variation is noticeable in the coloration, specimens from dry soils exhibiting the richest hues, while some are occasionally obtained with a white horse-shoe mark, and a particularly dark variety has even been denominated _Perdix montana_. Hybrids are recorded with the Red-Legged Partridge and Red Grouse, but such are quite exceptional. Unknown in Shetland, the Partridge has been introduced with moderate success into the Outer Hebrides and Orkneys; but in the Highlands of Scotland the character of the country is often unsuitable, nor is the bird very plentiful in Ireland. From Scandinavia it occurs southward to the Douro valley and Naples, though rarer in Northern Europe, and choosing higher ground than the Red-legged species in the south; eastward it reaches through Asia Minor and Persia as far as the Altai Mountains. Pairing even in February, it does not nest until about April, the numbers of individuals reared being naturally much affected by subsequent excess of wet or drought. The better the cultivation the larger the stock, though grassy heaths, gorse-coverts, tangled hedge-rows and thickets also provide excellent harbour. Very rarely do Partridges desert the open for woods, or perch in trees, though during the hot hours they shelter in fields of turnips, clover, and so forth, emerging at other times to feed on the grain, seeds, leaves, and insects found among short vegetation or stubble. Cover is naturally eschewed when wet. They often trust to their powers of foot for escape, or crouch motionless upon soil that matches their plumage, while the whirring noise with which they rise is familiar to all, as is their heavy rapid {225}flight at starting, and their easy gliding motion afterwards. The well-known crowing note is most commonly heard towards evening. The nest, a circular cavity lined with grass, is placed among short herbage, often near a road, the drab-coloured–or, exceptionally, bluish–eggs varying from nine to twenty or more in number. Both parents tend the young and employ many devices to mislead an intruder; at night the family parties roost upon the ground, and later in the year pack into larger coveys. The methods of sportsmen and poachers cannot be discussed at length in our limited space, but the general adoption of driving, instead of shooting over dogs–due to improved systems of farming–should not be left unnoticed.

_P. daürica_ (_barbata_), of Asia east of the Altai and Tian-shan Ranges, exhibits lanceolate feathers on the sides of the throat, like _Coturnix japonica_, and a black "horse-shoe" mark on the golden-buff breast; the latter part in _P. hodgsoniae_, of South Tibet and the extreme north of India, being white with wide bars and a large basal patch of black; _P. sifanica_ of North-West China and North Tibet lacks the black patch, and has less black on the sides of the head and throat. The two last-named birds reach the snow-line at about eighteen thousand feet; the first of them at least having a nest and eggs like the Common Partridge. _Rhizothera longirostris_, of the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, and Sumatra, has long sharp curved beak and powerful whitish metatarsi, provided with a pair of stout spurs in each sex. The upper plumage is rich brown with black and buff markings; a grey shade pervades the neck and lower back, and chestnut tints the cheeks, throat, and wings; the under parts are grey, merging posteriorly into buff. The hen has a chestnut fore-neck, and is less grey above. _R. dulitensis_ of Borneo is similar.

The genus _Pternistes_ contains the naked-throated Ethiopian Francolins. _P. nudicollis_ of South Africa is brown above with black shaft-stripes, the mantle being greyer, the superciliary stripes and face black, the sides of the neck and lower parts black with white streaks. The female has a grey and rufous chest, the male a pair of sharp spurs. The bare orbits and throat are crimson, the bill and feet orange-red. _P. humboldti_ of East Africa and _P. afer_ (_rubricollis_) of western South Africa resemble the above, but have two pairs of spurs. _P. cranchi_ differs in having the neck, mantle, and under surface {226}mottled with black and white, the breast and abdomen shewing chestnut markings; in the similar _P. boehmi_ the naked throat is yellow. These two species occur west and east of Lake Tanganyika respectively; the female being less black and white above and less chestnut below in the former, while the sexes are alike in the latter. _P. swainsoni_ of South Africa is distinguishable by its rusty abdomen with black and chestnut blotches, the latter colour being absent in the hen; _P. rufipictus_ of East Equatorial Africa has white neck-feathers, margined with brown and black. _P. leucoscepus_ of North-East and the darker _P. infuscatus_ of East Africa exhibit broken stripes of brown and white down the whole body, with yellowish-red orbits and throat; the sexes are alike save for the spurs in the male. In many districts the members of this genus, as well as the Francolins proper, closely akin to them in appearance and habits, are denominated "Pheasants." They haunt grassy places and brushwood, often on hills near water; the coveys feeding in the open on bulbs, seeds, berries, and insects, and roosting upon trees, preferably those that are leafless. Flying little, but running at a great pace, they utter harsh notes in the morning and evening, and lay six or more creamy or pinkish eggs, frequently with chalky spots, in a grass-lined cavity sheltered by coarse herbage.

_Francolinus_, inclusive of _Ortygornis_, _Scleroptila_, _Chaetopus_, and _Clamator_ of some writers, contains forty or more species, ranging over the Ethiopian Region, and from Arabia, Cyprus, and Asia Minor to Persia, India, and South China. The coloration is rich and varied, and the sexes are commonly alike, while hybrids undoubtedly occur. Apart from a special study, a general idea is given by the following descriptions. _F. vulgaris_, the Black Partridge, ranging from Cyprus, Palestine, and Asia Minor to Assam, formerly occurred in Spain, Italy, Sicily, Greece, several of the Mediterranean Islands, and North Africa.[162] It has the whole plumage blackish, with buff markings on the crown, wings, and mantle, white ocelli on the upper back and flanks, white barring on the lower back and tail, a white patch below the eye, and chestnut collar and under tail-coverts. The bill is black, the feet are orange with a small blunt spur. The collar of the brownish female is confined to the nape, and the throat is white. In _F. levaillanti_ of South Africa, the "Redwing" of English {227}colonists, both sexes have the crown brown, edged with black and white, which continues down the nape and widens at its base; a black and white band outlines the throat and forms a patch below it, while the rest of the head is rufous. The upper parts are black, brown, and buff, with pale chestnut remiges; the under parts are of the last colour, varied with buff and black, and barred with brown on the flanks. Spurs are occasionally wanting. _F. adspersus_ of western South Africa is very distinct, both male and female being brown above, with fine black and grey mottlings and black lores; the head, neck, and lower surface are white, with narrow black bars. The spurs are long and sharp. _F. albigularis_ of West Africa is grey-brown, with rusty crown, white throat, buff under parts, and bright bay patches on the wing-coverts, the upper back and neck exhibiting white streaks edged with black. The lower back is blotched with black, the spurs are moderate.

Of some five Asiatic species, _F. sinensis_–introduced into Madagascar, Mauritius, and Réunion–alone reaches eastward of Assam to China; whereas _F. pondicerianus_ has been imported into Rodriguez and the Amirante Islands.

Francolins are found in family parties rather than coveys, and prefer localities near water, though these may consist of rushy swamps, cultivated lands, stony slopes, or maritime plains. Dry situations are, however, favoured, a sufficiency of cover being the chief requisite, and an altitude of six thousand feet being occasionally attained. Some forms roost upon the ground and apparently never perch, others–especially in South Africa–resort habitually to trees at night or when disturbed; but probably the style of country and the amount of persecution account for this difference, while the decrease of the commoner species in certain parts emphasises the fact that they are an easy prey to gunners and other foes. These birds run with great rapidity, and are extremely difficult to flush, still more so for a second time; when forced to rise they do so with a whirring noise, and fly off heavily but swiftly, to pitch again as soon as possible. Reposing in the shade during the hot hours, they feed in the morning and evening, at which times the loud, shrill cry of three bell-like notes, or the "hysterical laugh," may be heard in all directions. The diet consists of insects, shoots of plants, berries, seeds, and bulbs, the powerful bill being used for digging. The well-concealed nest resembles that of a Partridge, the six to fourteen eggs, found in {228}autumn as well as spring,[163] are olive-brown or buff, occasionally with small brown spots or a few white shell-markings.

_Ammoperdix bonhami_ of South-West Asia is a desert form of an isabelline colour, with blue-grey crown and throat, black forehead and superciliary stripes, white lores and ear-coverts, a few black markings near the rump, chestnut hues on the tail and flanks, and longitudinal black bars on the latter. _A. heyi_, ranging from Nubia to the Jordan Valley and the Persian Gulf, has no black on the head, the frontal band being white, and the cheeks and mid-throat chestnut. The rufous and buff females of the two species are indistinguishable. They inhabit wastes and stony ravines up to four thousand feet, in pairs or small coveys; crouching, to avoid detection, on the ground, which matches their colour; flying like Quails; and uttering a reiterated double whistle. The eight to twelve eggs, of a plain drab tint, are deposited among stones or under tussocks, with hardly any nest.

_Caccabis rufa_, the Red-legged or French Partridge, introduced into England from France, and inhabiting Western Europe generally from Belgium and Switzerland to the Balearic Islands, Corsica, Elba, and South Italy, occurs in the Atlantic Islands, but not in Africa. The crown is grey, a black band outlines the throat and reaches past the eyes to the forehead, the upper parts are reddish-grey or brownish, and the tail is partly chestnut. The abdomen is bright buff, the chest grey with black margins to the feathers; chestnut, white, and black stripes adorn the flanks; the bill, feet, and orbits are red. The male is only distinguishable by having rudimentary spurs. _C. saxatilis_, the Greek Partridge, has the chest plain and the flanks without white. It inhabits the Alps, Apennines, Carpathians, Balkans, and Sicilian hills; the eastern race, _C. chukar_, ranging from the Ionian Islands to Aden, Persia, Mongolia, and China, and being naturalized in St. Helena. _C. magna_ of Tibet shews a double gorget of black and reddish. _C. petrosa_, the Barbary Partridge, has a chestnut crown and collar, with white spots on the latter; it occupies North-West Africa, Sardinia, several of the Canary Islands, and Gibraltar. _C. spatzi_ of South Tunis differs slightly. _C. melanocephala_ of South-West Arabia has a black crown, bluish upper parts, flanks marked with black and white, {229}and a black mark down the fore-neck. The members of this genus frequent cultivated country, grassy desert-hills, and scrub-covered ground, up to sixteen thousand feet; they are unsuspicious in quiet parts, but such is not the case in England. They run and fly far and fast, but are exceptionally hard to flush, trusting almost entirely to their feet, and occasionally when hard pressed resorting to trees. The loud note may be syllabled chuk-chuk-chukar-chukar; the food consists of leaves, fruits, seeds and insects; the nest is a scantily-lined excavation, containing from seven to fourteen yellowish-white eggs with reddish specks or blotches. The pugnacious males are used by the Cypriots to attract their wild kindred; but in Britain they have been said–probably in error–to drive away the Common Partridge.

_Tetraogallus tibetanus_, the Tibetan "Snow-Cock" or "Snow-Pheasant," is dark grey above, with buff markings towards the wings and rump, and black vermiculations; the under parts are white, with a grey pectoral band and black streaks posteriorly. There is a yellowish naked patch behind the eye, the bill is orange, and the feet are red. The sexes are similarly coloured, but the male has a pair of strong blunt spurs. The range extends from East Turkestan to West China, where _T. henrici_ occurs, with a grey chest. _T. himalayensis_, found from the Himalayas to the Hindu Kush and the Altai Mountains, has the pectoral band and a patch on each side of the head and nape chestnut, the chest white with black bars, the orbits yellow, the bill dusky, and the feet orange. _T. caspius_, extending from the Taurus to Transcaspia and South Persia, has the upper breast grey with black spots, and lacks the chestnut on the head; _T. caucasicus_ of the Caucasus has the occiput and nape rufous, and the chest black and buff; _T. altaicus_ of the Altai range has the last spotted with white, but no white bases to the secondaries as in the two preceding forms. These large active birds haunt stony hill-sides above the forest-zone and near the snow-line, being gregarious, yet keeping in pairs; they are wild and wary, fly straight and swiftly, utter shrill whistles or cackling notes, and feed upon insects, buds, roots, grass, moss, and fern. From six to nine yellowish or olive eggs with reddish or purplish spots, generally one-third larger than those of the Capercaillie, are laid in a hollow in the soil, sheltered by a stone or overhanging tuft.

_Tetraophasis obscurus_ of East Tibet is in both sexes {230}brownish-grey above, with blackish markings anteriorly, olive tints on the mantle, and buff on the wings; the throat and some blotches on the flanks are chestnut, the breast is grey with black spots, the abdomen grey and buff, the tail mainly black and white. The male has two stout spurs. _T. széchenyii_ of Central Tibet has the throat fawn-coloured, and the whole of the under parts blotched with chestnut. The habits are apparently somewhat similar to those of the last genus. _Lerwa nivicola_, the "Snow-Partridge," ranging from the Himalayas to Western China, has black upper parts with white cross-bars, which become rufous buff on the mantle and wings; the under surface is chestnut, with black and white markings only shewing towards the belly. A pair of spurs distinguishes the cock from the hen. This species inhabits broken grassy or heathery sides of mountains in the midst of snow, up to an altitude of at least fourteen thousand feet; it is tamer than the Snow-Pheasant, flies equally well, and nestles under jutting rocks. The coveys feed on moss, seeds, and insects, and utter a short double Grouse-like note or a harsh whistle.

Sub-fam. 4. _Odontophorinae_,[164]–The "American Partridges," are Quail-like birds, rarely attaining the size of a Red Grouse, and readily distinguished from their kin by the doubly-toothed mandible and the lack of spurs. The sexes are alike, if not otherwise stated.

Of some four species of _Dendrortyx_, ranging from South Mexico to Costa Rica, _D. macrurus_, of the former country, has a black head and throat, with a long white streak above and below each eye, and a rufous tip to the short, full occipital crest. The neck and back are chestnut and grey; the rump, wings, and tail are browner with black mottlings; the breast is greyish with rufous streaks. The bill, feet, and naked orbits are coral-red. _Callipepla squamata_, of the South-Western United States and Mexico, has a grey-brown head, with white-tipped crest and buff throat; the wings, rump, and tail are brownish-grey with white inner margins to some of the scapulars and secondaries; the mid-breast and belly are fawn-coloured. The remaining plumage is grey, with black margins to the feathers which cause a scaly appearance, and shews dusky triangular spots beneath. _Oreortyx pictus_ of the Western United States possesses two very long black occipital plumes; olive-brown upper parts with white edges to the scapulars and outer secondaries; slaty head, neck, {231}and lower surface, with chestnut throat and abdomen, of which the former is laterally margined with white; a white band from the chin to the lores; and chestnut flanks, barred with black and white. _Lophortyx californicus_, of the same countries, has the head and crest of two club-shaped feathers black, a yellow forehead, olive-grey upper parts, a black throat outlined with white, buff mid-breast, and chestnut belly, each feather of the last two being edged with black. A white band connects the eyes and continues behind them, while white streaks grace the sides and flanks. The female lacks the black and white pattern on the head, and has whitish lower parts with yellow-brown throat. Two other species extend the range to Mexico, _Philortyx fasciatus_ of South Mexico has an olive-brown upper surface, washed with rufous on the crown and the greyer neck and mantle, and barred or blotched with black and buff on the lower back, wings, and tail; the blackish crest is tipped with red; the throat and lower parts are white, with a few median spots and pronounced black bars on the chest, sides, and flanks, where the feathers have rusty margins. _Eupsychortyx cristatus_ of Curaçao and Aruba has half a dozen congeners, ranging through Central and northern South America. It has a buff crest, crown, and throat; black and white nape and cheeks; reddish-grey upper parts mottled and blotched with black and buff; and rufous lower surface, barred with black, and spotted on the chest, sides, and flanks with white. In the female the black on the head is replaced by buff. _Ortyx virginianus_ of the Eastern United States is rufous and grey above with black blotches, the crown is blackish, the sides of the head are transversely striped with black and white, the white throat is margined with black, the lower parts are reddish-white with black chevrons. The hen-bird has a buff throat, and shews little black on the cheeks. This genus contains eight members, often called Colins, which range as far south as Mexico and Cuba. The three species of _Cyrtonyx_ extend from the Southern United States to Guatemala; they all have full crests, highly-developed wing-coverts, and very short, soft tails. The sides of the head and neck exhibit a peculiar black and white pattern, while those of the body are grey, ocellated with white or varied with chestnut. The females lack the pattern on the head. As an example, _C. montezumae_ is rufous above, barred with black, and streaked with buff and white; the breast being chiefly {232}chestnut and the abdomen black. _Dactylortyx thoracicus_ of Central America has brown upper parts, with black blotches and rufous and buff mottlings; the superciliary stripes, cheeks, and throat are chestnut, with a black patch on each side of the last; the under surface is reddish-grey with white shaft-stripes. In the hen the chestnut is replaced by whitish. The crest is not so full as in _Odontophorus_, of which some fourteen species extend from South Mexico to Bolivia and South Brazil. _O. guianensis_, ranging from Panama to Bolivia and Amazonia, has the head and throat mainly chestnut, the neck and mantle grey, the lower back reddish-brown–all except the grey portions being marked with buff and black; the mid-throat is grey, the under parts orange-brown, with dusky barring on the chest and sides. The naked orbits are reddish; the bill is black, the feet are rather lighter, as in the Sub-family generally. _Rhynchortyx spodiostethus_ of Veragua and Panama has the crown brown, the rest of the head chiefly rusty-red, the mantle grey and brown, the lower back buff relieved by grey and black, the wings more chestnut, the lower parts dark grey, with white and buff centres to the throat and breast respectively, and black-barred flanks. _R. cinctus_ of Veragua has a rufous chest and olive-brown cheeks.

As an instance of the habits we may take _Ortyx virginianus_, called Bob-white from the shrill triple whistle of the male, which resembles "Ah-bob-white." It is a wary denizen of open woods and pastures, found in coveys, and roosting on the ground, though habitually taking refuge in trees, where it crouches upon the branches. It runs very swiftly, but rises, when hard pressed, with a whirring noise to fly for a short distance. The food consists of succulent shoots, seeds, berries, acorns, beech-nuts, and insects; the nest is imbedded in grass or placed at the foot of a tree, and is made of a little herbage, which may even arch over it; the white or drab eggs number from nine to eighteen. The male is said to assist in incubation, two broods being occasionally reared in a season. The female utters a clucking sound, and will feign lameness when with her brood.

Other forms prefer pine-forests, rocky ground, or dry sandy flats overgrown with cactus and sage-brush; their cries being in some cases louder or more guttural, while the eggs may be blotched or spotted with reddish-brown. Nests have even been recorded low down in trees. _Ortyx virginianus_ has been {233}introduced into the West Indies and the Old World, though unsuccessfully in the latter; _Lophortyx californicus_ into Europe, the Sandwich Islands, and New Zealand, in the last two of which it is firmly established. In America, moreover, some species seem to have lately extended their range. Hybrids are occasionally found.

Sub-fam. 5. _Tetraoninae._–_Bonasa umbellus_, the Ruffed Grouse, which inhabits the greater part of North America, is remarkable for the frills of black or chestnut feathers surmounting a bare space on the sides of the neck, and for the partially naked metatarsi. Both sexes are rufous or greyish above, with buff and black markings, a short blackish crest, and a black subterminal tail-bar; the under parts being buff, relieved by brown and white. Great variation, however, is shown, and sub-species may be easily differentiated. When undisturbed, the "Pheasant" or "Partridge," as it is variously called by local sportsmen, is tame, and prefers undulating wooded country in the neighbourhood of cultivation, though it is also found in proximity to the hills. The habits resemble those of the following species, but the food is somewhat more varied, and includes beech-nuts, chestnuts, and acorns. In spring the cock often struts upon some log, and drums after the manner of other American grouse; but the habit is not confined to that season, nor is the sound produced by inflated neck-sacs, but by the wings. The absence of the hens, moreover, suggests that the performance is not amatory. From eight to fourteen or more eggs are laid, of a whitish or buff colour, with or without round reddish spots. _B. sylvestris_, the Hazel Grouse–the Gelinotte of the French–is a smaller and darker bird, with white markings on the wings, and a black throat surrounded by a white line, which reaches to the forehead. There is no ruff, and the female differs from the male in her whitish throat. It inhabits hill-forests in Europe and Asia up to three thousand feet, extending southward to Northern Spain, North Italy, Transylvania, China, and Japan, but not occurring in Britain. The food consists of shoots and buds of birch and hazel, seeds, berries, and other fruit, worms, insects, and their larvae. The flight is noisy, but not protracted, the birds resorting to trees and squatting on the branches. The usual note is a melancholy whistle, followed by a chirping sound. The slight nest contains from six to fifteen yellowish eggs, spotted with a little rufous, which are deposited early in spring, as is commonly the case in the Family. _B. {234}griseiventris_ and _B. severtzovi_ are the representative forms in the Government of Perm in Russia, and the districts from Koko-Nor to South Mongolia respectively. The Old World species, sometimes denominated _Tetrastes_, are monogamous, and do not "drum."

Different races of _Pedioecetes phasianellus_, the well-known Prairie Chicken, occupy America as far southwards as North California, New Mexico, Wisconsin, and Illinois. Both male and female shew black, red-brown, and yellowish tints above, with white streaks on the scapulars and spots on the wings, the lower surface being white with dusky markings. The short tail, with two elongated, but truncated median rectrices, gives it the name of Sharp-tailed Grouse. This shy denizen of the woods and prairies extends almost to the Arctic barren grounds in spring, that season being remarkable for the conduct of both sexes, which meet to hold regular dances on elevated spots, aptly compared to the hills of Ruffs. No doubt the cocks are the chief performers, but they are said to be monogamous, though their actions resemble those of their polygamous allies. The flight is strong and rapid, with alternate periods of flapping and sailing; the note is a triple whistle or a "cack-cack-cack." The food includes shoots of plants, grass, berries, and insects, the last-named being the chief diet of the young, as in the case of many other American Grouse. About fourteen eggs are deposited in a cavity scraped amidst rank herbage, and but slightly lined; their colour is brownish with darker spots, or occasionally creamy with marks of red.

_Centrocercus urophasianus_, the Sage-Cock of the Western United States and the adjoining portions of British America, has the upper parts mottled with black, grey-brown, rufous, and buff, the lower parts black, relieved by a white chest. The tail is long and wedge-shaped, with attenuated feathers; the sides of the neck and lower throat possess stiff spiny plumage, and the former bare orange air-sacs, as in the species next to be mentioned. The female lacks the black spots on the white throat. This bird, the largest of the New World Tetraoninae, is generally unsuspicious, and runs ahead of the traveller uttering cackling or clucking notes; when hard pressed it rises with fluttering action, and flies off rapidly to a considerable distance. The food consists chiefly of "sage-brush" (_Artemisia tridentata_), but other leaves and flowers, seeds, berries, grain, and insects vary the fare. The habits at the mating-time resemble those of _Dendragapus_ and {235}_Tympanuchus_, while the eggs, from seven to seventeen in number, may be found placed in an excavation of the bare soil, or resting on a slight lining; they are drab or olive in colour, with roundish brown spots. What seems to be the ground colour is easily rubbed off before incubation commences, a fact noticeable in other Galline birds and Plovers. The Sage-Grouse reaches a considerable elevation, as does the sage-brush, which gives its name to the bird.

_Tympanuchus americanus_, the Prairie-hen, found in the districts drained by the Mississippi and its confluents, and thence northwards to Ontario, is brown above, barred with buff and black, and chiefly paler brown below, marked with white. The small crest is tipped with white, and a tuft of long, stiff, black feathers covers the inflatable yellow air-sacs on the sides of the neck, the sacs being absent and the tufts shorter in females. In spring parties assemble after daybreak on dry knolls, and conduct their love affairs after the fashion of the Dusky Grouse (p. 236), a booming noise being audible from afar, and the skin of the neck being expanded below the erected tufts. The cocks are most pugnacious when the pairing-time is nearly over. Shoots of plants, berries, grain, acorns, and insects constitute the food. The flight is powerful and rapid, but individuals often run and squat. For a Grouse the nest is considerable; and from eleven to fourteen, or even twenty, creamy or olive-coloured eggs are deposited, with very small reddish-brown spots. _T. cupido_, the Heath-Hen of the eastern United States, now only found on the island of Martha's Vineyard, off Massachusetts, has smaller neck-tufts of pointed feathers, and more conspicuous whitish marks on the scapulars. _T. pallidicinctus_, the Lesser Prairie-Hen, ranging from Texas to Kansas, is barred with brown, margined on each side with black.

_Dendragapus obscurus_, the Dusky, Blue, or Pine-Grouse of the Rocky Mountain districts, has black upper parts mottled with grey and a little brown, and pure grey under surface; the female having a considerable admixture of buff, and the male possessing air-sacs like those of _Tympanuchus_. A darker race, _D. fuliginosus_, extends the range to Sitka and California. Another northern form, which lacks the broad grey tail-band, is termed _D. richardsoni_. These birds frequent wooded ravines up to nine thousand feet, preferring the neighbourhood of water, and feeding as do their allies. The characteristic booming noise, common to this species and others, may be heard throughout the day in spring, the male {236}choosing some horizontal bough or convenient spot of ground whereon to display himself with drooping wings, expanded tail, and inflated air-sacs. Rarely can an observer gain a view, so misleading is the ventriloquistic effect of the sound. The nest, commonly placed beneath a branch or near a tussock, is a mere depression in the soil lined with herbage, leaves, or fir-needles. The eight to twelve eggs are creamy-buff, with round brown dots.

_Canachites_ (_Canace_) _canadensis_, the Canada Grouse or "Spruce-Partridge," found from Alaska and British America to the north-eastern United States, is black, with lead-coloured bars above, and a white pectoral band below, the tail having a chestnut tip, which is wanting in the browner _C. franklini_ of the north-western Rocky Mountains. In the female the grey is chiefly replaced by orange. It is a tame species, and flies but a short distance before alighting on some tree. The food consists of "spruce" buds and larch needles, with berries of _Vaccinium_ (bilberry, cranberry, etc.), _Empetrum_ (crowberry), and so forth. It is not polygamous; but a most curious account of the cock's habits of showing off and drumming is given by Bendire.[165] The hen constructs a nest of dry moss, leaves, and twigs upon the ground, under shelter of some overhanging bough, and lays from eight to eighteen reddish-buff eggs with brown spots. _Falcipennis hartlaubi_, a very similar species, distinguished by slender sickle-shaped outer primaries, occurs in North-East Siberia, Kamtschatka, and Saghalien.

_Tetrao urogallus_, the Capercaillie, apparently not uncommon in Scotland until 1770, and exterminated in Ireland about the same date, was reintroduced at Taymouth Park, Perthshire, in 1838, and is now fairly plentiful in Central North Britain. Failure has attended similar attempts in Ireland. The discoveries of bones in Teesdale and near Torquay shew that this bird's range once extended to Yorkshire and Devonshire, while similar finds have been made in Aquitaine and Denmark. At the present day it inhabits sub-alpine pine-forests from Scandinavia, the Pyrenees, North Italy, and Greece to Lake Baikal and the Altai Mountains, being represented in the Urals by a sub-species, _T. uralensis_. The male is almost entirely blackish-grey above, with somewhat darker tail, and black below with greenish chest. The female is smaller, and is mottled with brown, buff, black, and white, merging into rufous on the breast, which is barred with black. A variable {237}amount of white occurs beneath in both sexes. The brown hair-like feathers on the legs are longest in winter, a fact true also in the Ptarmigan and elsewhere. A cross between the hen Capercaillie and the Black-Cock is known in North Europe as the Rackelhahn (_T. medius_).[166] The "lek" or "spel," as the love-performance is called, has been described in detail by many authors;[167] it takes place in spring, and occasionally in autumn, when the excited male struts with drooping wings and erect outspread tail before the assembled females, uttering curious noisy cries, to which they reply with softer plaintive notes. He is said to be deaf during the "play." At times he takes up a position on some lofty bough with the evident intention of challenging his rivals, who quickly respond to the provocation; ere long they join in combat upon the ground, leaping and rushing upon one another in their blind rage, and using bills, wings, and claws as weapons of offence. The flight of the Capercaillie is heavy though strong. The food consists chiefly of young pine-shoots, which are apt to give the flesh a flavour of turpentine, but includes berries, insects, and worms. About a dozen yellowish-white eggs, freckled with dull orange, are deposited in a hole scraped for the purpose near the foot of a tree, a slight lining being sometimes added. _T. parvirostris_ (_urogalloïdes_) of North-East Siberia, with comparatively slender bill and purplish-green head, and _T. kamtschaticus_ of Kamtschatka, are distinguished by their white-tipped scapulars.

_Lyrurus tetrix_, the Black Grouse, called according to the sex Black Cock or Grey Hen, ranges over Europe north of the Pyrenees and Apennines, as well as through Northern Asia to the Tian-Shan Mountains and Pekin. It inhabits the wilder moorlands of the north and west of England, being much less plentiful in the Midlands, and very rare in the east. It has, however, been introduced into Norfolk, and unsuccessfully into Ireland, while it has been restored to Surrey, Sussex, and Berks, and still occurs in Wilts, Dorset, Hants, Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall. In Scotland it frequents most suitable districts, but does not reach Orkney, Shetland, or the Outer Hebrides. The male, remarkable for his lyrate tail with its outwardly curved rectrices, is black with steel-blue reflexions, exhibiting a little brown in parts, {238}a white bar on the wing, and white under tail-coverts. The female is rufous and buff, barred and spotted with black, and shewing but little white. This bird is usually found on broken ground or in open woodlands, where it conceals itself among long heath, bracken, or grass. The polygamous cocks meet at dawn in spring to fight for the hens, parading before them in great excitement with depressed outspread tails, while uttering a drumming or cooing noise. At other times the call-note is loud and clear. The flight is powerful but heavy; the food includes berries, seeds, grain, shoots, buds, and insects. The nest is merely a scantily-lined hollow, situated at the foot of a tree, or in heather and the like, often near plantations. The six to ten eggs have a yellowish ground-colour, with scattered orange-brown blotches, the markings being larger than in the Capercaillie. In some winters these Grouse allow themselves to be snowed up, as occasionally do other species. _L. mlokosiewiczi_ of the Caucasus has the rectrices only slightly curved, and black under tail-coverts. Hybrids between the Black Cock and the Willow Grouse are called Riporre in Scandinavia.

_Lagopus scoticus_, the Red Grouse or Muirfowl, the only bird entirely confined to our islands, differs from its congeners in never becoming white in winter. It varies considerably in coloration,[168] but is usually considered a local form of the Willow Grouse (_L. albus_) of the north of Europe, Asia, and America. The male in both summer and winter is more or less chestnut-brown above, with black markings and a reddish head; the lower parts are similar, but are usually spotted with white. In autumn the brown of the upper parts becomes buff, and the lower surface is barred with buff and black. Mr. Ogilvie Grant[169] recognises three types of plumage in the male, a red form with no white spots, from Ireland and Western Scotland; a blackish variety comparatively rarely found; and another largely spotted with white below or even above. Intermediate specimens constitute the bulk of our birds. The female exhibits, moreover, a buff-spotted and a buff-barred form; but in summer she is typically black above with concentric buff markings, and buff below with black bars. Her autumn plumage, which continues throughout the winter, is black, spotted with buff and barred with rufous.

{239}

Little need be said of the habits of this well-known species, nor will space allow of a description of the methods of killing it by driving and so forth; but it may be observed that it utters a clear ringing note, us well as the familiar cok-cok-cok, and feeds upon grain and tender shoots of ling (_Calluna_) and heather (_Erica_), besides other plants. The nest of moss, grass, and the like is placed amidst heather, and contains from six to ten, or even more, yellowish-white eggs, thickly blotched and spotted with fine red-brown, purplish, or black. In England the Red Grouse is found as far south as Derbyshire and Shropshire, in Wales to Glamorgan; while unsuccessful attempts have been made to introduce it into Surrey and elsewhere. In Ireland it is rather thinly distributed, but in Scotland it reaches the Orkneys, and an occasional brood has been known to be reared in Shetland, where a few pairs were turned down between 1858 and 1883. It has also been acclimatized in Southern Sweden. _Lagopus albus_, the Willow Grouse of Northern Europe, Asia, and America, termed the "Dal-riporre" in Scandinavia, is completely white in winter, except for the lateral rectrices, which are chiefly black; in summer it resembles the Red Grouse, but is distinguished by the white wing-quills. The female is smaller. The habits {240}are similar to those of the last-named, but a preference is shewn for willow- and birch-scrub; shoots of these trees or of _Vaccinium_, with various moorland berries, furnishing the food. A performance recalling the "lek" of the Capercaillie is said to be given by the male in spring, a fact also true of the succeeding species.[170] _L. mutus_, the Ptarmigan or Fjeld-riporre, is in summer blackish-brown with grey and rufous markings, the median tail-feathers, abdomen, and most of the wings being white. The back becomes grey in autumn. The female is reddish-buff, barred with black. In winter both sexes are white, with black and white rectrices, and in the male with black lores. Nearly all the so-called Ptarmigan in English poulterers' shops are Willow Grouse. The haunts are on the higher parts of mountain-ranges, where stony ground abounds, but somewhat lower altitudes are sought after the breeding season. The food consists of shoots and berries; the cry is croaking, and best heard in misty weather. From five to ten eggs, with blacker markings than those of Red Grouse, are deposited in a hole scraped in the earth, with little or no lining, the nest being commonly quite exposed, though equally often under shelter of a boulder. Ptarmigan are decidedly difficult to see among the similarly-coloured stones. In Scotland they occur on most of the higher hills from Arran northwards, though no longer in Dumfries and Galloway; while abroad they occupy Northern Europe, with the Pyrenees and the Alps, and possibly Northern Asia. In the lighter _L. rupestris_ the adult male never has a black breast or a grey back in autumn. This form occurs in North Asia and North America, with Greenland, Iceland, and Japan, many local races having been described as distinct species or sub-species; while the larger _L. hyperboreus_ (_hemileucurus_), with a white base to the tail, inhabits Spitsbergen; and _L. leucurus_, with entirely white rectrices–the smallest member of the genus–ranges along the Rocky Mountains from British Columbia to New Mexico.

Of fossil forms _Coturnix_ and _Palaeortyx_ occur in the Upper Eocene of the Paris Basin, _Taoperdix_ in the calcareous deposits of Languedoc of the same age; _Palaeortyx_ is again found with three species of _Palaeoperdix_, in the Middle Miocene of France, while _Phasianus_ is not only recorded from {241}this formation, but from the Upper Miocene of Oeningen and the Pliocene of Attica, in the latter of which _Gallus_ accompanies it. _Meleagris_ has been discovered in the Miocene of Colorado, and the Post-pliocene of New Jersey; _Gallus_ in the Pliocene of France, _Palaeotetrix_ and _Pedioecetes_ in that of Oregon; and, finally, bones of _Lagopus_ have been brought to light in the French Plistocene, and those of _Tetrao urogallus_ at Kent's Hole near Torquay and in the caves of Teesdale in England.

Fam. VII. OPISTHOCOMIDAE.–The curious and highly specialized Hoatzin (_Opisthocomus cristatus_) has been the subject of much discussion among systematists, as the outcome of which it is necessary to adopt for it a special Sub-Order OPISTHOCOMI. Buffon classed it with the Curassows, P. L. S. Müller and Gmelin placed it in the Linnean genus _Phasianus_; but Illiger recognised a genus _Opisthocomus_, while Huxley and Garrod fully admitted its claim to higher rank than that of a Family. The habits are to some extent Ralline, and certain points of structure indicate a considerable affinity to the _Cuculi_.

The sternum is utterly unlike that of any other species, the anterior portion of the keel being aborted, and the posterior correlated with a flattened area of thick naked skin, on which the bird mainly rests. These modifications are no doubt connected with the extraordinarily large crop, which is supported by the furcula and the fore-part of the breast-bone, being received in a cavity of the pectoral muscles; the whole organ is decidedly muscular, and contains two divisions with a partial constriction between them. The body is long and thin, the bill is strong with basal serrations on the maxilla; bristles surround the gape, and the eye-lids have distinct lashes–a rare fact among birds. The reticulated metatarsi are fairly stout; the toes are long; the hallux being unusually developed and the claws slightly curved. The short rounded wings have ten primaries and nine secondaries. The nearly even tail is elongated, with ten stiff feathers. The plumage in both sexes is olive above with white markings, and dull rufous below; the long loose crest and the tip of the tail are yellowish, and a patch of bare bluish-black skin surrounds the eyes. The tongue is sagittate, the furcula is Y-shaped and ossifies anteriorly with the coracoids, an aftershaft is present, the down of the adults is sparing, while a small amount–of a reddish-brown colour–is observable in the newly-hatched {242}young. The syrinx has one pair of muscles inserted on the distal end of the trachea.

The Hoatzin or "Anna," which is about the size of a Pigeon, ranges from Colombia to the Lower Amazons and Bolivia, where it haunts the sides of lagoons, creeks, and rivers covered with a thick growth of low trees or bushes, which project over the stream or the mud left bare by the tide. In these tangled solitudes it skulks during the heat of the day, while at other times it may be observed squatting upon the branches, mainly supported on the patch of hardened skin already mentioned. When disturbed the bird flies off awkwardly for some forty yards with a violent flapping motion, or progresses by leaps from bough to bough, erecting its crest and expanding its wings and tail. The note is sharp and shrill, and has been described as a hissing screech. The food consists of leaves and fruit of the prickly _Drepanocarpus lunulatus_, of the Aroid _Montrichardia arborescens_, of _Avicennia nitida_, and of a species of _Psidium_. The conspicuous nest, placed on low trees or shrubs, is a loose platform of spiny twigs and sticks with a softer lining, which contains from three to five yellowish-white eggs of a Rail-like appearance, spotted with reddish-brown and lilac. The young, which can see and run as soon as they are hatched, have a claw on both index and pollex, by means of which they creep about the thickets and hook themselves over the branches, assisted by the bill and feet. They can also swim and dive. A strong musky odour is given off by the adults, whence they are termed "Stinking Pheasants" in Guiana. The male has been asserted to be polygamous.

_Opisthocomus cristatus._ × ⅕.]

{243}ORDER X. GRUIFORMES.

The Gruiformes, which lie between the Galliformes and the Charadriiformes, compose a somewhat heterogeneous Order, which includes forms so different as the _Rallidae_ (Rails), _Gruidae_ (Cranes), _Aramidae_ (Limpkins), _Psophiidae_ (Trumpeters), _Cariamidae_ (Seriemá and Chuñia), _Otididae_ (Bustards), _Rhinochetidae_ (Kagu), _Eurypygidae_ (Sun-Bitterns), and _Heliornithidae_ (Finfoots). Of these a large number are Waders, but the Land-Rail, the Wekas, the Kagu, the Bustards, and others, cannot be classed in this category. All agree in having no true crop, a tracheo-bronchial syrinx, and an elevated hallux; while the front toes are never completely webbed, though nearly so in _Heliornis_; the nares, moreover, are pervious, except in _Rhinochetus_. In the last-named the condition of the newly-hatched young is unknown, in _Heliornis_ they are said to be naked at first, but in the remainder of the group they are covered with simple down. In structure the nine Families differ widely, a fact which would seem a strong argument against combining them under one head; but the aggregate of such points must be considered, and in any linear system the relationships within every Order cannot possibly be equally close. The present arrangement does not differ greatly from that adopted by Mr. Sclater,[171] wherein he accepted the names _Alectorides_ and _Fulicariae_, used by Nitzsch, but made the former to consist of the _Aramidae_, _Eurypygidae_, _Gruidae_, _Psophiidae_, _Cariamidae_, and _Otididae_, and the latter of the _Rallidae_ and _Heliornithidae_. Some writers, both modern and ancient, have placed the _Otididae_ in the Limicoline group.

Fam. I. RALLIDAE.–The Rails constitute a somewhat generalized and very homogeneous Family, found in almost all parts of the world. The body is peculiarly compressed–enabling them to move with ease in dense vegetation–while the keel of the sternum is especially reduced in those flightless forms for which the group is remarkable. The strong bill varies in dimensions, being long in typical Rails, shorter and thicker in Crakes, decidedly curved in _Himantornis_, and reaching its maximum size among the Gallinules in _Porphyrio_ and _Notornis_, where it is subconical. A horny shield is present upon the forehead in _Megacrex_, _Habroptila_, the Gallinules and the Coots, which is usually rounded or truncated {244}posteriorly, but is reduced to a point in _Porphyriops_. This excrescence is in most cases red, but is sky-blue, light green, or dusky in _Porphyriola_, green in _Tribonyx_, blackish in _Megacrex_, white, yellow, or brown in _Fulica_. The lower part of the tibia is bare; the anteriorly scutellated metatarsus is seldom short, though occasionally very stout; the toes are long and slender with the elevated hallux weakest; the claws are fairly long, curved, and sharp. Somewhat shorter digits are found in _Tribonyx_ and _Pareudiastes_, _Fulica_ has broad lobes of skin along the front toes, while _Porphyriops_ and _Gallinula_ have narrow entire membranous margins to them. The wings are generally short and rounded, with ten or eleven primaries, and from eleven to sixteen secondaries, all the feathers being obtuse; but in many species these members are imperfectly developed, and their coverts actually hide the quills in such cases as _Ocydromus_ and _Notornis_. This retrograde tendency is clearly evidenced in the "Island Hen" of Tristan da Cunha (_Gallinula_ or _Porphyriornis nesiotis_) and the Mountain Cock of Gough Island (_G. comeri_), which flutter along without flying; in the Moho of Hawaii (_Pennula ecaudata_), _Ocydromus_ and _Notornis_ of New Zealand, and _Habroptila wallacii_ of Halmahera; not to mention _Eulabeornis_, _Porzanula_, _Nesolimnas_, _Cabalus_, _Pareudiastes_, and the extinct _Aphanapteryx_, _Aptornis_, _Diaphorapteryx_, and _Erythromachus_. In several flightless forms, as in the Dodo, the angle between the scapula and the coracoid is obtuse. The tail has from ten to fourteen rectrices, the usual number being twelve; these are short and usually soft, frequently with decomposed webs, and may be concealed by the coverts, as in _Megacrex_, _Amurolimnas_, and _Pennula_. Its form varies from narrow and pointed to comparatively broad and rounded. A large caruncle rises behind the frontal shield in _Gallicrex_ and _Fulica cornuta_, two knobs being found there in _F. cristata_: the wing, moreover, is often armed with a sharp spine. The nasal grooves are commonly long and deep; the pervious nostrils being in the hard sheath of the bill in Gallinules, and partially covered by a bony or horny growth in _Rallicula_, _Pareudiastes_, and _Thyrorhina_. The furcula is U-shaped, the tongue lanceolate, the aftershaft very small. Down is plentiful in both adults and young, that of the nestlings being commonly black, while the chicks of our Moor-Hen and Coot have the head adorned with red and blue. Rails, not being born blind, run from the shell, and swim at once.

{245}Ralline birds are under ordinary circumstances non-gregarious, and inhabit tangled marshes or damp localities near rivers and lakes; but many, and especially the flightless forms, have a predilection for dry plains, as for instance _Pennula_ of Hawaii, _Ocydromus_ of New Zealand, _Cabalus_ of the Chatham Islands, _Habroptila_ of Halmahera, _Tricholimnas_ of New Caledonia, and _Pareudiastes_ of Samoa. _Crex pratensis_ of the Palaearctic Region also haunts dry lands. _Fulica gigantea_ occurs only on the lakes in the Andes of Chili, Bolivia, and Peru. Some species are partly crepuscular, and in Britain the Spotted Crake is certainly little heard except towards evening. Rails walk easily with bobbing head and jerking tail, while they prefer running to flying, as the flight is laboured and requires continuous action of the wings. As may be readily seen in the case of Coots and Moor-Hens, some difficulty is experienced in rising from water, the feet trailing along the surface for several yards; but, when once fairly launched in the air, the legs, which at first hang down, are drawn up below the tail, and a steady pace is maintained for considerable distances. Most species swim and dive with facility, and will even remain with only the bill above water; perching and climbing, too, are common habits. Generally speaking, the members of this Family are silent birds, though they may be constantly heard calling towards dusk; the more or less melancholy notes are less varied than in many other groups, but may be harsh and sonorous, or loud and clear. The groaning noise uttered by the breeding Water-Rail, the somewhat frog-like sound made by the Moor-Hen, the continuous craking of the Corn-Crake, the "cackling" of the Clapper-Rail, the shrill whistle of the Wekas, the rasping cry of _Ocydromus sylvestris_, the deep trumpeting of the Purple Gallinule, and the clearer call of the Coot are some of the most notable exceptions. The food consists of worms, molluscs, insects and their larvae, green herbage, tubers, roots of aquatic plants and seeds; _Porphyrio_ and _Tribonyx_ cause serious damage to potato-, rice-, and corn-crops: while the former bird is said to have a curious habit of holding the larger edibles in its claws and nibbling them like a Parrot. Some of the stronger species occasionally prey on mice, lizards, young birds, and eggs. The nest may be a large mass of aquatic plants or dry flags, as in the Coots, or a similar but smaller structure, as in the Gallinules; the former being commonly founded under water, though raised above it, whereas the latter is generally near the bank {246}or–exceptionally–at the height of a few feet in a tree or bush. Rails and Crakes make a more or less substantial fabric in sedges, grass, clover, and so forth, _Creciscus_ and _Porzanula_ a spherical mass with an entrance at the side; but _Pareudiastes_, _Cabalus_, and _Ocydromus_ are stated to breed in most cases in burrows. _Gallicrex_ occasionally fashions its nest on floating leaves, and the writer has seen a Moor-Hen's nest in a similar situation. The eggs, from two to ten or more in number, are generally white or cream-coloured with red-brown, olive, or blackish markings, and often with faint lilac spots; those of the Coot are stone-drab with small black specks; those of _Cabalus modestus_ are white with a few indistinct rufous and grey flecks; those of _Zapornia parva_ and _Porzana bailloni_ are instances of a thick olive-brown mottling. The adults are stated sometimes to carry their young in their claws.

Exceptionally the plumage of the Rallidae is nearly black, as in _Limnocorax_, _Fulica_, and _Habroptila_; slightly browner, as in Gallinula; blue or greenish-blue as in _Porphyrio_: but the coloration is normally sober, with a tendency to olive, brown, or chestnut. This may be relieved by stripes of white, especially on the flanks; the under parts may be nearly red as in _Creciscus levraudi_; and both surfaces may be spotted with white as in the male of _Corethrura pulchra_, or flecked and barred with it, as in _Rallus maculatus_. The sexes are usually alike, but _Rallicula_, _Zapornia_, _Gallicrex_, and _Corethrura_ are instances of the contrary.

Space, however, is wanting to give in detail a description of every form, which is the less necessary in view of their general similarity; but the following examples will enable a fair idea to be gained of the group.

_Rallus aquaticus_, the Water Rail of Europe and Central Asia, which winters in North-West India and North Africa, is olive-brown above with darker streaks, and lead-coloured below, the flanks being barred with black and white. The genus is found in most parts of the world, with the apparent exception of North-West Africa and the Australian Region. _Rallus elegans_, the King-Rail, _R. longirostris_ (_crepitans_), the Clapper-Rail, and _R. virginianus_ are well-known North American species, while _R. madagascariensis_ is confined to Madagascar.

In _Hypotaenidia_, which ranges from India and South China to the Pacific Islands generally, the whole lower parts are barred with black and white, except in _H. striata_ and _H. mülleri_, where {247}these markings are restricted to the sides and abdominal region, and in _H. brachypus_, where the belly is plain.