. The naturalist in Vancouver Island and British Columbia . resulting from the exposure. 300 THE SHARP-TAILED GROUSE. CHAPTER XIL SHARP-TAILED GROUSE BALD-HEADET) EAGLE — MOSQIHTOS — LAGOMTS MINIMUS (nOV. SP.) HUMMINGBIRDS—UROTRICHUS. The Sharp-tailed Grouse (Pedioccetes Phasia-nellus^ Baird; Tetrao Phasianellus^ Linn.; Centro-cercus Pliasianellus^ Jtirdine; Phasianus Colum-hiaims^ Ord.)—Specific characters : The tailconsists of eighteen feathers—prevailing coloursblack, white, and umber-yellow ; the backmarked with transverse bars, the wings withround conspicuous white spots—under purewhite ;
. The naturalist in Vancouver Island and British Columbia . resulting from the exposure. 300 THE SHARP-TAILED GROUSE. CHAPTER XIL SHARP-TAILED GROUSE BALD-HEADET) EAGLE — MOSQIHTOS — LAGOMTS MINIMUS (nOV. SP.) HUMMINGBIRDS—UROTRICHUS. The Sharp-tailed Grouse (Pedioccetes Phasia-nellus^ Baird; Tetrao Phasianellus^ Linn.; Centro-cercus Pliasianellus^ Jtirdine; Phasianus Colum-hiaims^ Ord.)—Specific characters : The tailconsists of eighteen feathers—prevailing coloursblack, white, and umber-yellow ; the backmarked with transverse bars, the wings withround conspicuous white spots—under purewhite ; the breast and sides thickly marked withY-shaped blotches of dark-brown; length about18-00; wing, 850; tail, 523 inches. This beautiful bird is alike estimable, whetherAve consider him in reference to his field qualities(therein being all a grouse ought to be, risingwith a loud rattling; whirr, and ffoin: off straio;htas an arrow, lying well to dogs, and frequentingopen grassy prairies), or viewed as a table dainty, .^i^.^;-^. -nix ^f H\^ ■. THE SHAKP-TAILED GROUSE (Pediocaetes phasianellus). MAIiES A DELICIOUS GEILL. 301 when bowled over and grilled. Though hisflesh is brown, yet for delicacy of flavour—gamein every sense of the word—Ill back him againstany other bird in the Western wilds. This grouseappears to replace the Prairie-hen (Cupidoniacupido) on all the prairies west of the EockyMountains. By the fur-traders it is called the spotted chicken; for all grouse, by the tradersand half-breeds, are called chickens! and desisr-nated specifically by either habit or colour—suchas blue chickens, wood chickens, white chickens(ptarmigan), &c. &c.; the sHs-kin of the KootanieIndians. The tail is cuneate and graduated, and abouttwo-thirds the length of the wing ; the centralpair, considerably longer than the rest, terminatein a pomt—hence the name sharp-tailed. The singular mixture of colours (white, black,and brownish-yellow), the dark blotches, trans-verse
Size: 1529px × 1634px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1860, booki, booksubjectnaturalhistory
