Feathers of the crown elongated; two tufts of lanceolate elongated
feathers on the sides of the neck, under which is an oblong bare
orange-coloured space on either side, capable of being inflated; tail
very short, much rounded, of eighteen feathers. Male with the upper
parts blackish-brown, transversely marked with broad undulating bands
of light yellowish-red; wing-coverts and secondaries of a lighter
brown, tinged with grey, and barred with pale red: primary quills
greyish-brown, with black shafts, and spots of pale reddish on the
outer webs, tail dark brown, narrowly tipped with dull white, the two
middle feathers mottled with brownish-red; loral space, a band from
the lower mandible over the cheek, and the throat, pale yellowish-red;
a band of blackish-brown under the eye; extending to the ear-coverts,
and another on the side of the throat; cervical tufts, with the
feathers dark brown on the outer webs, pale yellowish-red and margined
with dusky on the inner; lower parts greyish-white, tinged with yellow
on the sides, with large transverse curved bands of greyish-brown;
lower tail-coverts arranged in three series, dusky at the base, white
at the end; tibial and tarsal feathers grey, obscurely and minutely
banded with yellowish-brown. Female considerably smaller, without the
crest, cervical tufts, or air-bags, but otherwise similar to the male.
_Male_, 18, 27-1/2.
Abundant from Texas throughout all the western prairies, to very high
up the Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois, and Ohio. Almost extirpated in
the Middle and Eastern Districts. Resident.
Pinnated Grouse, Tetrao Cupido, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. iii. p.
104.
Tetrao Cupido, Bonap. Syn. p. 126.
Pinnated Grouse, Nutt. Man. v. i. p. 662.
Pinnated Grouse, Tetrao Cupido, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. ii. p. 490;
v. v. p. 559.
**** Toes partially feathered. Tail graduated.
299. 5. Tetrao Urophasianus, Bonap. Pheasant-tailed Grouse.--Cock of
the Plains.
Plate CCCLXXI. Male and Female.
Male with bristle-feathers on the sides of the neck, on its lower part
small, scale-like feathers; a large bare yellow space on each side,
capable of being inflated; tail long, graduated, of twenty, stiffish,
acuminate feathers. Upper parts light yellowish-brown, variegated with
brownish-black, and yellowish-white; primary quills chocolate-brown,
thin outer webs, and part of their inner margins mottled with
yellowish-white; tail with about ten bands of yellowish-white on the
outer webs, which are otherwise variegated like the back, the inner
webs nearly plain brown; throat and fore part of neck whitish,
longitudinally spotted with brownish-black; a narrow white band across
the throat; sides of the neck, and fore part of breast pure white;
sides variegated like the back; axillars and lower wing-coverts white;
and part of breast and abdomen black; lower tail-coverts
brownish-black, largely tipped with white; tibial and tarsal feathers
brownish-grey, faintly barred with brown. Female much smaller, and
differing in being destitute of the bare skin on the neck, the plumage
entirely of ordinary texture, the tail less elongated, with the
feathers less narrow; upper parts variegated as in the male, lower
dull yellowish-grey, undulated and streaked with dusky; middle of
breast brownish-black, lower tail-coverts tipped with white.
_Male_, 30, 36. _Female_, 22.
Rocky Mountains and Columbia River, northward. Once seen on the
Missouri. Abundant. Partially migratory from high to low grounds in
autumn and winter.
Tetrao urophasianus, Bonap. Amer. Orn. v. iii. pl. 21.
Tetrao (Centrocercus) urophasianus. Cock of the Plains,
Swains. & Rich. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 358.
Cock of the Plains, Nutt. Man. v. i. p. 666.
Cock of the Plains, Tetrao urophasianellus, Aud. Orn. Biog. v.
iv. p. 503.