_Pediœcetes_, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 625. (Type, _Tetrao
phasianellus_, LINN.)
[Illustration: =4543= ♂ ⅓ ⅓
_Pediœcetes phasianellus._]
GEN. CHAR. Tail short, graduated; exclusive of the much lengthened
middle part, where are two feathers (perhaps tail-coverts) with parallel
edges and truncated ends half the full rounded wing. Tarsi densely
feathered to the toes and between their bases. Neck without peculiar
feathers. Culmen between the nasal fossæ not half the total length.
Species and Varieties.
=P. phasianellus.= Above variegated with transverse spots of
yellowish-brown and black; wing-coverts with large, roundish white
spots; outer webs of primaries with quadrate white spots. Beneath
white anteriorly and along the sides, with V-shaped marks of brown or
dusky. Sexes alike in color and size.
Above blackish-dusky, variegated transversely with yellowish-brown;
scapulars with broad white medial longitudinal streaks of white.
Markings below clear, uniform blackish-dusky. Toes entirely hidden
by the long hair-like feathers of the tarsus. Head and neck with the
ground-color white, the throat heavily spotted with dusky. _Hab._
British America to Arctic regions …
var. _phasianellus_.
Above yellowish-brown, mixed with reddish, and variegated
transversely with black; scapulars without white longitudinal spots.
Markings beneath clear pale brown, with dusky borders. Toes entirely
bare. Head and neck deep buff, the throat not spotted. _Hab._
Prairies and plains of northern U. S., from Wisconsin and Illinois
to Oregon …
var. _columbianus_.
[Plate: PLATE LX.
1. Pediœcetes columbianus. Missouri Plains, 4543.
2. Centrocercus urophasianus. ♂ Nebraska, 12561.
3. Pediœcetes phasianellus. Hudson’s Bay, 32319.
4. Centrocercus urophasianus. ♀ Nebraska, 11349.]
Pediœcetes phasianellus, var. phasianellus, ELLIOT.