_Tetrao cupido_, LINN. Syst. Nat. I, 1758, 160.—GM. I, 751.—LATH.
Ind. Orn. II, 1790.—WILSON, Am. Orn. III, 1811, 104, pl. xxvii.—BON.
Mon. _Tetrao_, Am. Phil. Trans. III, 1830, 392.—NUTTALL, Man. I,
662.—AUD. Orn. Biog. II, 1834, 490; V, 1839, 559, pl. clxxxvi.—IB.
Birds Amer. V, 1842, 93, pl. ccxcxvi.—KOCH, Wiegmann’s Archiv, 1836,
I, 159.—MAX. Cab. J. VI, 1858, 439. _Bonasa cupido_, STEPHENS, Shaw’s
Gen. Zoöl. XI, 299.—GRAY, Cat. Brit. Mus. V, 1867, 88. _Cupidonia
americana_, REICH. Av. Syst. Nat. 1850, p. xxix.—BONAP. Comptes
Rendus, XLV, 1857, 428. _Cupidonia cupido_, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858,
628.—ELLIOT, P. A. N. S. 1864.—IB. Monog. Tetraon. pl.—DRESSER,
Ibis, 1866, 26 (Brownsville, Texas).—MAYNARD, B. E. Mass. 1870, 138
(Martha’s Vineyard, and Naushon Island, Mass.)
SP. CHAR. _Male_ (10,006, Tremont, Illinois; W. I. Shaw). Ground-color
above ochraceous-brown, tinged with grayish; beneath white, the feathers
of the jugulum dark rusty-chestnut beneath the surface. Head mostly deep
buff. Upper parts much broken by broad transverse spots, or irregular
bars, of deep black, this color predominating largely over the lighter
tints. Primaries and tail plain dusky; the former with roundish spots
of pale ochraceous on outer webs, the latter very narrowly tipped with
white. Lower parts with regular, continuous, sharply defined broad
bars, or narrow bands, of clear dusky-brown. A broad stripe of plain
brownish-black on side of head, beneath the eye, from rictus to end of
auriculars; a blotch of the same beneath the middle of the auriculars,
and the top of the head mostly blackish, leaving a broad superciliary
and maxillary stripe, and the whole throat immaculate buff. Neck-tufts
3.50 inches long, deep black; the longer ones uniform, the shorter with
only the edge black, the whole middle portion pale buff, shading into
deep reddish-rusty next to the black. Wing, 9.00; tail, 4.50; bill,
.40 deep by .50 long, from nostril; tarsus, 2.10; middle toe, 1.85.
_Female_ similar, but with shorter and inconspicuous cervical tufts.
_Young_ (25,998, Rockford, Illinois; Blackman). Above, including tail,
yellowish-brown; feathers with conspicuous white shaft-streaks and large
blotches of deep black. Outer webs of primaries with whitish spots. Top
of head rusty-brown with a black vertical and a dusky auricular patch.
Lower parts yellowish-white, with irregularly defined, transverse,
grayish-brown broad bars; anteriorly more spotted, the jugulum tinged
with brown.
[Illustration: =17044= ♂ ⅓ ⅓
_Cupidonia cupido._]
_Chick_ (25,989, Rockford, Ill.). Bright lemon-buff, tinged on sides
and jugulum with reddish; upper parts much washed with rusty. A narrow
auricular streak, blotches on the vertex and occiput, a stripe across
the shoulder, and blotches down the middle of the back and rump, deep
black.
HAB. Prairies of the Mississippi Valley, from Louisiana, northward. East
to Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania. Formerly along the eastern coast of
the United States from Long Island to Cape Cod, or farther. A few still
left on Naushon (?) and Martha’s Vineyard.
A pair from Calcasieu Pass, Louisiana, most resemble Illinois specimens,
but are smaller (wing, 8.60, instead of 9.00), and there is rather more
reddish, with less black, in the plumage.
[Illustration: _Cupidonia cupido._]
HABITS. The Pinnated Grouse, more generally known through the country as
the Prairie Chicken or Prairie Hen, once occurred as far to the east as
Massachusetts, a few still remaining on the island of Martha’s Vineyard,
and where it was, in the early settlement of the country, a very
abundant bird; and to the southwest to Texas and throughout the Indian
Territory, where it appears to be extending with the areas developed
by civilization. While at the East this bird has almost entirely
disappeared, in consequence of the increase of population, and except
here and there in a few small and distant districts has disappeared
from the Middle and Eastern States, at the West and Southwest it has
greatly extended its distribution, appearing in considerable numbers,
and constantly increasing as the country is settled and the land
cultivated with grain. Even in Illinois, where there has been a large
increase of population during the past ten years, these birds are known
to have become much more numerous. It is, however, probable that they
will again be driven from this region when the population becomes quite
dense. Mr. Allen met with this species in several points in Kansas and
in Colorado, where they had either just made their appearance, or where
they had recently been noticed, and were observed to be on the increase.
The small remnants left in Massachusetts are protected by law, which
may preserve them a few years longer; and in Illinois and other Western
States stringent provisions seek to prevent their wanton destruction. In
Michigan, according to Mr. D. D. Hughes, this Grouse is common in the
two southern tiers of counties, but is rarely met with in that State
farther north,—an absence attributable to the want of open country and
suitable food, as west of Lake Michigan it is found in great abundance
much farther north. In the more southern portion of the State it is
already very rare, and in localities completely exterminated.
Dr. Woodhouse found this bird quite abundant throughout the Indian
Territory; more numerous, however, in the vicinity of settlements.
During the fall of 1849, as he was passing down the Arkansas River,
along the road leading from Fort Gibson to Fort Smith, these birds were
in large flocks, feeding among the oaks upon the acorns; hundreds were
to be seen at the same time. It was also very common throughout Eastern
Texas.
Mr. Dresser found the Pinnated Grouse very common in travelling from
Brownsville to Victoria, after leaving the chaparral and entering the
prairie country. Throughout the whole of the prairie country of Texas it
is abundant.
They were found by Mr. Audubon especially abundant in the States of
Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, where his observations date
back more than half a century, and when the country was comparatively
unsettled. It was there, he states, in what was then known as the
Barrens of Kentucky, that before sunrise, or at the close of the day, he
“heard its curious boomings, witnessed its obstinate battles, watched
it during the progress of its courtships, noted its nest and eggs, and
followed its young until, fully grown, they betook themselves to winter
quarters.”
When he first removed to Kentucky the Pinnated Grouse were so plentiful,
and were held in such low estimation, that no hunter deigned to shoot
them. They were, moreover, looked upon with ill-favor by the inhabitants
on account of the mischief they committed among the fruit-trees of
the orchards during winter, when they fed upon the buds, or in the
spring, when they consumed the grain in the fields. In those days, in
the winter, this Grouse would enter the farm-yard and feed among the
poultry, would even alight on the house-tops or walk in the streets of
the villages. On one occasion he caught several alive in a stable at
Henderson, where they had followed some Wild Turkeys. Twenty-five years
later, Mr. Audubon adds, in the same country where they had been so
very abundant, scarcely one could be found. Mr. Audubon speaks of their
selling in Eastern markets, in 1840, at from five to ten dollars per
pair. This is so no longer, facilities in railroad transportation and
their continued abundance at the West rendering them a comparatively
plentiful and cheap article of food.
Mr. Audubon mentions that at the same period they were still to be
met with in some portions of New Jersey, in the “brushy” plains of
Long Island, on Mount Desert Island in the State of Maine, and also in
another tract of barren country near Mar’s Hill in the same State. In
regard to the two last-named localities he may have been misinformed.
Mr. Lawrence mentions this species as still occurring in the vicinity
of New York City. Mr. Turnbull mentioned it as now very rare, but
occasionally met with, in the counties of Monroe and Northampton in
Pennsylvania, and on the plains in New Jersey. It is not referred to by
either Professor Verrill or Mr. Boardman as occurring in any part of
Maine. It is, however, given by Mr. McIlwraith as an occasional visitor
near Hamilton, in Canada, on the western frontier, a few individuals
being occasionally observed along the banks of the St. Clair River, but
not known to occur farther east.
Mr. Audubon also mentions having found these birds abundant in all the
vast plains bordering on the prairies of the Arkansas River, and on
those of the Opelousas in Louisiana.
In the earliest days of spring, even before the snows have all been
melted, these birds no longer keep in large flocks, but separate into
smaller parties, and the mating-season commences, during which their
manners, especially those of the male, are very peculiar and striking. A
particular locality is selected, to which they resort until incubation
has commenced. The males meet in this place, and engage in furious
battle with one another. At this season they are especially conspicuous
for their great pomposity of bearing; with tails outspread and inclined
forward to meet the expanded feathers of their neck, and with the
globular, orange-colored, bladder-like receptacles of air on their necks
distended to their utmost capacity, and issuing a peculiar sound, spoken
of as _booming_, these birds strut about in the presence of one another
with various manifestations of jealous dislike and animosity, soon
ending in furious contests. Their wings are declined, in the manner of
the Cock-Turkey, and rustle on the ground as the birds pass and repass
in a rapid manner; their bodies are depressed, and their notes indicate
their intense excitement. Upon the appearance of a female answering to
their calls, they at once engage in their desperate encounters. They
rise in the air and strike at one another in the manner of a gamecock,
and several engage in a miscellaneous scrimmage, until the weaker give
way, and, one after another, seek refuge in the neighboring bushes, the
few remaining victors discontinuing their contests as if from sheer
exhaustion.
The “booming” or “tooting” sounds made by these birds is heard before
daybreak, and also at all hours before sunset, in places where they are
abundant and tame; but where they are rare and wild they are seldom
heard after sunrise, and their meetings then are in silence. Even in the
fall the young males evince their natural pugnacity by engaging in short
battles, which their parents usually interrupt and put a stop to.
This bird nests, according to the locality in which it is met with, from
the beginning of April to the last of May. In Kentucky, Mr. Audubon has
found their nests with eggs early in April, but the average period there
was the first of May. Their nests he describes as somewhat carelessly
formed of dry leaves and grasses, interwoven in a tolerably neat manner,
and always very carefully placed among the tall grass of some large tuft
in the open ground of the prairies, or, in barren lands, at the foot of
a small bush.
The eggs are said to be from eight to twelve in number, never more; they
are larger and more spherical than those of the common _umbellus_, and
are of a darker shade. The female sits upon them about twenty days, and
as soon as the young can extricate themselves from the shell the mother
leads them away, the male having previously left her.
Early in the fall the various broods begin again to associate together,
and at the approach of winter it is not uncommon to see them in flocks
of several hundred individuals.
The young broods, when come upon suddenly and taken by surprise,
instantly scatter and squat close to the ground, so that, without a dog,
it is impossible to find them. The mother gives a single loud chuck as
a signal of danger, and the young birds rise on the wing and fly a few
yards in different directions, and then keep themselves perfectly still
and quiet until the mother recalls them by a signal indicating that the
peril has passed. In the meanwhile she resorts to various devices to
draw the intruder away from the place.
This Grouse raises but a single brood in a season; and if the first
laying has been destroyed or taken, the female seeks out her mate,
makes another nest, and produces another set of eggs. These are usually
smaller in size and less in number than those of her first laying.
The Pinnated Grouse is said to be easily tamed, and may be readily
domesticated, though I do not know that the experiment has been
thoroughly tried. Mr. Audubon once kept sixty of them in a garden near
Henderson, Ky. Within a week they became tame enough to allow him to
approach them without being frightened. He supplied them with abundance
of corn and other food. In the course of the winter they became so
gentle as to feed from the hand, and walked about his garden like so
many tame fowl, mingling occasionally with the poultry. In the spring
they strutted, “tooted,” and fought as if in their wild state. Many eggs
were deposited, and a number of young birds were hatched out; but they
proved so destructive to the vegetables that the experiment was given up
and the Grouse were killed. The male birds were conspicuous for their
courage, and would engage in contest with the Turkey-cocks, and even
with the dunghill cock, rather than yield the ground.
In severe weather these birds have been known to roost in trees, but
they generally prefer to rest on the ground. Advantage is sometimes
taken to secure them by visiting their resting-places in the night with
nets. On the ground they walk somewhat in the manner of the common Hen,
but in a more erect attitude. When surprised, they rise with a whirring
sound; but if they perceive the approach of any one at a sufficient
distance, they run off with considerable speed, and hide by squatting
in the grass or among bushes. They are fond of dusting themselves in
ploughed fields or in dusty roads, rearranging their feathers in the
manner of the Wild Turkey.
When the female, with her young brood, is surprised, she instantly
ruffles up her feathers, and acts as if she contemplated flying in
your face; this she rarely, if ever, attempts, but resorts to various
artifices to decoy the intruder away.
Their flight is said to be strong, regular, and swift, and may be
protracted to the distance of several miles. It is less rapid than that
of the _umbellus_, and the whirring, as they rise from the ground, less
conspicuous. As they rise, they utter four or five very distinct clucks,
but at times fly in silence.
Their flesh is dark, and the flavor is very distinctly gamy, and is
generally regarded as excellent.
In the love-season the males inflate the two remarkable air-bladders,
which, in color and shape, resemble small oranges, lower their heads
to the ground, open their bills, and give utterance to very singular
and distinctly separated notes, by means of the air contained in these
receptacles, rolling somewhat in the manner of the beatings of a muffled
drum. The air-reservoirs are alternately filled and emptied as they make
these sounds. Their notes may be heard to the distance of nearly a mile.
When these skins are punctured, they are no longer resonant.
The late Mr. David Eckby, of Boston, furnished Mr. Audubon with a full
account of their habits, as observed by him in Martha’s Vineyard,
and also on the island of Nashawena, where they were then kept in a
preserve. They were observed never to settle down where the woods
were thick or the bushes tangled, but invariably in the open spaces;
and as they never start up from the thick foliage, but always seek
to disengage themselves from all embarrassment in their flight by
reaching the nearest open space, they offer to the sportsman a very
fair mark. The sound they utter in rising, when hard pressed, is said
to resemble the syllables _coo-coo-coo_. They were observed to feed on
the berries of the barberry, which abound on those islands, boxberries,
cranberries, the buds of roses, pines, and alders, and on the nuts of
the post-oaks, and in the summer upon the more esculent berries. At the
West they frequently feed on the seeds of the sumach. They are also very
destructive to the buds of the apple, and are very fond of the fruit
of the fox-grape and the leaves and berries of the mistletoe. During
the planting-season their visits to the wheat and corn fields are often
productive of great damage.
Three eggs in my collection, taken from a nest near Osage Village, in
Indian Territory, which contained sixteen eggs, measure, one 1.65 by
1.20 inches, another 1.63 by 1.28, and the third 1.75 by 1.28 inches.
They are of a rounded-oval shape, more obtuse at one end than the other,
and of a uniform color, which varies from a light clay-color to a dark
tawny-brown. The eggs are sometimes, but not always, minutely sprinkled
with brown.
Cupidonia cupido, var. pallidicinctus, RIDGWAY.