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 Prairie Chicken.
Heath Hen. season, and capable of being inflated to the size of a small orange; this is done when the bird makes its familiar "booming" noise. They are very good "table birds" and although they are still very abundant in most of their range, so many are being killed for market, that it has become necessary to make more stringent laws relating to the killing and sale of Pinnated Grouse, as they are often called. They nest anywhere on the prairie, in hollows on the ground under overhanging bushes or tufts of grass. They lay from eight to fifteen eggs having a buffy or olive buff ground color, sparingly and finely sprinkled with brown; size 1.70 × 1.25. 305a. Attwater Prairie Chicken. Tympanuchus americanus attwateri. Range.--Coast region of Louisiana and Texas. This is a slightly smaller and darker variety of the Pinnated Grouse. Its eggs cannot be distinguished from those of the more northerly distributed bird. 306. Heath Hen. Tympanuchus cupido. Range.--Island of Martha's Vineyard, Mass. This species is similar to the preceding, but has the scapulars more broadly tipped with buff, the axillars barred, and the pinnated feathers on the neck pointed. It is slightly smaller than the western species. It is found on the wooded portions of the island, where its breeding habits are the same as those of the Ruffed Grouse. Mr. Brewster probably has the only authentic set of the eggs of this species. They are of a yellowish green color and are unspotted. Size 1.70 × 1.25. A number of Prairie Hens liberated on the island several years ago are apparently thriving well, and nests found there now would be fully as apt to belong to this species.
Page 187 Pale buff. 307. Lesser Prairie Chicken. Tympanuchus pallidicinctus. Range.--Prairies from southwestern Kansas through Indian Territory to western Texas. A smaller and paler species than the Prairie Chicken. Never as abundant as the common Pinnated Grouse, this species appears to be becoming scarcer each year. Its nests are concealed under overhanging brush or placed under a large tuft of prairie grass, and are generally lined with a few grasses or leaves. They lay from eight to twelve eggs of a buffy color, much lighter than those of the Prairie Chicken, and unmarked. Size 1.65 × 1.25. Prairie Sharp-tailed Grouse. 308. Sharp-tailed Grouse. Pedioecetes phasianellus phasianellus. Range.--Interior of British America, from the United States boundary northwest to the Yukon. Buffy drab. Sharp-tailed Grouse are similar in form to the Prairie Chicken, but are somewhat smaller and very much lighter in color, being nearly white below, with arrowhead markings on the breast and flanks. This species is very abundant in Manitoba and especially so on the plains west of Hudson Bay. Their nests are generally concealed under a thicket or a large tuft of grass, and are lined with grasses and feathers. They lay from six to fifteen eggs of a drab color, very minutely specked all over with brown. Size 1.70 × 1.25. 308a. Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse. Pedioecetes phasianellus columbianus. Range.--Northwestern United States and British Columbia to central Alaska. Both the nesting habits and eggs of this variety are the same as the last, with which species, the birds gradually intergrade as their ranges approach. 308b. Prairie Sharp-tailed Grouse. Pedioecetes phasianellus campestris. Range.--Plains of the United States from the Mississippi to the Rockies. This sub-species shades directly into the two preceding where their ranges meet, and only birds from the extreme parts of the range of each show any marked differences. The nesting habits and eggs of all three are not to be distinguished.




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 Sage Hen. 309. Sage Hen. Centrocercus urophasianus. Pale greenish drab. Range.--Sage plains of the Rocky Mountain region from British Columbia to New Mexico, and from California to Dakota. This handsome bird is the largest of the American Grouse, being about 30 inches long (the hen bird is about six inches shorter). It may easily be recognized by its large size, its peculiar graduated tail with extremely sharp pointed feathers, and the black belly and throat. Their nests are hollows scratched out in the sand, under the sage bushes, generally with no lining. The nesting season is during April and May, they laying from six to twelve eggs of a greenish drab color, spotted with brown. Size 2.15 × 1.50. PHEASANTS. Family PHASIANIDÆ * * *Ring-necked Pheasant. Phasianus torquatus. Greenish buff. Several species of Pheasants have been introduced into the United States, among them being the Ring-necked, English, and Green Pheasants. The Ring-necked species seems to be the only one that has obtained a really strong foothold, it being now very abundant in Oregon and Washington, and adjacent states, and also found in abundance on many game preserves in the east. The males of any of the species may at once be distinguished from any of our birds by the long tail. Their nests are hollows in the leaves under tufts of grass or bushes. They lay from eight to fourteen eggs of a buff or greenish buff color, unmarked; size 1.50 × 1.30.
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RING-NECKED PHEASANT.
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 TURKEYS. Family MELEAGRIDÆ Sage Hen.
Wild Turkey. 310. Wild Turkey. Meleagris gallopavo silvestris. Buff. Range.--Eastern United States from southern Middle States south to central Florida and west to the Mississippi Valley and eastern Texas. These magnificent birds, which once ranged over the whole of eastern United States, are being yearly confined to a smaller range, chiefly because of the destruction of their natural covers, and from persecution by hunters. They are generally very wary birds and either escape by running through the underbrush or by flying as soon as a human being appears in sight. Their nests are made under tangled growths of underbrush or briers. Their eggs, which are laid during April and May, range from eight to sixteen in number. They are of a buff color sprinkled and spotted with brownish. Size 2.55 × 1.90. Data.--Hammond, La., April 17, 1897. Fifteen eggs. Nest hollow scraped in the ground under a bush on the edge of a pine woods; lined with grasses and leaves. Collector, E. A. McIlhenny. 310a. Merriam's Turkey. Meleagris gallopavo merriami. Range.--Southwestern United States from Colorado south through western Texas, New Mexico and Arizona to Mexico. This variety is abundant throughout its range, its nesting habits and eggs being practically indistinguishable from those of the eastern form.
Page 191 310b. Florida Turkey. Meleagris gallopavo osceola. Greenish buff. Range.--Southern Florida. A small variety of the Wild Turkey, about 42 inches long. They breed in the tangled thickets in the higher portions of the southern half of Florida, laying from ten to sixteen eggs of a brighter and deeper buff color than the northern variety, and smaller; size 2.30 × 1.75. Their nests are generally lined with grasses and occasionally with feathers. The female sits very close when incubating and will not fly until almost trod upon, trusting to her variegated markings to conceal her from observation. 310c. Rio Grande Turkey. Meleagris gallopavo intermedia. Range.--Lowlands of the southern parts of Texas and northern Mexico. A sub-species which differs slightly in plumage and not at all in nesting habits or eggs from the common Wild Turkey. CURASSOWS AND GUANS. Family CRACIDÆ 311. Chachalaca. Ortalis vetula mccalli. Chachalaca. Range.--Eastern portions of Mexico, north to the Lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas. Buffy white. A very peculiar grayish colored bird with a greenish gloss to the back, and a long, broad tail, quite long legs, and with the face and sides of the throat devoid of feathers. They are very abundant birds in some localities, and very noisy during the breeding season, their notes resembling a harsh trumpeting repetition of their name. They are ground inhabiting birds, but nest in low bushes. Their nests are made of sticks, twigs, leaves, or moss and are generally frail, flat structures only a few feet above the ground. During April, they lay from three to five buffy white eggs, the shell of which is very rough and hard. Size 2.25 × 1.55.





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 PIGEONS AND DOVES. Order XI. COLUMBÆ Family COLUMBIDAE Pigeons and doves are distributed throughout nearly every temperate and tropical country on the globe, nearly five hundred species being known, of which twelve occur within our limits. Their plumage is generally soft and subdued colors, the head small, the wings strong and the flight rapid. 312. Band-tailed Pigeon. Columba fasciata fasciata. White. Range.--The Rocky Mountains and westward to the Pacific, from British Columbia south to Mexico. This large species may be generally recognized by the white crescent on the nape; it is about 15 inches in length. They nest abundantly on the mountain ranges, sometimes in large flocks, and again, only a few pairs together. Their nests are rude platforms of sticks and twigs either in bushes or in large trees in heavily wooded districts. The two eggs which are laid during May or June are pure white in color, and like those of all the pigeons, equally rounded at each end. Size 1.55 × 1.10. 312a. Viosca's Pigeon. Columba fasciata vioscæ. Range.--Southern Lower California. This is a paler variety of the preceding species and is not noticeably different in its habits, nesting or eggs. 313. Red-billed Pigeon. Columba flavirostris. Range.--Mexico and Central America, north to southern Texas, Arizona and New Mexico. This species, characterized by its red bill, purplish colored head, neck and breast and absence of iridescent markings, is abundant in the valley of the Lower Rio Grande, where they build their frail nests in thickets and low bushes, and during May and June lay their white eggs. Size of eggs, 1.55 × 1.05. 314. White-crowned Pigeon. Columba leucocephala. Range.--Resident of the West Indies; in summer, found on the Florida Keys. This species, which can be identified by its white crown, nests in trees or mangroves on certain of the Florida Keys, laying its two white eggs on its rude platform of sticks and twigs. Size of eggs 1.40 × 1.05. Nests in April and May. 314.1. Scaled Pigeon. Columba squamosa. A West Indian species, a single specimen of which was taken at Key West, Florida. A dark colored species, with purplish head, neck and breast; named from the scaly appearance of the iridescent feathers on the sides of the neck.
Page 193 Passenger Pigeon. 315. Passenger Pigeon. Ectopistes migratorius. Range.--Formerly, North America east of the Rockies; casually seen in the upper Mississippi Valley, now extinct. White. A handsome species (see frontispiece) with ruddy underparts, grayish upperparts and a long graduated tail. This species years ago found in flocks of thousands or millions, is now practically exterminated, chiefly by being hunted and trapped. A few pairs probably now nest in the interior, from northern United States to Hudson Bay. Their nests are very rude, frail platforms of twigs, on which two white eggs are laid, they being longer and narrower, comparatively, than those of other species. Size of eggs, 1.50 × 1.02. Data.--Southwest shore of Lake Manitoba, June 1, 1891. Nest of twigs in an aspen tree. 316. Mourning Dove. Zenaidura macroura carolinensis. Range.--North America from New England, Manitoba and British Columbia, southward. Mourning Dove. White. Now that the Passenger Pigeon has disappeared, this species becomes the only one found in the east, with the exception of the little Ground Dove in the South Atlantic and Gulf States. While, sometimes, small flocks of them nest in a community, they generally nest in companies of two or three pairs. Their nests are generally at a low elevation, in trees, bushes and often upon the ground. Their nests are made entirely of twigs and rootlets, and eggs may be found from early in April until the latter part of September, as they often raise two or three broods a season. The two eggs are white. Size 1.15 × .80. Data.--Refugio Co., Texas, May 3, 1899. Two eggs laid on the ground in a slight cradle of twigs. Collector, James J. Carroll.




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NEST AND EGGS OF MOURNING DOVE H. B. Stough.
317. Zenaida Dove. Zenaida zenaida. Range.--West Indies; in summer, on the Florida Keys, but not in great numbers. This species is similar in size to the Mourning Dove, but it has a short and square tail, and the secondaries are tipped with white, and the underparts more ruddy. They generally nest upon the ground, but occasionally in small bushes, laying two white eggs a trifle larger than those of the preceding species. Size 1.20 × .90. The nests are made of grasses and twigs, on the ground under bushes.
Page 195 318. White-fronted Dove. Leptotila fulviventris brachyptera. White-fronted Dove.
White-winged Dove. Range.--Mexico and Central America north to southern Texas. Slightly larger than the last, much paler below, with no black ear mark as in the two preceding species, and with the forehead whitish. They build their nests of sticks, grasses and weeds, and place them in tangled vines and thickets a few feet from the ground. Their two eggs, which are laid in May and June, have a creamy white or buffy color. Size 1.15 × .85. They cannot be called a common species within our borders. 319. White-winged Dove. Melopelia asiatica. White. Range.--Central America, Mexico and the southwestern border of the United States. This species is 12 inches in length, has a black patch on the ear coverts, white tips to the greater and lesser coverts and some of the secondaries, and broad white tips to the outer tail feathers, which are black. This species is very abundant in some localities within our borders. Their nests are very frail platforms of twigs placed in trees or bushes or precariously suspended among tangled vines. Their two eggs are white or creamy white, and measure 1.15 × .85. 320. Ground Dove. Columbigallina passerina terrestris. Range.--South Atlantic and Gulf States to eastern Texas. The Ground Doves are the smallest of the family, measuring but about 6.5 inches in length. Their nesting habits and eggs are exactly like those of the next to be described. They are very abundant, especially along the South Atlantic coast. 320a. Mexican Ground Dove. Chæmepelia passerinus pallescens. White. Range.--Border of the United States from Texas to southern California and southward. This paler sub-species builds a nest of twigs and weeds, placing the flat structure either in low bushes or on the ground. Their two white eggs are laid during April to July, they sometimes rearing two broods a season. Size of eggs, .85 × .65. 320b. Bermuda Ground Dove. Chæmepelia passerina bermudiana. Range.--Bermuda. Smaller and paler than the last; otherwise the same in nesting habits and eggs.