A Synopsis of the Birds of North America

by John James Audubon

Tetrao umbellus, Ruffed Grouse, Swains. & Rich. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 342.

Ruffed Grouse, Nutt. Man. v. i. p. 657.

Ruffed Grouse, Tetrao Umbellus, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. i. p. 211; v. v. p. 560.

** Tarsus feathered to the toes. Tail rather long, broad, rounded.

296. 2. Tetrao Canadensis, Linn. Canada Grouse.—Spotted Grouse.

Plate CLXXVI. Male and Female.

Tail of sixteen feathers, rounded. Male with the upper parts transversely banded with brownish-black and light grey; wings variegated with dusky and greyish-yellow; quills brown, the outer webs of the primaries mottled with yellowish; tail blackish-brown, tipped with a band of reddish-yellow; lower parts black; the feathers on the throat with a white spot near the end; a band of white spots behind the eye; on the breast, the feathers with a broad subterminal spot; and the lower tail-coverts largely tipped with white. Female with the upper parts as in the male, but more broadly barred; head, sides of neck, fore neck, and anterior part of breast, yellowish-red, barred with brownish-black; lower parts greyish-black, barred with reddish-white; tail minutely mottled, and tipped with reddish-brown.

Male, 15³/₄, 21³/₄. Female, 15¹/₂, 21.

Plentiful from the northern parts of New York to Labrador, as well as from Canada to the Arctic Sea. Columbia River. Partially migratory in winter.

Spotted Grouse, Tetrao canadensis, Bonap. Amer. Orn. v. iii. pl. 20.

Tetrao canadensis, Bonap. Syn. p. 127.

Tetrao canadensis, Spotted Grouse, Swains. & Rich. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 346.

Tetrao Franklinii, Franklin's Grouse, Swains. & Rich. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 348.

Spotted Grouse, Nutt. Man. v. i. p. 667.

Spotted or Canada Grouse, Tetrao canadensis, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. ii. p. 437; v. v. p. 563.

297. 3. Tetrao obscurus, Say. Dusky Grouse.

Plate CCCLXI. Male and Female.