[Pinnated Grous], Tetrao Cupido, Wils. Amer. Ornith. vol. iii. p. 104. pl. 27. fig. 1. Male.—Nuttall, Manual, part i. p.
Adult Male. Plate CLXXXVI. Fig. 1, 2.
Bill short, robust; upper mandible with the dorsal outline curved, the edges overlapping, the tip declinate and rounded; lower mandible convex, broad, with the tip rounded. Nostrils basal, roundish, concealed by the feathers. Head small, neck rather long, body bulky. Feet of ordinary length; tarsus short, feathered; toes covered above with numerous short scutella, marginated and pectinated; hind toe extremely short, two lateral equal, middle toe much longer; claws of ordinary length, strong, arched, rather obtuse, concave beneath.
Plumage compact, the feathers generally broad and rounded; those of the head and neck narrow, and proportionally shorter, excepting those of the crown, which are elongated. Two tufts of lanceolate, elongated feathers on the sides of the neck, under which is an oblong bare space on either side capable of being inflated. Lower tibial and tarsal feathers short, soft and blended. Wings short and curved, the primaries strong and narrow; fourth longest, third and fifth nearly equal, second longer than sixth, first much shorter. Tail very short, much rounded, sloping on both sides, of eighteen broad rounded feathers.
Bill dusky, paler beneath. Iris brown. Toes dull yellow, claws greyish-brown, the general colour of the upper parts is blackish-brown, transversely marked with broad undulating bands of light yellowish-red, the wing-coverts and secondaries of a lighter brown tinged with grey, and barred with paler red, the latter only on the outer webs; primary quills greyish-brown, with black shafts, and spots of pale reddish on the outer webs, excepting towards the end. Tail dark greyish-brown, narrowly tipped with dull white, the two middle feathers mottled with brownish-red. Space from the bill to the eye, a band from the lower mandible over the cheek and the throat, pale yellowish-red or cream-colour; a band of blackish-brown under the eye, including the ear-coverts, and another about an inch and a half long on the side of the throat. Supra-ocular membrane scarlet; bare skin of the sounding-bladder dusky orange. The long feathers of the cervical tufts are dark brown on the outer webs, pale yellowish-red and margined with dusky on the inner, excepting the lowest, which are all brownish-black. The lower parts are marked with large transverse curved bands of greyish-brown and pale yellowish-grey, the tints deeper on the anterior parts and under the wings. Under tail-coverts arranged in three sets, the middle feathers convex, involute, white, with two concealed brown spots; the lateral larger, of the same form, abrupt, variegated with dusky, red, and white, the extremity of the latter colour, but with a very narrow terminal margin of black. The tibial and tarsal feathers are grey, obscurely and minutely banded with yellowish-brown.
Length 18 inches, extent of wings 27½; bill along the back 7⁄12, along the edge 11⁄12; tarsus 1½; weight 1 lb. 13 oz.
Adult Female. Plate CLXXXVI Fig. 3.
The female is considerably smaller, and wants the crest, cervical tufts and air-bags; but in other respects resembles the male.