270 



RED COCK. Class II. 



of fixteen feathers of an equal length, all of them 

 (except the four middlemoft) are black, and the 

 middle feathers are barred with red : the thighs are 

 of a pale red, barred obfcurely with black, the 

 legs and feet cloathed to the very claws with thick 

 foft white feathers* J the claws are whitifli, very- 

 broad and ftrong. 



The female weighs only fifteen ounces. The 

 colors in general are duller than thofe of the male : 

 the bread and belly are fpotted with white : and the 

 tips of fome of the coverts of the wings are of the 

 fame color. The red naked part that lies above 

 the eyes is lefs prominent than in the male, and the 

 edges not fo deeply fringed. 



We believe this fpecies to be peculiar to the 

 Britijh iflands ; not having met with any account 

 of it, except in the writings of our countrymen 

 Mr, Ray and Willtighhy\ and in M. Brijfon under 

 the name of Bonafa Scotica *, the fame writer de- 

 fcribes it again by the title of Attagen^ but his 

 references are either to authors who have copied 

 our naturalifts, or to fuch who mean quite ano- 

 ther kind. Mr. Ray feems to think his bird, the 

 other Lagopus of Pliny -f , or the FrancoUno of the 



* The feet in the figure given by M. Brijfon are engraven 

 naked, or bare of feathers. The fpecimen probably came to 

 that gentleman in that condition : his defcription in other re- 

 fpefts is very accurate. 



f Eft et alia nomine eodem, a coturnicibus magnitudine 

 fantum difterens, croceo tindu cibis gratilTima. lib. x. c. 48. 



modern 



