272 BRITISH BIRDS. 



It may be described as follows : Bill stout as in the 

 Red Grouse. General appearance and style of coloration 

 like that of a large Ptarmigan in autumn plumage, 

 but the head, neck, chest, back, upper tail-coverts, and 

 some of the flank-feathers are much like those of a Red 

 Grouse changing from the autumn to the winter plumage. 

 It must, however, be specially noted that some of the new 

 winter feathers moulting in on the chest, back and upper 

 tail-coverts are ivhite, indicating a tendency to assume the 

 winter plumage of the Ptarmigan. The breast and under- 

 parts are pure white, and the under tail-coverts black, 

 widely tij)ped with white. The terminal half of the 

 primary quills is mostly greyish-black, j)artially edged 

 with white, and the remaining basal portion is white ; the 

 secondary quills are white on the outer web and almost 

 entirely greyish-black on the inner web ; the wing-coverts 

 are mostly white, but many are partially black towards 

 the base, and some of the lesser ones are black freckled 

 with rufous, as in the Red Grouse. The wing measures 

 eight inches. 



It has been suggested {cf. Field, October 19tli, 1907, 

 p. 720) by Mr. W. Steuart-Menzies that this bird might 

 be one of the Willow-Grouse or Ryper (Lag opus lag opus) 

 which he imported from IsTorwa}^ and turned down in 

 Banffshire last spring, but a glance at its dusky primar}'- 

 quills is sufiicient to show that one of the parent birds 

 must have been a Red Grouse. 



Figure 2, the second example, which is undoubtedly 

 a bird of the year, and almost certainly a female, has also 

 the stout bill of a Red Grouse, and resembles in general 

 appearance the male described above. 



It differs, however, in having many of the greater wing- 

 coverts partially, and the median wing-coverts mostly, 

 mottled with black and rufous and tipped with white : 

 while many of the grouse-like feathers of the chest, sides 

 of the back, sides of the body and flanks, as well as the 

 upper and under tail-coverts, are conspicuously tipped with 

 white. The win^ measures 7'8 inches. 



