374 REPTILES AND BIRDS. 
place ; they delight in rolling in it, and turning it over in search of 
food, or forming holes in its surface, in which they pass the night, or 
shelter from the storm. 
The colour of Ptarmigans is perfectly suited to the northern 
solitudes. Their winter costume is of a brilliant white, save one line 
of black on the head, and some tail-feathers of the same colour. 
In the summer, when the snow has disappeared under the scorching 
rays of the sun, they change their plumage, and become habited in 
Fig. 149.—Hazel Grouse. 
grey, spotted with brown. Like the Capercaillie and the Hazel Hen, 
they are birds of social habits, and cannot bear captivity. Their 
flesh is excellent and much prized. Numbers of them are sold in 
the markets, and considerable quantities are sent every year to 
England and France from Scotland, Norway, and Lapland. The two 
principal species are the Lagopus mutus (Fig. 150), common in the 
Alps, the Pyrenees, and the North of Europe and America ; and the 
Red Grouse (Zagopus scoticus), which is found only in Great Bnitain 
and Ireland, where it is much prized for its beauty, delicacy of flesh, 
and the magnificent sport it affords when killed over dogs. The 
12th of August, the first day of grouse-shooting, is looked forward 
