GROUSE. 305 



those of Scotland. It also occurs commonly in the North, and in the moun- 

 tains of the south of Europe. The bases of the hills in heathy and moun- 

 tainous districts, which are covered with a natural growth of birch, alder, and 

 willow, and intersected by morasses clothed with long coarse herbage, are 

 situations best suited to the habits of these birds, as are also the deep and 

 wooded glens so frequently occurring in such extensive wastes. 



During the monlhs of autumn and winter the males associate and live in 

 flocks, but separate in March or April, and each individual chooses some par- 

 ticular station, from which he drives all intruders, and for the possession ot 

 which, when the birds are numerous, desperate conflicts often take place. At 



Fig. 155.— The Black Grouse {Tetrao Tetrix). 



this station he posts himself early every morning and evening during the 

 pairing season, repeating his call of invitation, and displaying a great variety 

 of attitudes, not unlike those of a turkey-cock, accompanied by a crowing note, 

 and by another similar to the noise made by whetting a scythe. At this season 

 his plumage exhibits the richest gloss, and the red skin of his eyebrows assumes 

 a superior intensity of colour. The pairing season over, animosity ceases, and 

 the male birds again associate and live harmoniously together. The female 

 deposits her eggs in May, from six to ten in number, of a yellowish grey colour, 

 blotched with reddish brown. The nest is very artlessly constructed on the 

 ground, of a few dried stems of grass, under shelter of a tall tuft or low bush, 

 generally in marshy places, where long and coarse grasses abound. 



The Ptarmigans {Lagopus) differ from the preceding by the tarsi and toes 

 being completely clothed 'with hair-like feathers, and by having the claws long 

 and nearly straight. They are found on the lofty mountains in the northern 

 parts of Europe and America, and are met with even in the Arctic circle, from 

 which in winter they tardily retire. They are usually seen on barren grounds 



20 



