Exhibit in ChiLjg'-"' N.itur.)! Histor\' Museun 



Red Grouse 



The famous game bird of Scotland, the red grouse, is shown on a moor in Selkirk- 

 shire in late October, with the bird's fine winter plumage showing conspicuously 

 against the snow. This contrast is surprising in a way, for the red grouse is closely re- 

 lated to the willow ptarmigan, the rock ptarmigan of circumpolar distribution, and 

 the white-tailed ptarmigan of the Rocky Mountains, all of which assume a white, 

 winter plumage matching the snow. 



The heather-covered moors and peat bogs of Scotland are the chief home of the red 

 grouse, but it occurs in England, too, and Ireland has a separate subspecies. In the 

 spring, pairs are formed, preceded by a great deal of displaying, crowing, and calling. 

 Then a nest in which from six to eleven eggs are laid is scraped out by the female. 

 Many grouse are polygamous, like our ruffed grouse and prairie chicken, but in the 

 red grouse the male stays with the female and guards the downy young, which are able 

 to follow the female a few hours after hatching. In autumn and winter the birds gather 



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