NESTING-SERIES OF BRITISH BIRDS. 161 
from six to twelve in number, are pale reddish-yellow, spotted with 
brown. 
The plants growing near this nest (in a somewhat damp situation) 
are the Spotted Orchis, Tormentil (Pofentilla tormentilla), Whortle- 
berry (Vaccinium myrtillus), and the Marsh-Marigold. 
1. Perthshire, June. 
Presented by C. S. H. Drummond-Moray, Esq. 
2. Perthshire, June. 
Presented by Coloned L. H. Irby. 
No. 68. PTARMIGAN. (Lagopus mutus.) 
In Great Britain this species is now confined to the higher mountains 
of Scotland, where it chooses by preference the more desolate tops, 
where lichen-covered fragments of rock lie scattered about betweeu 
low stunted plants. The food consists of the green tops of the ling 
and various kinds of berries. The nest, a mere hollow scraped in the 
ground, contains from eight to ten eggs, much like those laid by the 
Red Grouse, but with the ground-colour usually of a lighter tint. In 
autumn both sexes assume a grey plumage on the upper parts of the 
body, and in winter they become white. 
The plant in flower is the Alpine Azalea (Loiselewria procumbens). 
Perthshire, May. 
Presented by His Grace the Duke of Atholl. 
No. 69. RED GROUSE. (Lagopus scoticus.) 
The Red Grouse is peculiar to the British Islands, where it is the 
insular representative of the Willow-Grouse (L. lagopus) of the northern 
portions of Europe, Asia, and America; but, unlike the latter species, 
it does not assume a white plumage in winter. With the exception of 
the southern counties of England, it is generally distributed over the 
moors, but is most abundant in the north of England andj in Scotland. 
Its food consists principally of the tips of the ling and heath, as well as 
berries and grain. From eight to ten eggs are laid in a shallow depres- 
sion in the ground among the heather, but as many as fifteen are 
occasionally found ; their ground-colour is whitish-buff, heavily mottled 
and blotched with rich reddish-brown. Incubation lasts about twenty- 
four days, and the young, when hatched, are carefully watched over by 
both parents. 
Inverness-shire, May. 
Presented by Lord Lovat, 
