THE HYBRID GROUSE. 597 
I will, in conclusion, quote word for word one more passage 
from the works of old Christian Ludwig Brehm :— 
‘ COMPARISON OF THE FEMALES OF THE MippLE Woop- 
GROUSE AND THE BLACKGAME. 
“ Tetrao medius. (Female, about 9 months old.) 
“Length 21 inches; breadth 32 inches. 
“Tail 54 inches long, and notched to a depth of 1 inch. 
“The feet are so thickly feathered that only the point of 
the nail of the hind toe projects from the feathers. 
“ Height of the tarsus 24 lines. 
“The head is large, and in form somewhat resembles that 
of the hen Capercaillie. 
“The chin-feathers are elongated, so as to form a beard 
15 lines long. The first six primaries are grey-black, with 
paler specklings, but only on the outer web. 
‘The white base of the primaries begins at the seventh 
and goes back to the eighth from the last. 
“ When the wings are folded they show two distinct white 
bars, of which the first or outer one is eight and the second 
five lines broad. The ground-colour of the lower back is a 
splendid blue-black with a bluish sheen traversed by narrow 
wavy bars of a dark rust-colour. 
“ Tetrao tetriz. (Female, about nine months old.) 
“Length 18 inches ; breadth 28 inches. 
“Tail 44 inches long, and notched to a depth of 1; inches. 
“The feet are not so closely feathered that the hind toe is 
hidden in the feathers. 
“The head is not large, and does not at all resemble in 
form that of the hen Capercaillie. 
“The feathers of the chin are not elongated. 
