140 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES 



have never seen any English birds approach the beauty of 

 Sutherhxnd specimens. One of the most beautiful examples 

 that I have seen, and of which I have given an illustration, 

 was kindly presented to me by Mr. J. Hall, of Dalreavoch, 

 Sutherland. It exhibits the growth of the white feathers 

 all over the back and neck, as w^ell as on the breast. It is 

 very uncommon to see the white developed to such an 

 extraordinary degree on these parts of the body, though 

 one w^ill often see a few scattered lightly over the plumage 

 of an old cock of the white type. 



In mid-winter, when this particular form is seen at its 

 best, good examples of males will exceed the females by at 

 least four to one. 



The Red Form is found in the most marshy bog-lands 

 of oar islands ; these are notably Ireland, North and South 

 Uist, and the Lew^s. Why it does not occur in Caithness, 

 wdiere the nature of the soil, being so greatly intersected 

 with water, strongly resembles that of those islands, and 

 where every condition for the birds doing so is fulfilled, is 

 singular. These Eed birds are probably the most forcible 

 proof that, at some remote period in the history of the 

 past, the AYestern Islands mentioned were linked with 

 Ireland into one island, which the encroachment of the 

 Atlantic has in course of time formed into separate groups ; 

 and a peculiar fact concerning their hal)its is their dis- 

 taste of association with the normal mainland types. I 

 know of two instances in which the latter were intro- 

 duced into the Lews, where they thrived wtII, but always 

 kept separate from the Red l)irds and never interbred 

 with them. The darker mainland Itirds were always 

 found on the higher ground apart from the other type. 



