148 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES 



first, and after a period of four years, during wliicli it lived 

 in tameness and sociability with the other fowls, it was 

 found dead one morning from no apparent cause, as 

 it was in perfect plumage and good condition. Probably 

 one of the Bantam cocks, of which there were several, had 

 oiven him a blow on the head which had been too much 

 for him. 



It will Ije seen by reference to the figure that the 

 plumage almost exactly resembles that of a cock Grouse ; 

 but what much enhances its beauty is the metallic bloom 

 that one observes on the feathers of a Bantam cock, which 

 suffuses the entire plumage. The general shape of the 

 bird, too, is more or less of a compromise between the two 

 species, even down to the feet, which are entirely Grouse- 

 like till within a quarter of an inch of the nail, and then 

 they simulate those of the Bantam. The tail and bill also 

 betray the Bantam origin, though it is difficult to account 

 for the patch of white which the bird bears at the back of 

 the head, as neither parent had any such marking. 



Mr. A. G. More's specimen is quite white, the father 

 havino; been a white Bantam. 



Owing to the similarity of their habits and the close 

 association of the two species, one would be led to suppose 

 that crosses would frequently occur between Grouse and 

 Ptarmigan : such, however, is not the case, as up to the 

 present there is not a perfectly authenticated instance on 

 record. The example given in the notes on the Ptarmigan 

 is the only one that I know of that may possibly be such 

 a hybrid ; were it not that some of our best naturalists are 

 of opinion that such is the case, I would not have inserted 

 it, as I myself believe that it is an example of all)inism in 



