290 TETRAONID.E. 



Urogaihts vulgnris, Cock of the Wood, Flem. Brit. An. p. 46. 



Tetrao tirngallus, Wood Grotise, Jenvns, Brit. Vert. p. 168. 



,, ^, Capercailzie, Gould, Birds of Europe, pt. xvii. 



,, ,, Telras auerhan. Temm. Man. d'Ornith.vol. ii. p. 457. 



Tetrao. Generic Characters. — Bill short, strong ; upper mandible convex, 

 and arched from the base to the tip. Nostiils basal, lateral, partly closed by an 

 arched scale, and hidden from view by small closely-set feathers. Space above 

 the eye naked, the skin red with papillas and fringed. Wings short and 

 rounded in form ; the fifth quill-feather the longest. Tail of sixteen feathers. 

 Feet with the toes naked, three in front united as far as the first joint, and one 

 toe behind, short, the edges of all pectinated. Tarsi feathered to the junction 

 of the toes. 



The libera] and persevering endeavours of several noble- 

 men to rc-establisli the Wood Grouse, or Capercaillie, in 

 this country having been successful, to a certain extent, in 

 one district of Scotland, as the details to be here related will 

 show, I have inserted this fine species in its proper place at 

 the head of our Grouse. 



The term Capercaillie is derived from the Gaelic, Capull- 

 coille, which means literally the horse of the wood : this 

 species being in comparison with the others of the genus pre- 

 eminently large, this distinction is intended to refer to size, 

 as it is usual now to say horse-mackerel, horse-ant, horse-fly, 

 horse-leach, and horse-radish. The Latin specific term uro- 

 gallus, the German auerhan, and the Dutch ouerhan, refer 

 in the same way to size. Urus, is a Avild bull, and the names 

 bullfinch, bullhead, bulltrout, bullfrog, and bullrush, are 

 applied to species of large size in Zoology and Botany. Pen- 

 nant says, that north of Inverness the Wood Grouse was also 

 known by the names Caper-calze, and Auer-calze. This 

 bird formerly existed in Ireland, and the last was said to 

 have been killed about the year 1760. The last of them 

 killed in Scotland, and near Inverness, happened later than 

 the year just recorded. 



The most recent, as well as the best, account of the habits 



