316 TETRAONID.E. 



Lacopus. Generic Characters, — Bill very sliort, clothed at the base wilh 

 feathers ; the upper mandible convex, and bent down at the point. Nostrils 

 basal, lateral, partly closed by an arched membrane, and nearly hidden by the 

 small closely-set feathers at the base of the bill. Eyebrows naked, as in the 

 genus Tetrao. Wings short, concave, with the third and fourth feathers the 

 longest. Tail generally square at the end. Tarsi and toes completely fea- 

 thered ; hind toe very short, and barely touching the ground with the tip of the 

 nail. Nails long, and nearly straight. 



This handsome species ought to have been named Bri- 

 tannicus, rather than Scoticus, since it is found in the north 

 of Enghand, in Wales, and in Ireland, as well as in Scotland, 

 in the Hebrides, and in the Orkneys, but not in any part of 

 the world except the British Islands. The Red Grouse and 

 the Ptarmigan differ from the two species of Grouse already 

 described here, in pairing constantly, in having the toes fea- 

 thered down to the roots of the claws, in having also a 

 double moult, and, in this country at least, neither of them 

 are seen to perch on trees ; I have therefore followed the 

 example of M . Vieillot and others in considering them so far 

 removed from the genus Tetrao as to be entitled to a sepa- 

 rate generic distinction. 



The Red Grouse are inhabitants of wild and extensive 

 heaths and moors. It is well known to be especially abun- 

 dant in Scotland ; and Mr. Macgillivray says that the " low 

 sandy heaths of the eastern counties of the middle division 

 appear to be less favourable to it than the more moist peaty 

 tracts of the western and northern districts, where the shrubs 

 on which it feeds attain a greater size. In the central and 

 desolate regions of the Grampians it is equally abundant, as 

 on the moors of the Hebrides ; and on the hilly ranges of the 

 south, the Pentlands, the Lammermuir, and the mountains of 

 Peebles, Dumfries, and Selkirk, it is still plentiful." 



The Red Grouse pair very early in spring, and the female 

 soon goes to nest : this is formed of the stems of ling and 

 grass, with occasionally a very few feathers, and these ma- 



