RED GROUSE. 321 



among tlic plumage are several feathers in wliich the ground 

 colour is of a bright yellowish brown ; all the quill-feathers 

 dark umber brown ; the secondaries and the tertials edged on 

 the outside, and freckled with lighter brown; the tail of eighteen 

 feathers ; the seven on each outside dark umber brown ; the 

 four middle feathei*s chestnut brown, varied with black. On 

 the breast the plumage is darker than on the sides, almost 

 black, and tipped with white ; the chestnut brown feathers on 

 the sides, flanks, belly, vent, and under tail-coverts, tipped 

 with white ; legs and toes covered with short greyish white 

 feathers ; claws long, bluish-horn colour at the base, nearly 

 white at the end. 



The whole length sixteen inches. From the carpal joint 

 to the end of the wing, eight inches and three-eighths : the 

 first quill-feather shorter than the sixth, but longer than the 

 seventh ; the second shorter than the fifth, but longer than 

 the sixth ; the third and fourth nearly equal in length, and 

 the longest in the wing. 



The old male in summer has many of the body feathers 

 tipped with yellow, and the red colour is of a lighter tint. 



The female is rather smaller than the male ; the patch of 

 red skin over the eye is also smaller ; the red and brown tints 

 of the feathers are lighter in colour, and give a more variega- 

 ted appearance to the plumage generally. In her summer 

 plumage all the feathers of the head and upper part of the 

 neck are yellowish chestnut, with a few black spots : those 

 of the lower neck, breast, back, wing, and tail-coverts, and 

 middle tail-feathers, transversely barred with black, and tipped 

 with yellow ; the long feathers on the sides and flanks also 

 barred across with black and yellow, very much resembling the 

 feathers borne on the same parts at the same season by the 

 female Ptarmigan, showing its affinity to that bird : and 

 some authors have called our Red Grouse, the Red Grouse 

 Ptarmigan, the Red Ptarmigan, and the Brown Ptarmigan. 



VOL. II. Y 



