Changes of Plumage in the Red Grouse. 63 
accomplished without any moult; thirdly, those arising from 
the wearing-off of the tips and fading of the colour. 
Mr. Millais speaks of the changes in the Red Grouse as 
being coincident with those of the Ptarmigan, but this is 
not really the case. 
There can be little doubt that our Red Grouse is merely an 
insular form of the Willow-Grouse (Z. lagopus), and that the 
protective white winter plumage, being no longer a necessity, 
has been gradually dropped. The Willow-Grouse, like the 
Ptarmigan, bas three distinct partial moults during the year, 
and one would naturally suppose that in the Red Grouse the 
white winter moult common to both sexes was the one which 
had been omitted, but this is only the case with the female. 
Lagopus scoticus is subject to great variation, and before 
attempting tu give any description of the different plumages 
I must state that in the male three distinct types of plumage 
are recognizable—a red form, a black form, and a white- 
spotted form. ‘he first of these, in which the general colour 
is red without any white spots, is mostly found in the low 
grounds of Ireland, the west coast of Scotland, and the 
Outer Hebrides. Of the second or black form typical 
examples are rarely met with, and it is usually found mixed 
with either the red- or white-spotted forms ; but most often 
with both, and specimens in mixed plumage are those most 
commonly met with. The third or white-spotted form is 
spotted all over the breast and belly, and sometimes on the 
head and upper parts, with white. ‘The most typical exam- 
ples of this form are usually found in the high ground of the 
north of Scotland. In the female five distinct types are 
recognizable—the red, the black, the white-spotted, the buff- 
spotted, and the buff-barred forms. The first two are the 
rarest: the white-spotted form occurs as in the male; the 
buff-spotted form, which is the commonest and the one usually 
met with, has the feathers of the upper parts spotted at the 
tip with yellowish buff. The fifth or buff-barred form, 
which is met with in the south of Ireland, resembles in 
winter the ordinary female in breeding-plumage, and has the 
upper parts rather coarsely barred with buff and black. 
Bearing in mind the above remarks, the changes of plu- 
mage in the ordinary forms may be briefly described as 
follows :— 
Adult male (winter and summer plumages). General colour 
above black, with finely mottled bars of dark chestnut; head 
and neck dark chestnut; top of the head and back of the 
neck marked with black ; feathers of the mantle, lower back, 
rump, and upper tail-coverts with narrow transverse bars 
