BRITISH BIRDS' NESTS. 17 



grey on the sides ; a few shorter ones lying over 

 the principal quills are tipped with white. Chin 

 and throat dull black, the feathers being some- 

 what elongated. Upper breast dark glossy green, 

 lower breast and all under-parts black, spotted 

 sparingly with white about the thighs and vent. 

 Legs covered with brown hair- like feathers; toes 

 and claws black. 



The female measures about twenty-six inches in 

 length, and differs very considerably in the colour 

 of her plumage. The feathers of her head, neck, 

 back, wings (except quills, which are dusky), rump, 

 upper tail-coverts, and tail tawny brown, barred 

 with blackish-brown and tipped with white. Throat 

 tawny red; breast of a lighter tinge, spotted sparingly 

 with white ; belly and under-parts generally, barred 

 with pale tawny and black, the feathers being 

 tipped with greyish- white. Legs greyish-brown ; 

 toes and claws pale brown. 



Situation and Locality. On the ground, under 

 a bush or bramble, amongst long grass or heather, 

 in Scotch fir, larch, and spruce forests ; also, but 

 more sparsely, in oak and birch forests, through 

 the Midlands of Scotland. 



Materials. Dead grass, leaves, or pine needles 

 used as a lining to the hollow, scraped or chosen, 

 in the ground. 



Eggs. Six or eight to twelve or fifteen. Pale 

 reddish-yellow, spotted all over with two shades 

 of darker orange-brown. Size about 2-2 by 1*6 in. 



Time. April, May, and June. 



Remarks. Eesident. This bird became extinct 

 in Britain towards the end of the eighteenth century, 

 and was re-introduced from Sweden in 1837, since 

 which time it has thriven and spread in Scotland. 

 Call of male, peller, peller, peller. The note of the 



