RED GROUSE. 93 



a similar fate, most probably from the absence of 

 some food peculiarly fitted for this season, and 

 wanting in their artificial breeding grounds. 



The adult plumage of the grouse which have attain- 

 ed an age beyond a year or two, is a ground colour of 

 deep rich sienna-brown, shading on the belly almost 

 to pure black, with paler tips, and wared across with 

 brownish-black. Many specimens are much marked 

 with w r hite on the under parts, and some to a greater 

 degree than others, and this, though it is generally 

 considered to be the mark of age, is rather incident 

 to the younger birds. The female is of a paler 

 ground tint, and has all the pale markings larger. 

 During the breeding season the feathers of both be- 

 come much more marked, and cut into, as it were, 

 w r ith yellow, and have the tips pale yellowish-white ; 

 and the bare skin above the eyes increases in size 

 and intensity of colour. The young, in their first 

 plumage nearly resemble the female, but have 

 rather more ochreous mixed with the plumage, and 

 have the markings more distributed in bars. The 

 Red Grouse is subject to variety, though not very 

 frequently. It is generally to a paler tint of the 

 whole plumage. Mr. Selby notes the occurrence 

 of a cream-coloured or light-grey variety upon the 

 Blanchland moors of Durham, which appear to 

 have bred, and continued the variety from year to 

 year. We possess a Grouse, shot on the moors of 

 Galloway, where the ground colour is nearly yel- 

 lowish-white, and all the dark markings are repre- 

 sented by pale reddish-brown ; the quills are dirty 



