ACCIDENTAL VARIETIES. 3 



upper part of the back white, with rust-coloured, fine, 

 brown, wavy spots ; lower part of the back black, inter- 

 spersed with white feathers ; belly and tail spotted with 

 white ; legs dirty-white. 



2nd. A male taken in Lapland, and now in the Thun- 

 borg collection at Upsala, under the name of Tetrao 

 Eremita. Less than ordinary size; colour ash-grey, with 

 head and neck somewhat darker. 



3rd. A female in the same collection. Very pale ; 

 upper part of the body grey, with yellowish and white 

 bars ; under part white with rusty-red bars ; and the breast 

 red-brown. 



4th. A female from Enontekis in Lapland, and at 

 present in the Stockholm museum. Colour dirty-white, 

 here and there shaded with brownish spots. 



The Professor, when speaking of the varieties in ques- 

 tion, says, " One finds that all these belong to the high 

 north, that their colour is faded, and that they are most 

 commonly of a less size than usual, two circumstances 

 which may easily be the consequence of a severe and 

 uncongenial climate." 



There may be some truth in the above remarks ; but if 

 Nilsson imagines that accidental varieties amongst Caper- 

 cali are confined to the northern parts of Scandinavia, he 

 would seem somewhat in error, as they are sometimes 

 met with in the more southern provinces of Sweden. Of 

 such a variety of a female, I subjoin the portrait kindly sent 

 me by the late Count Carl Piper, with the following note 

 in his own handwriting appended : 



" This bird was killed in the beginning of September, 

 1828, in the province of Smaland. She had a brood of 

 young ones with her, one of which, a female, was also 

 shot ; and this young one, nearly full-grown, had the 

 usual colour of a capercali hen." 



At times one meets with Barren Hens (Gall-Honor, 



B 2 



