380 TETRAONID^. 



By the beginning of September, the upper surface of the 

 body has become freckled grey, like that of the male, but 

 with a few yellow feathers remaining ; the under surface of 

 the body with some grey feathers among the yellow ones ; 

 the quill-feathers, and some of the wing-coverts, with those 

 on the middle line of the belly, white ; as the autumn 

 advances the yellow-coloured feathers are first lost, after- 

 wards those which are grey, leaving the bird wholly white. 



The length of the female is fourteen inches and a half. 

 From the carpal joint to the end of the wing, seven inches 

 and a half. 



Mr. Macgillivray says, " The young are at first covered 

 with a light yellowish grey down, patched on the back with 

 brown, and having on the top of the head a light chest- 

 nut mark, edged with darker. When first fledged they 

 are very similar to the young of the Red Grouse, but 

 banded and spotted with brighter reddish yellow. This 

 plumage soon changes, so that in the beginning of August 

 many of the yellow and brown feathers of the back are 

 exchanged for others spotted and barred with pale grey 

 and brown, and the under parts are white, as well as the 

 wings. These young birds become white the first winter, 

 like older ones." 



The Ptarmigan, Mr. Selby observes, has been reared in 

 confinement without much difficulty, and has been known 

 to breed in a tame state. 



A few particulars of two other species of Ptarmigan, 

 both of which are closely allied to our own, may not be out 

 of place here. 



The Dal-ripa of Scandinavia, the subalpina of M. Nils- 

 son, the saliceti of M. Temminck, and the Willow Grouse 

 of English authors, is pure white in winter, except the 

 shafts of the quill-feathers and the lower series of tail- 

 feathers, which are black ; the latter broadly tipped with 



