6 BRITISH BIRDS. WITH THEIR NESTS AND LGGS. 



Family TE TRA ONW/E. 



THE BLACK GROUSE. 



Tetrao tetrix, LINX. 



THOUGH generally distributed throughout the forests of Great Britain, Black 

 Grouse are much more abundant in Scotland than in the English counties, 

 where they are gradually diminishing in number ; but they are tolerably plentiful 

 at Exmoor and the Quantocks, and are less frequently found in Wilts, Dorset, 

 and the New Forest. It is singular that Black Grouse are not found in Ireland, 

 although many attempts have been made to establish the Black Game in what 

 appeared to be suitable localities in that country. On the Continent, the range 

 of the Black Grouse extends from the Eastern Pyrenees to the Alpine forests of 

 northern and central Europe. It is abundant in west Siberia, but is absent from 

 the Caucasus, being there replaced by its ally, Telrao mlokosiewiczi. The adult 

 male of the Caucasian Black Grouse is entirely black, without any white markings. 



Although usually spoken of as Black Game, this term in reality applies only 

 to one sex, the male ; the female being known as the Grey-hen. The two sexes 

 vary very much in size. An old Black-cock will weigh nearly four pounds, the 

 length being about twenty-two inches. The plumage is glossy black, and on the 

 neck and rump a shining blue ; the wing barred, and the under tail-coverts being 

 white.* The Grey-hen is chestnut-brown, barred with black. Her weight is about 

 two pounds, and length eighteen inches. The tail of the Black-cock is remarkable, 

 the feathers curving outwards on each side, leaving a wide gap in the centre, 

 giving to the bird a most remarkable appearance, which is not fully developed 

 until the third season. Each sex has the characteristic naked red skin over the 

 eye. 



The Black Grouse is iisually to be found on rough moors, where there is a 

 combination of wood and water, and particularly where there is an abundance of 

 rushes. The food varies much with the locality and the season. The seeds of the 



* All the old males shot at the beginning of the Season, i.e., during the last days of August, are deep in 

 moult, and have the crown of the head and hind-neck mixed black and brown, the latter colour predominating, 

 while the chin is sprinkled copiously with white feathers. New tails are sprouting, and the feathers of the 

 mantle are partly new and partly old. H.A.M. 



