60 THE GROUSE IN HEALTH AND IN DISEASE 



replaced by a renewal of the autumnal feathers when the spring 

 plumage is also being shed. There remains, however, in the 

 majority of birds, a very quaint growth of belated spring 

 plumage, consisting of buff and black-barred feathers in two 

 lines down each side of the centre of the naked patch, as though, 

 for some occult reason, the intention to grow " spring-plumage " 

 feathers upon this area had never been altogether lost. This 

 peculiar persistence of belated intention shows itself as a patch 

 of yellow feathers made up of the two lines of feather growth 

 in the midst of a much broader area of the autumn red pig- 

 mented feather which one would expect to find all over the 

 abdomen. 



In July the summer plumage of healthy hens is much worn 

 out, frayed at the edges, and very definitely faded, and the 

 feathers are already dropping out. On the chin, throat, and 

 fore-neck, new red feathers of the autumn plumage, looking 

 rich and dark, are already making their appearance. The 

 back is as it was, but faded, and the flanks are still conspicuously 

 broad-barred with buff and black ; but the abdominal bare 

 patch is now growing new autumn plumage feathers with great 

 rapidity from the centre outwards. The primaries and second- 

 aries have now commenced to moult. There may be in July, 

 in the hen, as many as six or eight old primaries in each wing 

 with frayed tips, still to be renewed. 



Precocious young birds of the year can still at once be 

 distinguished from hens in moult, because in the former 

 the dark red-brown, black -lined autumn plumage is on the 

 flanks, while the broad-barred buff and black, and rather worn- 

 out chicken feathers are in the centre of the abdomen. In 

 the adult the distribution is reversed. The broad-barred buff 

 and black feathers of the spring plumage are on the flanks, 

 and the redder fine-barred autumn plumage is appearing in 

 the centre (compare PI. x., Figs, a, c, g, h, k, and n, with 

 Fig. d.). 



The legs and feet in July are naked, and the claws are very 

 small ; but the feathers are already showing through as small 



