so 



HISTORY OF BIRDS. 



smaller kinds come more into the open arid 

 cultivated parts, where there is more food and 

 more danger. It is thus with the birds I am 

 describing : while the cock of the wood is 



These birds are likewise very common in Wales, and 

 the highlands of Scotland ; but they have not yet been 

 observed in any of the countries of the continent. In 

 winter they are usually found in flocks of sometimes 

 forty or fifty in number, which are termed, by sports- 

 men, packs, and become remarkably shy and wild. 

 They keep near the summits of the heathy hills, seldom 

 descending to the lower grounds ; here they feed on the 

 mountain-berries, and on the tender tops of the heath. 

 They pair in spring ; and the females lay from six to 

 ten eggs, in a rude nest formed on the ground. The 

 young brood (which during the first year are called 

 poults] follow the hen till th^'approach df winter, when 

 they unite with several others into packs. Red grouse 

 have been known to breed in confinement;, in the mena- 

 gerie of the late Duchess Dowager of Portland. This 

 was, in some measure, effected by her grace causing 

 fresh pots of heath to be placed in the menagerie almost 

 every day. The flesh, as in all others of this tribe, is an 

 excellent food ; but it soon corrupts. To prevent this, 

 the bird should be drawn immediately after they are 

 shot. 



White Grouse, or Ptarmigan. This bird is nearly 

 the same size as the red grouse. Its bill is black ; the 



upper parts of its body are of a pale brown or ash-colour, 

 mottled with small dusky spots and bars : the bars on 

 the head and neck are somewhat broader, and are mixed 

 with white ; the under parts are white, as are also the 

 wings, excepting the shafts of the quills, which are 

 black. This is its summer dress, which in winter is 

 changed to a pure white, excepting that in the male 

 there is a black line between the bill and the eye. The 

 tail consists of sixteen feathers; the two middle ones 

 are ash-coloured in summer, and white in winter; the 

 next two are slightly marked with white near the ends; 

 the rest are wholly black: the upper tail coverts are 

 long, and almost cover the tail. The white grouse is 

 fond of lofty situations, where it braves the severest 

 cold. It is found in most of the northern parts of 

 Europe, even as far as Greenland ; in this country it is 

 only to he met with on the summits of some of our 

 highest hills, chiefly in the highlands of Scotland, in the 

 Hebrides and Orkneys, and sometimes, but rarely, on 

 the lofty hills of Cumberland and Wales. Buffon, 

 speaking of this bird, says, that it avoids the solar heat, 

 and prefers the biting frost on the tops of mountains; 

 for as the snow melts on the sides of mountains, it con- 

 stantly ascends, till it gains the summit, where it forms 

 holes and burrows in the snow. They pair at the same 

 time as the red grouse. The female lays eight or ten 

 eggs, which are white, spotted with brown: she makes 

 no nest, but deposits them on the ground. In winter 

 they fly in flocks ; and are so little accustomed to the 

 sight of man, that they are easily shot, or taken in a 

 snare. They feed on the wild productions of the hills, 

 which sometimes gives the flesh a bitter, but not unpa- 

 latable taste ; it is dark-coloured, and, according to M. 

 Button, has somewhat the flavour of the hare. 



seldom seen, except on the inaccessible parts 

 of heathy mountains, or in the midst of piny 

 forests, the grouse is found in great numbers 

 the neighbourhood of corn-fields, where 



Rock Grouse. Orange, with black bands and 

 blotches ; the toes are downy ; the tail feathers 

 blacit, tipt with white ; the middle ones are entirely 

 white. The rock grouse inhabits Hudson's Bay ; is less 

 than the last; it does not frequent woods, but sits on the 

 tops of rocks, and makes a cry like a man calling with 

 a loud voice. 



The Sand Grouse. Its collar, belly, -and vent are 

 black; the tail feathers are barred with brown and gray, 

 and tipt with white ; the two middle ones are tawnyish: 

 the head is ashy; the chin, pale yellow, with a black 

 semi-circle on the throat, the feathers truncate and shin- 

 ing ; the tail is barred, the two middle feathers subulate 

 at the tip; the legs behind are naked, having a small 

 spur. The female of this species is yellowish, having 

 the head and neck spotted with black, and the back Vs 

 barred with black. For banded sand grouse, see Plate 

 XVIII. fig. 19; for Pallas's sand grouse, see fig. 27; 

 for spotted grouse, see fig. 18. 



The Heteroclitous Grouse. The feet are three-toed; 

 the toes are downy, and connected nearly to the tips. 

 The heteroclitous grouse inhabits the southern deserts of 

 Tartary ; it is an ambiguous bird, between the bustard 

 and the grouse. The bill is more slender than in others 

 of the tribe ; the upper mandible neither arched, nor re- 

 ceiving the lower one. Its head and neck are hoary; 

 the chin tawnyish, with an orange spot on each side of 

 the neck; the back is waved with gray and black ; the 

 breast is of a pale reddish ash-colour; the belly, flanks, 

 and vent are black; the wings long and pointed, white 

 beneath, and dotted with black above. 



Among the other varieties of grouse, are the Ruffed 

 Grouse the Pinnated Grouse the Hazel Grouse, pretty 

 generally spread throughout the central countries of 

 Europe the Pintado Grouse, a native of the cold re- 

 gions of North America and the Willow Grouse, which 

 inhabits the north of Europe and America, as far as the 

 ices of the pole. 



The Cock of the plain. This splendid bird is the 



largest of the American grouse ; and, as far as beauty, 

 size, and rarity are concerned, bears the same rank in 

 the American fauna with the wood-grouse, or cock of 

 the wood of Europe. He is equally sought after by the 

 mntsman, and is even now as difficult to procure as that 

 we have just compared him to. But the form and habits 

 are quite distinct. In our once native bird the form is 

 remarkably powerful, the tail rounded and very ample, 

 the habitation, the most extensive forests, delighting to 

 3erch on the highest trees. The bird of America in- 

 labits only the uncovered plains, never perches, and the 

 'orm of the tail is lengthened, the feathers narrowing to 

 a point. This acquisition to the grouse was first noticed 

 n the expedition of Lewis and Clark, who met with it 

 near the fountain of the Missouri, in the heart of the 

 Rocky mountains, and also on the Columbia river. A 

 i^ure was first given of it by Bonaparte, from a speci- 

 men in the possession of Mr Leadbetter. Both sexes 

 were again figured in Mr Wilson's Illustrations of Zoo- 



