THE FAUNA OF THE MOOR 115 



shows more of a yellowish-chestnut tint; but the 

 description of the colours of the Red Grouse is very 

 complicated. Thus from June till October the male, 

 having moulted his fine breeding plumage, wears an 

 " eclipse " suit, which resembles the breeding plumage 

 of the female. The pairing takes place early in the 

 spring and, unlike the Black Grouse, the Red Grouse 

 does not try to get more than one wife to bear him 

 company. The hen makes a mere apology for a nest 

 in the shelter of the Heather, and sits very close for 

 over three weeks on from seven to twelve reddish 

 eggs. No brooding is done by the cock, but he keeps 

 watch and utters his loud hoarse alarum on very 

 slight provocation. There is a good deal of casual 

 fighting among cocks who meet one another on the 

 moor. The young birds are very precocious, being 

 able to run about soon after they leave the egg. There 

 is great mortality, however, in the early months, for 

 the moorland is a hungry place. 



There is much that is very interesting in these 

 familiar birds. The naked skin above the eye forms a 

 warty ridge of a red colour; the pigment that causes 

 the redness is called " zoonerythrin " (which means 

 "animal-red"), and it is the same as we see in the 

 Flamingo and the Cardinal Bird. Moreover, it seems 

 to be almost the same chemically as the red pigment 

 of the shell of the Norway Lobster and of many other 

 crustaceans. 



Instead of the scales that occur on most birds below 

 the ankle-joint and on the toes scales that betray 

 the bird's affinity with reptiles there is in the Grouse 

 a thick stocking of feathers going down as far as the 

 claws. And in regard to the claws it is interesting to 



