240 TETRAONIN^E. TETRAO. 



of moderate size ; eyelids feathered ; over the upper a semi- 

 lunar space of bare, papillate, fringed skin. Head small, 

 oblong ; neck moderate ; body very full and large. Legs ra- 

 ther short, strong ; tarsi covered with feathers anteriorly and 

 on the side ; toes rather small and slender ; the first small 

 and elevated, all scutellate, with a marginal series of linear, 

 flattened, obtuse scales, projecting like the teeth of a comb ; 

 claws rather short, strong, arched, with the sides sloping, the 

 edges thin, the tip obtuse. Plumage full, close, compact ; 

 wings short, broad, curved, much rounded ; tail of sixteen 

 or eighteen feathers, varying in form. 



The Grouse, of which only two species exist in Britain, 

 are generally strong, heavy birds, which live on vegetable 

 substances, generally collecting their food on the ground, but 

 sometimes also on trees. They have a strong, often rapid 

 and protracted flight, walk and run with agility, nestle on 

 the ground, lay numerous spotted eggs, and are in great re- 

 quest as objects of sport and food. 



156. TETRAO UROGALLUS. WOOD GROUSE, OR CAPERCAILZIE. 



Male with the tail rounded ; the upper parts minutely un- 

 dulated with grey and black ; the throat, lower part of fore 

 neck, and fore part of breast, black, the tips of the feathers 

 glossy dark green ; the lower wing-coverts and feathers under 

 the tail white. Female variegated with yellowish-red, white, 

 and brownish-black. 



Male, 34, 52, 16, 2, 3, 2J, }f. Female, 28. 



This magnificent bird was formerly a native of the pine fo- 

 rests of the middle and northern divisions of Scotland. The 

 last individual recorded as killed near Inverness, was seen by 

 Mr Pennant in 1769. Of late, individuals have been intro- 

 duced from Scandinavia, where it is plentiful, and, it is said, 

 have succeeded in the woods of the Marquis of Breadalbane, 

 in Perthshire ; so that the species may now rank as natu- 

 ralized. 



Cock of the Woods. Great Wood Grouse. Capercailzie. 



Tetrao Urogallus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. 273. Tetrao Urogal- 

 lus, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. ii. 457. Tetrao Urogallus, Wood 

 Grouse, MacGillivray, Brit. Birds, i. 138. 



157. TETRAO TETRIX. BLACK GROUSE. 

 Male with the tail much forked, the four lateral feathers on 



