NESTING-SERIES OF BRITISH BIRDS. 161 



from six to twelve in number, are pale reddish-yellow, spotted with 

 brown. 



The plants growing near this nest (in a somewhat damp situation) 

 are the Spotted Orchis, Tormentil (Potentilla tormentilla], Whortle- 

 berry (Vaccinium myrtillus), and the Marsh-Marigold. 



Perthshire, June. 

 Presented by C. S. H. Drummond- Moray, Esq. 



No. 68. PTARMIGAN. (Lagopus mutus.) 



In Great Britain this species is now confined to the higher mountains 

 of Scotland, where it chooses by preference the more desolate tops, 

 where lichen-covered fragments of rock lie scattered about between 

 low stunted plants. The food consists of the green tops of the ling 

 and various kinds of berries. The nest, a mere hollow scraped in the 

 ground, contains from eight to ten eggs, much like those laid by the 

 Red Grouse, but with the ground-colour usually of a lighter tint. In 

 autumn both sexes assume a grey plumage on the upper parts of the 

 body, and in winter they become white. 



The plant in flower is the Alpine Azalea (Loiseleuria procumbens] . 



Perthshire, May. 

 Presented by His Grace the Duke of Athole. 



No. 69. RED GROUSE. (Lagopus scoticus.) 



The Red Grouse is peculiar to the British Islands, where it is the 

 insular representative of the Willow-Grouse (L. lagopus] of the northern 

 portions of Europe, Asia, and America; but, unlike the latter species, 

 it does not assume a white plumage in winter. With the exception of 

 the southern counties of England, it is generally distributed over the 

 moors, but is most abundant in the north of England and in Scotland. 

 Its food consists principally of the tips of the ling and heath, as well as 

 berries and grain. From eight to ten eggs are laid in a shallow depres- 

 sion in the ground among the heather, but as many as fifteen are 

 occasionally found ; their ground-colour is whitish-buff, heavily mottled 

 and blotched with rich reddish-brown. Incubation lasts about twenty- 

 four days, and the young, when hatched, are carefully watched over by 

 both parents. 



Inverness-shire, May. 



Presented by Lord Lovat. 



