BRITISH BIRDS. 345 



are elegantly marked with small transverse lines of 

 black and grey, as are also the back and wings, 

 but more irregularly; the breast is black, richly 

 glossed with green on the upper part, and mixed 

 with a few white feathers on the belly and thighs ; 

 the sides are marked like the neck; the tail con- 

 sists of eighteen feathers, which are black, those 

 on the sides are marked with a few white spots: 

 the legs are very stout, and covered with brown 

 feathers; the toes are furnished on each side with a 

 strong pectinated membrane. The female is con- 

 siderably less than the male, and differs from him 

 greatly in her colours ; her throat is red ; the trans- 

 verse bars on the head, neck, and back are red and 

 black; the breast pale orange; belly barred with 

 orange and black, the top of each feather white; 

 the back and wings mottled with reddish brown 

 and black; the scapulars tipped with white; the 

 tail is of a deep rust colour, barred with black, and 

 tipped with white. 



This beautiful bird is found chiefly in high moun- 

 tainous regions, and is very rare in Great Britain. 

 Pennant mentions one, as an uncommon instance, 

 which was shot near Inverness. It was formerly 

 met with in Ireland, but is now supposed to be 

 extinct there. In Russia, Sweden, and other 

 northern countries, it is very common; it lives in 

 the forests of pine, with which those countries 

 ^lbound, and feeds on the cones of the fir trees, 

 which, at some seasons, give an unpleasant flavour 

 to its flesh, so as to render it unfit for the table; it 

 likewise eats various kinds of plants and berries, 

 particularly the juniper. Early in the spring the 

 season for pairing commences; during this period, 



VOL. i. 2 x 



