BRITISH BIRDS. 351 



are strong, and of a light colour. The female is 

 somewhat less; the naked skin above each eye is 

 not so conspicuous, and the colours of her plumage 

 in general are much lighter than those of the male. 

 This bird is found in great plenty in the wild, 

 heathy, and mountainous tracts in the northern 

 counties of England and Wales, and particularly 

 in the Highlands of Scotland. They are likewise 

 common in the Orcades, though not one is to be 

 met with in the Zetland Islands, except accident- 

 ally. It is noticed as being peculiar to Britain; 

 those found in the mountainous parts of France, 

 Spain, Italy, and elsewhere, as mentioned by Buf- 

 fon, are probably only varieties of this kind,' and no 

 doubt \vould breed with it. It is to be wished that 

 attempts were more frequently made to introduce a 

 greater variety of these useful birds into this coun- 

 try, to stock our waste and barren moors with a 

 rich fund of delicate and wholesome food ; but till 

 the legislature shall alter or abrogate our very un- 

 equal and injudicious game laws, there hardly re- 

 mains a single hope for the preservation of such 

 birds of this species as we now have. 



Red Grouse pair in the spring: the female lays 

 eight or ten eggs on the ground. The young ones 

 follow the hen the whole summer; as soon as they 

 have attained their full size, they unite in flocks of 

 forty or fifty, and are then exceedingly shy and 

 wild. 



