ri6 THE BRITISH NATURE BOOK 



barred with black. [The rarer BLACK-TAILED GODWIT is known by the broad 

 black end to the tail.] In winter it is a grey bird, darker above. It feeds on 

 worms and burrowing crustaceans. The call is " Kew-it." 



Golden-eye. One of the Duck family, to be recognized (when in full 

 plumage) by the round white patch at the base of the beak almost like a 

 large white " dimple " the green-black head, and a large amount of white 

 on the wing. It has a black back and white under parts ; the female has a 

 chestnut-brown head, the rest being grey (above) and white. 



It is a winter visitor only, to be found on our coasts and inland lakes, 

 feeding on molluscs, crustaceans, tadpoles, and frogs. It has a harsh, rasping 

 double note, "Zee-at," heard chiefly at the breeding season. Otherwise it 

 is a silent bird. 



Grouse, Bed. This is the one and only species of bird inhabiting our country 

 that is not known in any other part of the world (except where it has been 

 deliberately introduced, as, for example, into Germany and Sweden). It 

 is not known in the South ; but on the Lancashire and Yorkshire moors, and 

 in North Wales, Scotland, and Ireland it may be found breeding. The changes 

 in plumage are of great interest, the male moulting in autumn and winter, the 

 female in summer and autumn. The general plumage is reddish brown on 

 neck and head ; upper parts chestnut-brown, barred and speckled with black ; 

 black breast tipped with white. In summer the colouring is lighter, in winter 

 there is a certain amount of white mottling on the under parts. The male has 

 a small red " comb " above each eye. 



The alarm note is " Cock-cock-cock " ; the call-note, a harsh " Go-back, go 

 back-back-back." The nest is a scrape among heather or herbage, lined with 

 heath, grass, fern, etc. Eight or nine eggs are laid, varying in colour yellowish, 

 creamy, and reddish, blotched and mottled with darker brown. 



The Red Grouse feeds on young shoots of heather or ling, and in autumn 

 on seeds of sedges, grains, and wild fruits. In winter it often burrows beneath 

 the snow, making a remarkable and intricate series of tunnels. 



Guillemot. One of the Auks. May be confused with the Razorbill at first 

 sight ; but it is easily distinguished by its long and slender bill, more graceful 

 neck, and grey-brown upper parts (slate-grey in summer, browner in autumn) ; 

 the under parts are mostly white. The bird is found in colonies with the 

 Razorbill (which see) on our sea cliffs all the year round. On the Yorkshire 

 coast quite a large trade is done by cliff climbers in collecting the eggs. Only 

 one egg is laid, on the bare rock of the cliff ledges or the top of stacks. It 

 is pear-shaped, and varies extraordinarily in colour, having green, white, or 

 yellow ground colour, blotched and spotted with darker colours. The bird sits 

 bolt upright, reminding one of the Penguin. It feeds on fish. The notes are 

 various some like gulls, others like the commencement of a dog's howl, others 

 a succession of laughing cries, its most familiar call being syllabled as " Murr." 



[Many of these birds have a white circle round the eye, and are known as 

 " bridled " or " ringed."! 



