HISTORY OF STAFFORDSHIRE. [153 



white spot on the shonlders, tail of 16 feathers, forked ; thighs and 

 legs dark brown; weight neai 41b. length . 22 inches : female, 

 plumage mixed with red, weight 21b. Cannock-chase, Burntwood, 

 BishopVwoods, and Chartley-park. Feed on whortle-berries, but 

 in summer and autumn wander into corn-fields, being polygamous. 

 Sportsmen aim at destroying the males only. 



3. SCOTICUS The Red Grouse or Moor Game: Bill black, irides 

 hazel ; a white spot on each side the lower mandible, threat red, 

 head and neck tawny red, mixed with black ; back red with black 

 spots; beneath purplish brown; streaked with dark lines; tail 

 of 16 feathers ; thighs pale red ; legs feathered to the claws ; 

 weight 19 ounces, length 15 inches: female, belly spotted with 

 white, weight 15 ounces. These birds prefer the summits of hills, 

 braving the utmost rigour of winter, and never seek shelter in 

 woods; when other food fails, they will devour the tops of heath, 

 and abound in the Moorlands of Staffordshire, and on Cannock- 

 heath. Legs naked. 



4. PERDIX CINERRA The Partridge: Bill white, plumage 

 orange, black, and brown; a semilunar mark on the breast, tail of 

 18 feathers ; -weight 15 ounces, length 13 inches: female, less. 

 Plentiful in cultivated lands: in Need wood-forest they subsist on 

 ants' eggs. A brace of white partridges were killed at Wrottesley 

 in 1796. 



5. COTURNIX The Quail : Bill dusky, head black, a yellowish 

 line from the crown to the back, chin and throat whitish, breast 

 pale orange spotted with black, back black and yellow; tail of 12 

 feathers black and red ; length seven inches. Migrates : rare. 

 These birds are seldom seen, but their note has been heard most 

 seasons in corn-fields at Pendeford. 



ORDER VI. PASSERES. 



LOXIA COCCOTHRAUSTES The Cross Beak or Haw Finch: Bill, 

 under side the body, and legs reddish, head chesnut, chin and quills 

 black, the ends of the middle quills curved outwards, a black line 

 from the bill to the eyes, back brown ; weight two ounces, length 

 seven inches. Migrates. Feed on berries of yew and hawthorn. 



2. PYRRHULA The Bullfinch: Bill, crown, coverts of the wings, 

 and tail black, back of the neck and back grey, coverts of the tail and 

 vent white, cheeks, breast, and belly crimson, a white line across 

 the wings : the breast and belly of the female dirty buff colour. 



3. CHLORIS The Green Finch : Plumage yellow green, exterior 



