CLOTHING OF ANIMALS. 27 



liills to the westward, and killed seven brace of grouse. 

 These birds are exactly the same with those of the same 

 name in Europe, save only in the colour of their feathers, 

 which are speckled with white in summer, and perfectly 

 white in winter, fourteen black ones in the tail excepted, 

 which always remain the same. When I was in England, 

 Mr Banks (now Sir Joseph Banks), Doctor Solander, 

 and several other naturalists, having inquired of me respect- 

 ing the manner of these birds changing colour, I took par- 

 ticular notice of those I killed, and can aver for a fact, that 

 they get at this time of the year a very large addition of 

 feathers, all of which are white ; and that the coloured fea- 

 tliers at the same time change to white. In spring, most 

 of the white feathers drop off, and are succeeded by co- 

 loured ones ; or, I rather believe, all the white ones drop 

 off, and that they get an entire new set. At the two sea- 

 sons they change very differently ; in the spring, beginning 

 at the neck, and spreading from thence ; now, they begin 

 on the belly, and end at the neck. There are also ptarmi- 

 gans in this country, which are in all respects the same as 

 those I have killed on some high mountains in Scotland." 



The total absence of every thing like demonstration of 

 the truth of the assertion regarding the autumnal change 

 of the colour of the plumage of the grouse, and the lan- 

 guage of hesitation which he employed when speaking of 

 the changes observed to take place in spring, probably in- 

 duced those naturalists who had perused Cahtwktght's 

 work, to reject statements so opposite to the opinions ge- 

 nerally entertained on the subject. The conjecture that 

 all the white feathers drop off in spring, even those which 

 were produced in the previous autumn, to be succeeded by 

 coloured ones, has not been verified by any observations 

 which we have been able to make on the subject. 



