1010 UR. E. A. WILSON ON THE [June 14, 



winter-stocking of the sick cock, and the naked featherless clean 

 moulted leg and foot of the really healthy male bird, in June. 

 In July, again, will l)e found the healthy cock bird beginning to 

 produce wliite feather-tips (jver the legs and feet. 



In Jtdii the general appearance of the healthy cock is much 

 lighter in colour-tone and much more broken and mottled in 

 pattern -character than that of the same biid in the winter. The 

 claws are in many cases now ready to be shed, and the primaries, 

 secondaries and tail-feathei'S are in moult. Some six or eight 

 new clean grown primaries ai-e often to be found in July, and 

 the long tail-coverts are broad-ban-ed bufl' and black. 



In August the cock Grouse has, of course, tlie appearance 

 of full summer- or autumn-plumage, but it requires very little 

 examination to see that he has already begun to put on feathers 

 of the winter-plumage. 



He now ra})idly sheds the old feathers of the last winter's 

 plumage which remained throughout the summer U2)on his breast 

 and abdomen, and I'eplaces them with the exceedingly handsome 

 narrow cross-baired led or brown or blackish feathers of the 

 coming winter-plumage. 



There is no second moult or i-eplacement of these feathers of 

 the breast and abdomen in the cock. Once in the year is enough 

 for this special area, and the feathei'S that carry through are 

 wholly of the winter-plumage. They are often broadly tipped 

 with white. 



The chin-feathers which survived with those of the breast and 

 abdomen are now also replaced by new ones. It is noticeable 

 that in the Ptarmigan also it is the white feathering of the chin 

 and of the breast and lielly, as well as of the wrings and tail, which 

 is changed once only in the year, exactly as with the winter- 

 plumage of the Grouse. It suggests that these two plumages are 

 analogous in each. 



The plumage-changes in the Ptarmigan are, strange to say, 

 quite diflerent to the changes in the Grouse. The Ptarmigan 

 has three distinct moults and plumages in the year. The Red 

 Grouse has but two. 



In August, as has been said, the cock Red Grouse has begun to 

 put on his winter- plumage. The feathers of the breast and 

 abdomen are fidl of sheaths and sheath-scurf, the growth of these 

 feathers being very rapid and often scarcely noticeable. 



On the rump, back, and to a less extent on the shoulders, new 

 rich red-l)rown feathers finely mai-ked with black lines are showing 

 here and thei-e. 



Primaries, .secondaries, tail-feathers and coverts are now re- 

 placed by new and blackisli feathers with perfect and unbroken 

 outlines. 



Even a few new rich (.•f)pper-coloured feathers are appearing as 

 isolated touches of bright colour amongst the faded broad-barred 

 autiuiin-feathers of the upper l)reast. 



The feet and legs are bare, SJive where new^ white feather-tips 



