1910.] PLUMAGE OF THE RED GROUSE. 1011 



are just appearing through the skin, and the claws of all the 

 healthy birds are being shed. 



In September the chin and throat of the cock Grouse ai'e a 

 mixture of many pale autumn-feathers much worn and faded, 

 rand a few new copper-red ones. 



Most of the " autumn-plumage " feathers are now falling out, 

 more or less frayed and faded. 



The breast and abdomen, wings and tail are now clothed with 

 altogether new feathers, while the head and neck, back, shoulders, 

 rump, and coverts of the tail are in a transition state, the 

 " autumn " feathers contrasting with the new rich chestnut and 

 darker brownish winter-feathers with their fine black transverse 

 markings. 



The feathers of the legs and feet of healthy birds are rapidly 

 growing to form thick white stockings for the winter. Bare legs 

 in September are a sign of belated moult or, in other words, a sign 

 •of sickness. 



In October^ for the first time since the pi"eceding winter, the 

 red and black varieties of Red Grouse become once more con- 

 spicuously distinct. This result is due to the new growth of fully 

 pigmented feathers, either red or black, upon the under suiface 

 of the body. 



The upper neck is rapidly becoming copper-red. The chin and 

 throat still show a proportion of the faded buff " autumn " 

 feathers among the red, the former looking spotty and pale. 



On the back the new chestnut and black feathers are rapidly 

 replacing the faded autumn-feathers. 



Some perfectly healthy cocks still look as if in " autumn- 

 plumage," while others, on the contrary, have neaidy completed 

 their winter dress. 



The legs and feet are thickly covered with white feathers, and 

 the nails ai-e uniformly small, as the old claws have all been shed. 

 Their growth, however, is extremely rapid. 



In November the cock Grouse drops most of the remaining 

 " autumn-plumage." By the end of the month his moult is com- 

 plete, but on the neck and back a greater or lesser number of 

 these feathers are retained till the following summer. 



The most striking characteristics of the winter-plumage are the 

 rich copper-coloured neck and throat, and, in the dai-ker varieties 

 which are common in the Scottish Highlands, the contrasting 

 blackness of the upper breast and abdomen, often bi'oadly flecked 

 with pure white tips. 



Amongst the cocks there ai"e several well-defined and easily 

 recognized varieties, which seem to have a certain regularity of 

 distribution geographically. These will be found fully considered 

 below. 



It must not, however, be forgotten that owing to innumerable 

 efforts, which have been more or less successfully made from 

 time to time, to transfer Red Grouse from one part of the country 

 •to another, the distinction of local variations has become a thiner 



