WILLOW GROUS. 329 



The Willow Grrous, moreover, join their broods whenever an oppor- 

 tunity offers, and we found flocks of old and young, in which the latter 

 were of very different sizes. This species rarely if ever alights on bushes 

 or trees after being fully grown, and appears to resort at all times by 

 preference to the ground, living among the naked rocks of the open mo- 

 rasses. 



The young birds do not acquire their full summer plumage before 

 they are two years old. Many of these middle-aged birds, as I would 

 call them, which our party procured early in the month of July, differed 

 greatly from the older birds, which had their broods then quite small. 

 They were much lighter in colour, their tails were shorter, and they 

 weighed less, but afforded much better eating. Some of them had young, 

 but their broods were much smaller in point of number, seldom exceeding 

 four or five, while the old birds frequently had a dozen or more. 



The flight of the Willow Grous resembles that of the Red Grous of 

 Scotland, being regular, swift, and on occasion protracted to a very great 

 distance. They have no whirring sound of their wings, even when put 

 up by sudden surprise. Whenever we found a pair without young, they 

 were extremely shy, and would fly from one hill to another often at a 

 great distance. If pursued, they would be seen standing erect, and bold- 

 ly watching our approach, until we got to the distance of a few hundred 

 yards from them, when they would run from the naked rocks into the 

 moss, and there squat so close, that unless one of the party happened to 

 walk almost over them, they remained unseen, and could not be raised. 

 When discovered and put up, they were easily shot, on account of the 

 beautiful regularity of their flight. In rising from the ground, they utter 

 a loud and quickly repeated chuck, which is continued for eight or ten 

 yards. 



Young birds shot in Newfoundland, on the 11 th of August, weighed 

 6| ounces, and were fully fledged. Their primaries were of a sullied white, 

 but their legs were not closely covered with hair-like feathers as in the old 

 birds. Although this species breeds in the districts inhabited by the 

 Canada Grous, it never enters the thickets to which the latter resorts, but 

 always remains in the open grounds. 



One day while in search of young Wild Geese, in a large oozy and 

 miry flat, covered with a floating bed of tangled herbage, we were much 

 surprised at finding there several Willow Grous. They were extremely 



VOL. II. L 1 



