90 A CATALOGUE OF THE BIEDS 



of the Eed Grouse are very similar, but the colours cLLffer consi- 

 derably, that of the Ptarmigan being very much colder in tint ; 

 so much so, indeed, that while it is grey or ash in the latter, it 

 is warm yellow-ochre colour in the former or Red Grouse. But 

 I have only seen a single individual of the Ptarmigan in this 

 state, and it is from the Alps. Mr. Gould, in giving a figure of 

 the Ptarmigan, in the downy state, in his work on " The Birds 

 of Great Britain," represents it of the same warm colour as that 

 of the Red Grouse, and with markings perfectly similar, but it is 

 not stated where the specimens were obtained. 



The eggs of all the European Grouse, including the two 

 British forms, are so much alike, that were they mixed it would 

 be quite impossible to distinguish them. Examples of Ptarmi- 

 gan's eggs, that I have received from Greenland and Iceland, are 

 however generally a little smaller than my Scotch examples. 



The first plumage of the Ptarmigan closely resembles that of 

 the Red Grouse. It has no white in any part of the body. The 

 only individual that I have seen in this state is in my collection ; 

 it is from Iceland, and is about half grown. The secondaries 

 and the two principal or longest primaries are brown, like those 

 of the Red Grouse, and the external primaries, which are in a 

 much less developed state than the others, are white. There 

 are two growing feathers of the coverts of the left wing white, 

 and a single secondary of the right wing is also white. The 

 dusky undulating broken bars on the neck, breast, and flanks 

 are strong and distant, as in the adult female ; the centre of the 

 belly is also barred transversely, biit somewhat obscurely; the 

 tail feathers are just making their appearance and are black, 

 tipped with white. 



92. TETRAO, Linncem. 

 3.- Black Grouse. T. tetrix, Linnmus. 



Tetrao tetrix, Bewick, Hist. Brit. Birds, Ed. 1847, I., 347. 

 ,, ,, Yarrcll, Hist. Brit. Birds, Ed. 2, II., 340. 



A resident. Plentiful in the wild tracts of both counties, es- 

 pecially where the bircli abounds, and in damp situations. Its 



