A HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND 
western Europe, and many individuals reached 
the British Isles in their wanderings. Three 
were procured in our county, out of a total of 
four birds that were identified. A female 
was shot in April by Mr. Jackson of St. Bees, 
and entered the collection of Mr. Dawson 
Rowley. A female bird was shot near Silloth 
by a man named Lightfoot, who has often 
told me how he unexpectedly fell in with 
the stranger, after it had been unsuccessfully 
pursued for several days by other local gunners. 
Its companion escaped. The bird obtained 
was dissected by the late James Fell (who 
died in 1887), and proved to bea female. A 
handsome adult male was killed near Penrith 
in May or June, and was mounted by T. 
Hope. No other specimens were detected 
until the year 1888. Small flocks were seen 
in that year near Stapleton and Wintershields 
in the month of April, unless there was any 
mistake as to the date ; certainly two flocks 
were seen near Longtown on and even prior 
to May 21st. <A flock of six or seven birds 
alighted in some fields near Orton on May 
1gth, and frequented the locality until May 
26th, when three or more were shot and 
taken to Mr. George Dawson. The first 
birds observed in the neighbourhood of the 
Solway Firth came under the notice of my 
friend Tom Williamson on May 22nd, near 
Allonby. I made my first personal acquaint- 
ance with these birds on May 28th, after 
which date I had many opportunities of study- 
ing their habits, for several flocks remained in 
the north of the county until June 13th, when 
their numbers fell to a very low figure. Prob- 
ably most of these birds moved in a westerly 
direction, since the species appeared in various 
parts of the west of Cumberland in July, in- 
cluding Cockermouth, Sandwith, Seascale, but 
especially Ravenglass. A flock of twenty- 
three birds settled among the sand dunes at 
Drigg on July 24th, and remained in the 
neighbourhood until October 17th. None 
were seen in the vicinity of Penrith, so far as 
we could ascertain, until September 13th. 
Most of the birds left this county in the 
autumn of 1888. But for more precise details, 
reference should be made to the account of 
the present species furnished in the Fauna of 
Lakeland. It remains for me to add that 
though I took great trouble to secure the pro- 
tection of these interesting birds, and paid 
much attention to their habits, I could find no 
proof of their nesting with us. I sent to the 
Field the ovaries of two females which had 
unhappily been killed near Silloth on May 
26th and 28th. The editor replied that 
‘Both the hens would have nested, the one 
in the course of a few days, the other in less 
than a fortnight.” On November 7th I 
weighed five sand-grouse, which yielded the 
following results: 104 oz. 1 dr.; 10} oz.; 
104 0z; 92 0z.; 94 oz. The males were 
the heaviest. During their stay with us these 
birds fed chiefly in the open fields, devouring 
the seeds of spurrey and other weeds as well 
as grain ; they retired at frequent intervals to 
the shelter of oursand dunes. Their elegancy 
of flight combined with the beauty of their 
colours to render them very fascinating. They 
flew with great rapidity ; when alarmed, they 
ran together before rising on the wing. 
171. Black Grouse. Tetrao tetrix, Linn. 
A resident species, very local in the north 
and west of the county, but fairly plentiful in 
the east and north-east between Alston and 
Brampton, as likewise in the neighbourhood 
of Penrith. Many birds are sent into the 
Carlisle poulterers during the last days of 
August, both adult and young. The greater 
number of the young birds are then in nest 
feather, showing few if any black feathers ; 
but some early nestlings are three parts in- 
vested with black feathers by August 21st, 
and nearly as large as old birds. 
172. Red Grouse. Lagopus scoticus (Latham). 
Locally, Moorcock, Moorfowl, Gorcock (0ds.). 
A resident in small numbers on mosses near 
the coast, becoming more abundant when the 
fells are reached. Some very handsome 
varieties occur, especially perhaps in the 
neighbourhood of Alston, where many birds 
are unhappily netted. A female which 
reached me on December 13th, 1899, having 
been killed near Alston, has the chin anda 
large patch of feathers on the upper breast 
pure white (with the exception of one or two 
chesnut feathers) ; the flanks are rich ches- 
nut, and the breast and abdomen reddish ches- 
nut, each feather being broadly tipped with 
white ; the chesnut colour extends to the 
greater wingcoverts; the upper partsare prettily 
spotted with yellowish buff. An old hen shot 
near Bewcastle on October 5th, 1895, has 
the usual markings faintly traced on a pale 
whitey-cinnamon ground, and white wings. 
173. Ptarmigan. Lagopus mutus (Montin). 
Pennant stated in 1776 that a few ptarmigan 
then inhabited the hills in the neighbourhood 
of Keswick. The fact was endorsed later on 
by Dr. Heysham, and may be held to be in- 
directly corroborated by the circumstance that 
the Dumfriesshire and Galloway hills were 
the home of ptarmigan at a subsequent period. 
As long ago as 1803, the author of a tract 
entitled ‘Observations chiefly Lithological,’ 
reported the existence of a local specimen of 
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