THE SPECIES. 125 



The Tawny Owl — Dimensions, On ; Eggs, Me — otherwise the Wood Owl, is our typical 

 Owl, the one that says *' Quotha ! tu whit ; tu whoo I oh-h, h, h ! " and flies so softly, and 

 lives in a tree, and never comes out till after dark. The eggs are often laid in the deserted 

 nest of a dove, a crow, a magpie, or in a squirrel's drey; but generally it is in a hole, the 

 three or four eggs being laid on disgorged food pellets. 



Syrrhaptes. Plate xxlii. PTEROCLID^. 



268. paradoxus, 16 in. Pallas's Sand Grouse. Buff barred with dark 



brown above ; sandy below ; lower breast blackisli ; 



tail of 16 feathers, with two of them long and 



pointed ; toes feathered to the claws. 



Pallas's Sand Grouse — Dimensions, Nh ; Eggs, La — first appeared here. in 1863, on a wave 



of migration from the Tartar Steppes. It is now an occasional visitor. Its flight is riifmi, 



high, and loud ; and its cry is *' truk, turuk." The female is spotted with black on the ht:ad 



and neck. 



Tadorna. Plate xx. ANATW^. 



234. cas.irca, 24 in, RuDDV Siield Duck. Bill black; tail black; 



legs black. 

 233. cornuta, 26 in. Sheld DuciC Bill oninge ; tail white; legs 



orange. 



The Ruddy Sheld Duck — Dimensions, Rb ; Eggs, Qit — is generally shot in this country 

 on its escape from captivity, although there is no reason why it should not come in a wild 

 stale occasionally. It is the Brahminy Duck of Anglo-Indians. The male's bill is bright 

 red, the female's is black, and she has no black ring round the neck. 



The Sheld Duck — Dimensions, Ro ; Eggs, Qv — is our old friend the Sheldrake renamed, 

 as a revenge probably for the renaming of the Wild Duck. It is our largest duck, and 

 a handsome one, with its beautiful green head and neck, and its broad collars of white and 

 chestnut, its white wing coverts and its green wing bar. The male's call is a whistle, the 

 female's a loud " kor, kor," and a "quark." The female is like the male but not so 

 brilliant, and not so large, and she has no knob at thj base of her bill. The nest is in a 

 rabbit burrow or in a burrow made specially by the bird, which is almost circular in ground 

 plan, or among thick furze. The materidU are dry grasS| and moss, and pale lavender 

 coloured down. There are fri^m 7 to 16 eggs. 



Tetrao. Plate xxiii. PHASIAN/DyE. 



272. mutus, 15 in. Ptarmigan. Primaries white ; tail rounded, with 



16 feathers. 

 271. scoticus, 16 in. Red Gkouse. Primaries brown ; tail square, with 



16 feathers. 

 270. tetrix, 22 in. BLACK GROUSE. Tail forked, with 18 feathers ; 



25 remigcs. 

 269. urogailus, 36 in. Capercaillie. Tail slightly rounded, with 18 



tail feathers ; 29 remiges. 



The Ptarmigan — Dimensions, RIj ; Eggs, Li — is a familiar bird owing to its being imported 

 so largely from Norway for food purposes, but it is resident in several pans of Scotland above 

 the forest Une. In summer the male has red wattles over the eyes, and is black and brown 

 above, except on the lower back and rump, where he is white. In autumn the blacks and 

 browns become greys ; and in winter the plumage is almost all white. The flight is whirring 

 and very rapid, low and straight, and it ends with a long run. The call is a croak like a 

 frog. The male has black lores ; the female has not. The nest is a hollow on the ground, 

 lined with some scraps cf grass and heather, and a few feathers. The eggs are from 8 to 12 

 in number. 



The Red Grouse — Dimensions, Nc ; Eggs, Lo — is the only real and original British Bird 

 who is never seen out of Britain. He is the "Saint** to which the 12th of August is 

 dedicated. The n.al; has a sort of long moustache and a very large red wattle. The female 

 is smaller in size, paler in colour, without a moustache, and with a much smaller wattle, or 

 " comb,** as it is often called. The flight is a low one, with many a glide with outstretched 

 wings. The call of ihe male is "go back, go back, go go back " ; that of the female is a 

 croak. The nest is a hollow in the ground, lined with heather, grass, and teathers, and there 

 ftre from 7 to 15 eggs. 



The Black Grouse — Dimensions, Pt ; Eggs, Mp — is the inclusive designation of the Black 

 Cock and Grey Hen, and is perhaps better known as Black Game. The male has a broad 

 white bar on the wing, and he has white axillaries and tail C'>vertA, The female is chestnut in 



