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mainland, especially the mountain-ranges of the north-east of Scotland, which invariably yield, 

 in good seasons, the largest and most beautifully marked Grouse. In many districts the native 

 Grouse partake of the coloration of the ground in their markings ; thus the finest and darkest 

 birds are those frequenting rich heathy tracts, while on broken ground of a rocky character, 

 such as may be seen in the south of Wigtownshire, the Grouse are either more or less mottled, 

 or are altogether lighter in colour, and less in size and weight. Accidental varieties likewise 

 occur. I have seen specimens of Grouse that were wholly of a pure buff colour ; the pair of the 

 kind I examined were shot near Forres, in October 1867, and had for some time previously been 

 marked objects on the moor were they were killed. I have found the nest of this species at 

 various elevations in localities where the heather grows in luxuriance, from the shoulder of the 

 highest hills to the low slopes, almost touching the margin of some of our sea lochs. I remember 

 finding two nests in the island of Bute in 1867 (a year of disease and great mortality) about 

 ten yards from highwater mark ; and some of my correspondents send me similar records from 

 other parts of the country. The food of the Grouse, though consisting, as is well known, of 

 young heather shoots and various alpine plants, is often varied by farm produce, especially oats — 

 a grain which is frequently sown on reclaimed patches of land near its haunts. In Wigtownshire 

 I have observed large numbers frequenting even stubble and turnip fields. On 29th September, 

 1870, when driving from Glenluce to Portwilliam, I noticed upwards of thirty Grouse perched 

 on a stone wall dividing two fields in the immediate neighbourhood of a moor. This was late in 

 the afternoon, just as the dyke was being tipped with the warm hues of approaching sunset ; and 

 the birds sat in a line, with a curiously regular space between each. None of them appeared to 

 take notice of the conveyance as it went past ; and on looking back and keeping the wall steadily 

 in view for some minutes, I saw eight or ten more birds flying in their direction ; so that, in all 

 likelihood, the assemblage would increase as the evening advanced. On mentioning the circum- 

 stance to a friend at Portwilliam, I was informed that this habit of settling on stone walls is not 

 uncommon in that district, as that as many as forty to fifty Grouse are frequently seen ranged on 

 such perches. Poachers, who are aware of the habit, take a raking shot at them as they sit, and 

 often in this way secure three or four brace at a single discharge." In England the Grouse 

 inhabits various parts of the northern, central, and western counties, where the moors are still 

 remaining and not opened up by the plough. Mr. A. G. More (Ibis, 1865, p. 427) states, on 

 the authority of Colonel Newman, that it is plentiful on the hills of Monmouthshire, and further 

 records it as " inhabiting Hereford, Shropshire, Stafford, Radnor (Mr. Bocke), and Pembroke 

 (Mr. Tracy). Breeds in Derbyshire, Lancashire, Yorkshire, and in every county north of lat. 54°, 

 reaching the Outer Hebrides and Orkneys, but not occurring in Shetland." It is found in 

 Ireland, where, according to Thompson (B. of Irel. ii. p. 47) it " is common throughout the 

 extensive heathy tracts in Ireland and adjacent islets. It has been remarked to me by sportsmen, 

 that the Grouse of Ireland and Scotland differ in size and colour. This is apparently correct 

 when birds of a certain district are compared with those of another ; but it is, in my opinion, a 

 partial view of the subject, as, in different localities throughout either the one country or the 

 other, birds will be found equally to vary in these respects. The following observations strikingly 

 illustrate this opinion: — A friend who shot over the moor of Glenroy, Inverness-shire, in 1844, 

 observed that the Grouse differed much in their plumage, and were of three varieties, each kind 



