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March to the middle of April they are to be found in the morning and afternoon in the tops of 

 the birches feeding on the buds. About the middle of March they pair and commence to drum 

 when in packs of several hundred individuals, but soon scatter to their respective breeding-haunts, 

 where they live in pairs. The males, however, are more numerous than the females, those which 

 remain unmated ranging about in flocks ; and Mr. Barth met with one of about forty individuals 

 on a small island, and shot fifteen out of them, it being considered quite correct to shoot these 

 even during the breeding-season. 



Several ornithologists have instituted researches as to the cause of the claws of the present 

 species being worn or cast, and as to the time when they are cast and the new ones produced. 

 After having carefully read the various articles on this subject I feel that I cannot do better 

 than give a translation of some notes published by Professor A. J. "Malmgren (Sallsk. pro Fauna 

 et Flora fennica, not. vi. pp. 89-94: Helsingfors, 1861). This gentleman carefully collected a 

 large series of feet of the Willow-Grouse, at all seasons of the year, keeping particulars as to 

 age, sex, &c. ; and from a critical examination of nearly two hundred pairs of feet collected in 

 the same locality, in the district of Kajana, Finland, he arrives at the following conclusions: — 

 From the end of October to April the winter claws remain unchanged ; they are even, broad, 

 scooped out in shape, somewhat bent, very strong and thick on the ridge, and on the middle toe 

 measure up to and above 20 millimetres in length. In April and early in May the tip and sides 

 are often found to be broken, owing probably to the hard-frozen surface of the snow at that 

 season ; but so soon as the ground becomes bare of snow, say about the middle of May, they get 

 even edges again and retain the same length, form, and appearance as during the winter up to 

 the end of June or the first days in July. Then, however, a sudden change takes place, as they 

 become quite short, without any intermediate stage between the 19-millimetre-long claws worn 

 in June to the July claws of only 10 millimetres length. To a practised eye, moreover, it is 

 apparent that these latter claws are new ; and they immediately commence to grow, so that late 

 in July they are visibly longer. In August and September they continue to grow quickly, and 

 in October have obtained the full length of the winter claws. The thick, hairy feathering of 

 the toes is cast late in May or early in June, and during the remainder of the latter month and 

 throughout July only the inner portions of the toes are covered with hair-like feathers. Early 

 in August the new feather-growth commences to appear, and gradually thickens till, by the end 

 of October, it is as dense as in midwinter. Professor Malmgren further shows that the shortness 

 of the summer claws cannot arise from continued wearing away by scratching, as was supposed 

 by Professor Bonsdorff to be the case, as the winter claws remain unaltered during the months 

 of May and June, when the ground is bare, and then in July the bird is found suddenly with 

 short claws, though the ground is bare, there being no gradual change ; and these short claws 

 gradually develop and attain their full length and appearance as in midwinter, whilst the ground 

 is bare. In the paper above quoted, Professor Malmgren gives a careful description of the claws 

 at various seasons of the year, but could not have them figured, though he had prepared some 

 careful sketches. These he has placed at my disposal, and an extra uncoloured Plate will be 

 given of them, as they show more clearly the various stages of the growth of the claws than any 

 description that could be written. 



Professor Baird remarks on the difference in size of the bills of individuals from various 



2g 



