82 TETRAONIDjE. 



men, as they lie very close in the first part of the season ; 

 but as the season advances, several broods join, and forming 

 what is called a pack, they become very shy. 



The numbers that are annually obtained by shooting and 

 other means, without any apparent decrease in the ensuing- 

 year, is very remarkable, considering that they are the pro- 

 duce of this country alone. 



Of all British game the Red Grous and Ptarmigan are the 

 most harmless ; for their exclusive haunts, the most desolate 

 moors away from human habitations, supply them with food, 

 shelter, and every necessary they require. 



These birds pair very early in the spring, and the 

 female deposits her eggs, from eight or nine to twelve in 

 number, in a slightly constructed nest, if it can even be 

 called a nest, among the heather. The young brood leave 

 the nest soon after they are hatched, when the parent birds 

 feed them with the produce of the ground where they begin 

 to exist, namely, the wortle-berries and berries of other kinds 

 that grow on the ground where these birds locate, besides 

 also the tops of the heaths. The hen attends solely to the 

 incubation ; but, as soon as the young birds are hatched, the 

 male joins her in providing for the family. 



The Red Grous will live and is said to breed in con- 

 finement, although it does not repay for the trouble. The 

 food these birds require under such circumstances is oats 

 or barley, and a frequent supply of branches of heath, or 

 berries of the kinds before mentioned, if such can be had. 



This species measures sixteen inches in length. The 

 female rather less, and the colouring of her plumage is not 

 so full as that of the male bird ; neither has she the red 

 granulated skin above the eye. 



The beak of the male bird is black, and half hidden by 

 numerous small feathers that surround its base. Irides 

 chesnut-colour. Orbits of the eyes white ; also a small 



