334 A SPB1NG AND SUMMER IN LAPLAND. 



The willow grouse (Lagopus subalpina, Miss. ; 

 "skogs ripa," Sw. ; "riefsak," Lap.). — Some 

 naturalists seem to have a faint opinion that the 

 willow grouse is nothing more than a variety of the 

 red grouse (Tetrao scoticus, Gould) ; but any one 

 who has had the least opportunity of studying the 

 habits of the two birds in a state of nature, will 

 at once scout such an idea, for, although there may 

 be a slight resemblance between the two in their 

 summer dress, there it ends ; and I perfectly agree 

 with Dr. Bree's remarks, in his " Birds of Europe," 

 " that its affinities are more with the ptarmigan 

 than the red grouse, but it is distinct from both." 

 That it certainly is ; for in its habits it resembles 

 neither. But even in the colouring there is one 

 material difference, between the willow grouse and 

 the red grouse, which would, in my opinion, alone 

 mark a distinct species. In the red grouse, the 

 wing primaries are always dusky brown; in the 

 willow grouse, at every season of the year, they 

 are pure white. 



It is true that the seasonal change in the plu- 

 mage of the willow grouse may be owing to cli- 

 matic influence, but this is no reason why the wing 

 primaries should be white at all seasons, or that 

 the belly in the summer should be always so much 

 lighter than the back, in fact, often pure white. I 

 will now ask, as regards the habits of the two 



