274 



HAZEL GROUS. 



the ends : the vent white : the tail clouded above 

 with hoary, white, and brown : the legs and beak 

 black. 



This species is a native of the woods of Germany, 

 particularly those at the foot of the Alps ; and the 

 high mountains of Silesia, Poland, Sweden, and 

 Russia ; in the latter place not very abundant : in 

 the Gulf of Genoa it is found in the greatest pro- 

 fusion. Although so common on the Continent, it 

 does not appear ever to have been captured in 

 England. Its food consists principally of the cat- 

 kins of the hazel and birch, also the berries of 

 juniper, firs, and other evergreens, but when con- 

 fined it will eat grain. Its flesh is more esteemed 

 than any other of the genus, and from its superior 

 fiav^our it has received its specific name. Its man- 

 ners are similar to those of the preceding species. 

 The female generally deposits several eggs, which 

 vary from ten to sixteen in number, and are of a 

 whitish yellow, irregularly spotted with brown- 

 yellow ; they are hatched in about three weeks, 

 and the young run about as soon as they obtain 

 their liberty. The catching of these birds is ac- 

 companied with difficulty, from the inaccessible 

 places they inhabit; therefore the hunters have 

 recourse to a kind of bird-call to allure them from 

 their hiding-places. 



