278 



HYBRID GROUS. 



This beautiful bird, about which much has been 

 said by many ornithologists respecting its origin, 

 appears decidedly to be a distinct species, and 

 not a hybrid between the Wood Grous and the 

 following, as asserted by Latham and others. 

 The male has the head, the neck, and the breast, 

 of a beautiful full black, with reflections of bronzed 

 purple : the feathers on the back of the neck 

 sprinkled with very minute grey points : the space 

 round the eyes is black, with a patch of white 

 feathers beneath: the back and the rump are 

 black, each feather being tipped with a purple hue, 

 with almost imperceptible greyish spots ; the belly 

 is black, its sides being sprinkled with white dots : 

 the thighs and the abdomen are white, as are the 

 tips of the under tail-coverts : the scapulars, the 

 lesser and middle wing-coverts are deep brown, 

 barred with fine zigzag yellows-brown stripes : the 

 basal half of the lesser wing-quills is white, then 

 dusky brown, and tipped with white ; the rest of 

 the quills are brown, slightly edged on their outer 

 webs with white : the feathers at the bend of the 

 wing and the under wing-coverts are white : the 

 tail is similar to the upper coverts, which are 

 black : the beak is black : the irides are hazel : 

 the feet horn-coloured. 



The female has the tail less forked than the 

 male, and is much smaller : her plumage is varied 

 with small transverse bl^ck stripes, on a reddish 

 ground. The young male greatly resembles the 

 female : the back is reddish brown, varied with 

 spots, and striped with transverse lines of brown : 



