42 The Natural History of British Game Birds 
that we must regard it as a true form. I have also seen good examples in Staffordshire. 
Males perfectly black all over are rare, but I have seen about ten examples, three from Holm 
Rose in Nairnshire, where the black form is very common. This form may be said to be 
black all over, with a few bars of reddish brown on median wing coverts. The neck shows 
some red feathers amongst the black ; the cheeks are edged with pure white as well as a few 
of the lower breast feathers. The thighs and legs and feet are generally white. 
White Form (Winter-Summer Plumage). — In December this phase may be described as 
being a perfect mixture of the black and red forms, but with the whole of the feathers of the 
lower parts and wings, except the primaries and secondaries, broadly edged with pure white. 
In fine examples the whole of the ventral surface appears to be white. The legs and feet 
are also white, and very conspicuous as the bird runs along the ground. The cheeks and 
upper throat are also broadly banded with white, and in some extreme cases (notably from 
the high mountains of Ross and Sutherland) I have seen beautiful examples with the whole 
of the back as far as the tail-coverts broadly edged with pure white. This shows how 
climatic influence affects birds of this genus. Here we have both latitude and elevation 
combining to cause what is more than a tendency towards the white winter dress of the 
Arctic Willow Grouse. If there were high mountains in the north of the Shetlands, and 
Grouse were to be placed there, I think we should get some very interesting birds in 
winter plumage. 
Adult Female: Red Form (Winter). — It is curious that this form should be ex- 
tremely rare in the bog areas frequented by red males. It is most common in the 
mountain districts of Perthshire and Inverness-shire. A general red tone pervades the 
whole plumage, the black bars being narrow. The head and neck is usually very dark 
with few buff spots. 
White-spotted Form (Winter). — Always found in the same high latitudes as the 
white males. The lower parts are well covered with white, the upper parts are similar 
to other types of females. Cheeks and feet often white, but I have never seen a female 
of the white-spotted form with white feathers extending over the scapulars, back, and 
tail-coverts, a common variety amongst winter males in Ross and Sutherland. 
Black Form (Winter). — This variety is extremely rare. I do not think I have seen 
more than three specimens, and they were not nearly so dark as ordinary black males ; 
even then there was a large amount of red in the plumage. 
Buff-spotted Form (Winter). — A very common type found in all districts. The 
whole plumage is buffish yellow boldly furred with black, especially so in Donegal and 
Welsh specimens, and with large buff spots on tail-coverts, scapulars, and mantles. In 
high grounds these spotted varieties often have a good deal of white on the under 
parts. In some Irish specimens the under tail-coverts are a rich red. In Yorkshire 
these are known as "Yellow hens." 
The Half-barred Form (Winter). — This is the commonest form found in our islands. 
In the Hebrides and the south of Ireland a similar plumage is found in winter as in 
summer, in spite of the spring moult. 1 The whole plumage is buffish red with broad 
transverse bars of black, except on the belly, breast, and flanks, where black markings 
1 Two adult females of this form killed by me in Cork, in November 1892, are exactly similar to two Scotch females killed in 
May in the Athole forest. 
