RED GROUSE. 
93 
a similar fate, most probably from the absence of 
some food peculiarly fitted for this season, and 
wanting in their artificial breeding grounds. 
The adult plumage of the grouse which hare attain- 
ed an age beyond a year or two, is a ground colour of 
deep rich sienna-brown, shading on the belly almost 
to pure black, with paler tips, and waved across with 
brownish-black. Many specimens are much marked 
with white on the under parts, and some to a greater 
degree than others, and this, though it is generally 
considered to be the mark of age, is rather incident 
to the younger birds. The female is of a paler 
ground tint, and has all the pale markings larger. 
During the breeding season the feathers of both be- 
come much more marked, and cut into, as it were, 
with yellow, and have the tips pale yellowish-white ; 
and the bare skin above the eyes increases in size 
and intensity of colour. The young, in their first 
plumage nearly resemble the female, but have 
rather more ochreous mixed with the plumage, and 
have the markings more distributed in bars. The 
Red Grouse is subject to variety, though not very 
frequently. It is generally to a paler tint of the 
whole plumage. Mr. Selby notes the occurrence 
of a cream-coloured or light-grey variety upon the 
Blanchland moors of Durham, which appear to 
have bred, and continued the variety from year to 
year. We possess a Grouse, shot on the moors of 
Galloway, where the ground colour is nearly yel- 
lowish-white, and all the dark markings are repre- 
sented by pale reddish-brown; the quills are dirty 
