on our moors, and the Ortyx virgimanus, or American Partridge, in our fields and coverts ; bnt wliat good
would he effected thereby? the Prairie-Hen would but displace a better bird, the common Grouse; and the
little Partridge would be no improvement upon our familiar species. There is no fear, however, that this
will ever be accomplished; and the sooner such fallacies are ended the better. It would be far wiser were
the efforts o f our well-meaning patrons o f acclimatization directed rather to that interchange o f blood among
the same species which is essential to the. maintenance of a healthy stock. I am sure it is all-important with
regard to onr birds, particularly those that are stationary. It is well known that species which hare lived
long on an island without a sufficient interchange will diminish both in size and brilliancy o f tin ts : and
hence, perhaps, may be explained the smaller size and more subdued colouring o f many of our birds,
compared with continental examples. The Blackcock of Norway and Switzerland will he found to have the
tone of its plumage more intensified than those inhabiting Scotland, the black being unmistakably o f a darker
line, and the gloss o f the feathers more resplendent. The Norwegian Ptarmigan, too, is o f ,a purer white
compared with our own bird, while its fnll summer dress is much darker. So, again, the Long-tailed Tit
(Mecistura caudatd) of Norway and Denmark differs in having a white head, while th at o f Great Britain has
the crown and face dark or obscurely s trip ed ; and the Cole T it (Pe rn s ater) o f Belgium in having the back
grey, instead of the slight olive tint seen in British examples. To make such differences, however, grounds
for specific distinction, as has in some cases been done, is in my opinion playing with science. That the
drier and more rarified air of the Continent, coupled with the more direct influence o f the solar rays,
contributes to cause these slight differences, seems to me highly probable; and I am strengthened in this
view by noticing that, among such groups as the TrocMiice or Humming-birds of America, some of the
richest and finest colours are seen in species that frequent lofty situations.
Most of the Pheasants now spread over every county of the British islands are mongrels, brought about
by the interbreeding o f three k in d s; and their progeny are but too often rickety and sickly creatures. Those
o f our sportsmen who have flushed a true Phasianus torquatm in England, or killed the same bird in China-
its native country, must have been astonished a t the quickness o f its arrow-like flight, and the wildness of its
actions.
The scientific naturalist, o f course, repudiates all varieties such as the Pheasants alluded to, no two of
which are alike in colour o r markings, and whose promiscuous interbreeding can lead to no important
result. We see this intercrossing carried to a still greater extent in our domesticated Pigeons and Fowls ;
but beyond the acquisition of certain variations in plumage, or o f qualities rendering them more highly
esteemed for the table, nothing of interest is attained.
Whilst on the subject of interbreeding, I should wish to draw the attention o f sportsmen to the advantages
likely to accrue from the interbreeding of our Grouse with that of Norway ( Tetrao saliceti) . Ornithologists
are questioning whether these are not one and the same species, and if the differences existing
between the two may not be due to the influence of climate. Should such be the case (and I think
it probable), then the introduction of the original stock would doubtless effect an improvement in the
health and vigour of our birds. Prof. Rasch, of Christiania, believes the two so-called species to be
identical, and is introducing our Grouse into his country, partly to determine this point, and partly for the
sake of the infusion of fresh blood; but more on this subject will be found in my account o f the Red
Grouse. As bearing upon their unity, I may mention that I made a journey to Norway for the sole purpose
of studying the habits of Tetrao saliceti, and observed that they differed in little or no respect from those of
our Grouse, and that its crow was also similar.
Mr. Robert Gray remarks that, as a rule, all the Grouse from Lewis, Harris, North and South Uist,
Barra, &c. “ may be said to be smaller and lighter in colour than those from moors on the mainland,
especially the mountain-ranges of the north-east of Scotland, which invariably yield in good seasons the
largest and most beautifully marked birds. In many districts the native Grouse partake of the coloration of
the ground in their markings : thus the finest and darkest birds are those frequenting rich heathy tracts ;
while on broken ground of a rocky character, such as may be seen in Wigtownshire, the grouse are either
more or less mottled, or are altogether lighter in colour, and less in size and weight.”
Before my remarks on the Tetrao saliceti and the English Grouse, it may h e interesting to note
that the extent o f the southern range o f the former, whether we look a t it in Norway, Sweden, or Russia,
is restricted to much about the same degree of southern latitude as that o f our own bird hi England and
Wales, thus adding one more indirect proof of their probable identity. On the other hand the Blackcock
and Ptarmigan have a more extended southern range, both being found in Switzerland, if not in Northern
Italy.
Although in a previous page I have discountenanced the introduction o f new species, I may be here
permitted to make an exception by advocating the claims of the Gelinotte or Hazel-Grouse (Boirna betutim)
to a trial of acclimatization in this country. Without putting forth this suggestion as original, I may state
that having seen much of this excellent bird in Norway and other parts of Europe, and noticed that it there
dwells in woods very similar to those which occur in Kent and other counties of England and Scotland, I see
no reason why it should not be successfully naturalized; and I would suggest that those who are of the
same opinion and have the means of making the experiment should do so.
‘• I t is to me a mystery,” says Mr. Lloyd, in his ■ Game-birds and Wild Fowl of Sweden and Norway,'
" why the Hazel-Hen, which, from its English name, would almost seem to have been a former inhabitant