C ai ? 3
G e n u s LU I. G R O U S.
I ! : * W I T H F O U R T O E S .
N° 17. a. Rehufak Gr.
17. fa. Rock Gr.
N° 17. c. Helfingian Gr.
LONG-TAILED
GR.
H
Sharp-tailed Grous, A r ;i. Zool. ii. N°. 181.
r r^H E tail in this bird confifts of eighteen feathers. I obferve
in fome birds the two middle ones of the tail are an inch and
a half, or more, longer than the reft, and in others fcarce exceeding
half an inch; a diftin&ion incident to fex or age. The fe male
faid to differ from the male, in having lefs of the red naked
fkin above the eyes.
Thefe birds keep in pairs, or fmall flocks, in the juniper plains
the whole year, feeding on the buds and berries alternately :
moftly feen on the ground ; but, when difturbed, fly to the tops
o f the higheft trees. They lay on the ground, and make a loofe
neft o f grafs, lined with feathers : the eggs white, marked with
fpots, and are hatched the middle of June. Said to make a noife
with the feathers of the tail, like the cracking o f a fan. The flefh.
is of a light brown colour, plump, and very juicy
* Ar8. Zool,
Blade
m i
G R O U S . 213
Black Grous, Gen. Syn. iv. p.733*
' Tetrao tetrix, Sepp Vog. pi. in p. 165:..
^ p H I S bird, as I have been lately informed, becomes gradually
f- more fcarce all over the north of England, as well as in Scotland,
owing to various caufes ; viz. the great improvement made
in the art of Jhootingflying, introduced within thefe few years: the
cuftom of inclofing many moors and commons, added to the mif-
chief done by burning the heath on the moors, in order to fertilize
them, and which it is difficult to prevent, being commonly
fet on fire in the night, and will often extend for feveral miles
and, as it is chiefly done in the fpring, many nèfts, with the old:
ones upon them, are deftroyed thereby. Perhaps the great facility
of conveying thefe birds to the metropolis, or the great
trading towns, by means of the numberlefs wheel-carriages, may
likewile contribute greatly to their fcarcity,
Thefe birds will live in menageries in a.confined ftate, but have
not been known to breed therein.
The flefh of feveral of the Grous kind is more or lefs inclined,
to brown; notwithftanding, it is well-tafted : but in this bird part
o f the flefh o f the bread: is white, and called, in the north, the-
White Muffle, appearing as a Angular contraft to the furrounding:
parts, which are deep coloured. This circumftance is not ob-
ferved in the Wood Grous, whofe breaft is equally dark-coloured;
throughout ; nor in any other of this fpecies that we know of.
Neither this fpecies, nor the Ptarmigan, are at prefent in Ire--
land, though the Red Grous is found in plenty among the mourn
tains and bogs of that kingdom..
Spurious-
3.
BLACK GROUS.