. Birds of Britain . nd the eggs, generally ten in number, areyellowish, spotted with reddish brown. The young feed chieflyon insects, but when adult, grain, berries, and the tendershoots of many plants constitute their diet. In autumnthey visit the harvest-fields in large numbers at daybreakand dusk. The adult male is bluish black all over, withwhite under tail coverts and a white wing bar. Lengtli22 in.; wing 10*5 in. The female, usually known as the Greyhen, is of a warm brown, barred and marked withblack. THE RED GROUSE Lagopus scoticus (Latham) This is the only exclusively British species
. Birds of Britain . nd the eggs, generally ten in number, areyellowish, spotted with reddish brown. The young feed chieflyon insects, but when adult, grain, berries, and the tendershoots of many plants constitute their diet. In autumnthey visit the harvest-fields in large numbers at daybreakand dusk. The adult male is bluish black all over, withwhite under tail coverts and a white wing bar. Lengtli22 in.; wing 10*5 in. The female, usually known as the Greyhen, is of a warm brown, barred and marked withblack. THE RED GROUSE Lagopus scoticus (Latham) This is the only exclusively British species which isfound nowhere else—if we except the local races of manyof the smaller birds, which can only be distinguished on avery close examination. Our Grouse differs from theEyper of Norway, which is its nearest ally, by its blackprimaries, and in the fact that it does not assume a whitedress in winter. It inhabits moorlands from the limit of heather growth 276 RED GROUSE Lagopus scoticus Male (left). Female (right). The Red Grouse to the coast-line, and is generally and widely distributedthroughout Scotland and the northern half of England, asfar south as Glamorganshire in Wales, but on the east itdoes not occur south of the Trent. In Ireland it is fairlywell distributed, but not so common as in Scotland. Unlike the two former species, the Eed Grouse is strictlymonogamous, pairing very early in the season, when his call-note of go back, go back, may frequently be heard. Thenest is a scrape among the heather, no materials being to twelve eggs form the usual clutch; they are veryhandsome, being of a pale ground colour, thickly and profuselymarked with dark reddish brown. The male waits on the hen during incubation, warningher of the approach of danger with a sharp kok, kok, food consists of various seeds and berries, togetherwith the leaves and shoots of plants, and the tips of lingand heather; in autumn they also visit the harvest-fields. The young are fed
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