THE PTARMIGAN, OR WHITE GROUSE,
(Lagopus vulgaris,)
Is somewhat larger than a pigeon; its bill is black, and its plumage in summer is of a pale brown colour, elegantly mottled with small bars and dusky spots. The head and neck are marked with broad bars of black, rust-colour, and white; the wings and belly are white. The White Grouse is fond of lofty situations, where it braves the severest cold. It is found in most of the northern parts of Europe and America, even as far as Greenland. In this country it is only to be met with on the summits of some of our highest hills, chiefly in Scotland, and in the Hebrides and Orkneys, but sometimes in Cumberland and Wales. Its plumage becomes pure white in winter, with the exception of the tail feathers, which remain black.
