THIS bird is called by some ornithologists the _Moor Cock_, and by others _Red Game_. The beak is black and short; over the eyes there is a bare skin of a bright red. The general colour of the plumage is red and black, variegated, and intermixed with each other, except the wings, which are brownish, spotted with red, and the tail, which is black; the feet are covered with thick feathers down to the very claws. It is common in the north of England, in Scotland, and in Wales; and not only affords great diversion to the noblemen and gentlemen of those countries who are fond of shooting, but also repays them well for their trouble, as the flesh is very delicate, and holds on our table an equal place with that of the partridge and the pheasant. The season of Grouse shooting commences on the 12th of August. In winter they are found in flocks of sometimes fifty to one hundred in number, which are termed by sportsmen _packs_, and become remarkably shy and wild, seldom allowing the sportsman to approach them within one hundred yards. They keep near the summits of the heathy hills, and seldom descend to the lower grounds. Here they feed on the mountain berries and on the tender tops of the heath. The hen lays seven or eight eggs of a reddish black colour. [Illustration: 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. [Illustration: THE BLACK COCK, (_Tetrao tetrix_,)] IS about four pounds in weight; but the female, which is usually called the Grey Hen, is often not more than two. The plumage of the whole body of the male is black, and glossed over the neck and rump with shining blue; the coverts of the wings are of a dusky brown, with the quill feathers black and white. The tail is much forked in the male. These birds never pair; but in the spring the males assemble at their accustomed haunts on the tops of heathy mountains, where they crow and clap their wings: “And from the pine’s high top brought down The giant Grouse, while boastful he display’d His breast of varying green, and crow’d and clapp’d His glossy wings.” GISBORNE.