I. TETRAO. Of this genus the following species are found in Britain: 1. The aragallus, or wood-cock, inhabits woody and mountainous countries; in particular, forests of pines, birch-trees, and junipers; feeding on the tops of the former and berries of the latter; the bird often infects the flesh with such a taile as to render it scarcely eatable. In the spring it calls the females to its haunts with a loud and shrill voice; and is at that time so very inattentive to its safety, as to be very easily shot. It stands perched on a tree, and descends to the females on their first appearance. They lay from 8 to 16 eggs; eight at the first, and more as they advance in age.
This bird is common to Scandinavia, Germany, France, and several parts of the Alps. It is found in no other part of Great Britain than the Highlands of Scotland, north of Inverness; and is very rare even in those parts. It is there known by the name of aper-caine, aper-caine, and in the old law-books aper-kally; the last signifying the horse of the woods: this species being, in comparison of others of the genus, pre-eminently large.
The length of the male is two feet nine inches; its weight sometimes 14 pounds. The female is much less, the
Tetrao. the length being only 26 inches. The sexes differ also greatly in colour. The bill of the male is of a pale yellow; the head, neck, and back, are elegantly marked, slender lines of grey and black running transversely. The upper part of the breast is of a rich glossy green; the rest of the breast and the belly black, mixed with some white feathers; the sides are marked like the neck; the coverts of the wings crossed with undulated lines of black and reddish brown; the exterior webs of the greater quill-feathers are black; the tail consists of 18 feathers, the middle of which is the longest; these are black, marked on each side with a few white spots. The legs are very strong, and covered with brown feathers; the edges of the toes are pectinated. — Of the female, the bill is dusky; the throat red; the head, neck, and back, are marked with transverse bars of red and black; the breast has some white spots on it, and the lower part is of a plain orange colour; the belly is barred with pale orange and black; the tips of the feathers are white. The tail is of a deep rust-colour barred with black, tipped with white, and consists of 16 feathers.
2. The tetrix, black grouse, or black-cock, like the former species, is fond of woody and mountainous situations; feeding on bilberries and other mountain fruits, and in the winter on the tops of the heath. In the summer they frequently descend from the hills to feed on corn. They never pair: but in the spring the male gets upon some eminence, crows and claps his wings; on which signal all the females within hearing resort to him. The hen lays seldom more than six or seven eggs. When the female is obliged, during the time of incubation, to leave her eggs in quest of food, she covers them up so artfully with moss or dry leaves, that it is very difficult to discover them. On this occasion she is extremely tame and tranquil, however wild and timorous at other times. She often keeps to her nest, though strangers attempt to drag her away. As soon as the young ones are hatched, they are seen running with extreme agility after the mother, though sometimes they are not entirely disengaged from the shell. The hen leads them forwards for the first time into the woods, to show them ant's eggs and the wild mountain-berries, which, while young, are their only food. As they grow older their appetites grow stronger, and they then feed upon the tops of heather and the cones of the pine-tree. In this manner they soon come to perfection: they are hardy birds, their food lies every where before them, and it would seem that they should increase in great abundance. But this is not the case; their numbers are thinned by rapacious birds and beasts of every kind, and still more by their own falacious contests. — As soon as the hatching is over, which the female performs in the manner of an hen, the whole brood follows the mother for about a month or two; at the end of which the young males entirely forsake her, and keep in great harmony together till the beginning of spring. At this season they begin for the first time to feel the amorous passions; and then adhere to all their former friendships! They begin to consider each other as rivals; and the rage of consequence quite extinguishes the spirit of society. They fight each other like game-cocks; and at that time are so inattentive to their own safety, that it often happens that two or three of them are killed at a shot. It is probable, that in these contests the bird which comes off victorious takes possession of the female seraglio, as it is certain they have no faithful attachments.
An old black cock is in length 22 inches, and weighs near four pounds. The bill is dusky; and the plumage of the whole body black, glossed over the neck and rump with a shining blue. The coverts of the wings are of a dusky
brown; the inner coverts white; the thighs and legs are covered with dark brown feathers; the toes resemble those of the former species. The tail consists of 16 black feathers, and is much forked; the exterior feathers bend greatly outwards, and their ends seem as if cut off. The female weighs only two pounds; and its length is one foot six inches. The head and neck are marked with alternate bars of dull red and black; the breast with dusky black and white; but the last predominates. The back, coverts of the wings, and tail, are of the same colours as the neck, but the red is deeper. The tail is slightly forked; it consists of 18 feathers variegated with red and black. The feathers under the tail are white, marked with a few bars of black and orange. This bird hatches its young late in the summer. It lays from six to eight eggs, of a dull yellowish white colour, marked with numbers of very small ferruginous specks; and towards the smaller end with some blotches of the same hue.
3. The scotus, red game, or moor fowl, is peculiar to the British islands. The male weighs about 19 ounces; and is in length 15½ inches. The bill is black; the irides hazel-coloured. The throat is red. The plumage on the head and neck is of a light tawny red; each feather is marked with several transverse bars of black. The back and scapular feathers are of a deeper red; and on the middle of each feather is a large black spot; the breast and belly are of a dull purplish brown, crossed with numerous narrow dusky lines; the quill-feathers are dusky; the tail consists of 16 feathers of an equal length, all of them (except the four middlemost) are black, and the middle feathers are barred with red; the thighs are of a pale red, barred obscurely with black; the legs and feet clothed to the very claws with thick fo'it white feathers. The claws are whitish, very broad and strong. The female weighs only 15 ounces. — The colours in general are duller than those of the male: the breast and belly are spotted with white; and the tips of some of the coverts of the wings are of the same colour. — These birds pair in the spring, and lay from six to ten eggs. The young brood follow the hen the whole summer; in the winter they join in flocks of 40 or 50, and become remarkably shy and wild; they always keep on the tops of the hills, are scarce ever found on the sides, and never descend into the valleys. Their food is the mountain-berries and tops of the heath.
4. The lagopus, white game or ptarmigan, is 15 inches in length, and weighs 19 ounces. Its plumage is of a pale brown or ash colour, elegantly crossed or mottled with small dusky spots and minute bars; the head and neck with broad bars of black, rust colour, and white; the belly and wings are white, but the shafts of the greater quill-feathers black. In the male, the grey colour predominates, except on the head and neck, where there is a great mixture of red, with bars of white. The females and young birds have a great deal of rust-colour in them. The tail consists of 16 feathers; the two middle of which are ash-coloured, mottled with black, and tipped with white; the two next black, slightly marked with white at their ends, the rest wholly black; the feathers incumbent on the tail are white, and almost entirely cover it.
Ptarmigans are found in these kingdoms only on the summits of the highest hills of the Highlands of Scotland, of the Hebrides, and Orkneys; and a few still inhabit the lofty hills near Keswick in Cumberland as well as the mountains of Wales. They live amidst the rocks, perching on the grey stones, the general colour of the strata in those exalted situations. They are very silly birds; so tame as to bear driving like poultry; and, if provoked to rise, take very short flights, making a great circuit like pigeons. Like
Tetras. Like the grouse, they keep in small packs; but never, like those birds, take shelter in the heaths, but beneath loose stones. To the taste they scarcely differ from a grouse.
These birds are called by Pliny Iagosi, their feet being clothed with feathers to the claws, as the hare's are with fur; the nails are long, broad, and hollow. The first circumstance guards them from the rigour of the winter; the latter enables them to form a lodge under the snow, where they lie in heaps to protect themselves from the cold. The feet of the grouse are clothed in the same manner; but those of the two next species here described, which perch upon trees, are naked, the legs only being feathered, not being in want of such a protection.
II. PASDIX, comprehends both the partridge and quail. The common partridge is so well known that a description of it is unnecessary, and we have not room to describe the foreign species. We refer those who wish complete information to the accurate and valuable System of Ornithology published by Dr Latham. The scientific ornithologist will find much satisfaction in his Index Ornithologicus, published in 2 vols. 4to; and he who wishes to be acquainted with the nature and dispositions of birds, will read his Synopsis with pleasure, published in 7 vols. 4to.
The following general account of the partridge will suffice: "These birds (says Willoughby) hold the principal place in the feasts and entertainments of princes; without which their feasts are esteemed ignoble, vulgar, and of no account. The Frenchmen do so highly value, and are so fond of the partridge, that if they be wanting, they utterly flight and despise the best spread tables; as if there could be no feast without them." But however this might be in the times of our historian, the partridge is now too common in France to be considered as a delicacy; and this, as well as every other simple dish, is exploded for luxuries of a more compound invention. In England, where the partridge is much scarcer, and a great deal dearer, it is still a favourite delicacy at the tables of the rich; and the desire of keeping it to themselves has induced them to make laws for its preservation, no way harmonising with the general spirit of English legislation.
The partridge seems to be a bird well known all over the world, as it is found in every country and in every climate; as well in the frozen regions about the pole, as the torrid tracks under the equator. It even seems to adapt itself to the nature of the climate where it resides. In Greenland, the partridge, which is brown in summer, as soon as the icy winter sets in, begins to take a covering suited to the season: it is then clothed with a warm down beneath; and its outward plumage assumes the colour of the snow among which it seeks its food. Thus it is doubly fitted for the place, by the warmth and the colour of its plumage; the one to defend it from the cold, the other to prevent its being noticed by the enemy. Those of Barakonda, on the other hand, are longer legged, much swifter of foot, and choose the highest rocks and precipices to reside in.—They all, however, agree in one character, of being immoderately addicted to venery; and, as some writers affirm, often to an unnatural degree. It is certain, the male will pursue the hen even to her nest; and will break her eggs rather than not indulge his inclinations. Though the young ones have kept together in flocks during the winter, when they begin to pair in spring their society disperses; and combats, very terrible with respect to each other, ensue. Their manners in other circumstances resemble all those of poultry in general; but their cunning and instinct seem superior to those of the larger kinds. Perhaps, as they live in the very neighbourhood of their enemies, they have more frequent occasion to put their little arts in practice, and learn by habit the means of eva-
tion or safety. Whenever therefore a dog or other formidable animal approaches their nest, the female uses every means to draw him away. She keeps just before him, pretends to be incapable of flying, just hops up, and then falls down before him, but never goes off so far as to discourage her pursuer. At length, when she has drawn him entirely away from her secret treasure, she at once takes wing, and fairly leaves him to gaze after her in despair. After the danger is over, and the dog withdrawn, she then calls her young, who assemble at once at her cry, and follow where she leads them. There are generally from 10 to 15 in a covey; and, if unmolested, they live from 15 to 17 years. There are several methods of taking them, as is well known; that by which they are taken in a net with a setting dog is the most pleasant, as well as the most secure. The dog, as every body knows, is trained to this exercise by a long course of education: by blows and carets he is taught to lie down at the word of command; a partridge is shown him, and he is then ordered to lie down; he is brought into the field, and when the sportsman perceives where the covey lies, he orders his dog to crouch: at length the dog, from habit, crouches wherever he approaches a covey; and this is the signal which the sportsman receives for unfolding and covering the birds with his net. A covey thus caught is sometimes fed in a place proper for their reception; but they can never be thoroughly tamed like our domestic poultry. See PARTRIDGE and SHOOTING.
2. The coturnix, or common quail, is not above half the size of the partridge. The feathers of the head are black, edged with rusty brown; the breast is of a pale yellowish red, spotted with black; the feathers on the back are marked with lines of pale yellow, and the legs are of a pale hue. Except in the colours thus described, and the size, it every way resembles a partridge in shape, and, except that it is a bird of passage, it is like all others of the poultry kind in its habits and nature.
The quail seems to spread entirely throughout the old world, but does inhabit the new; is seen from the Cape of Good Hope quite to Iceland, and is said to be found in Falkland Isles; also in New Zealand, throughout Russia, Tartary, and China; and in short is mentioned by so many travellers, and in so many places, that we may almost call it an inhabitant of all. It is observed to shift quarters according to the season, coming northward in spring, and departing south in autumn, and in vast flocks, like other migrating birds. Twice in a year it comes in such vast quantities into Capri, that the bishop of the island draws the chief part of his revenue from them; hence he is called the quail Bishop. But this does not stand alone; almost all the islands in the Archipelago, on the opposite coast, are at times covered with these birds, and some of them obtain a name from this circumstance. On the west coast of the kingdom of Naples, within the space of four or five miles, an hundred thousand have been taken in a day, which have been sold for eight livres per hundred to dealers who carry them for sale to Rome. Great quantities also sometimes alight in spring on the coasts of Provence, especially in the diocese of the bishop of Frejus, which is near the sea, and appear, at their first landing, so much fatigued that they are often taken by the hand. These circumstances then leave not a doubt of their being the same kind of birds which the divine hand of providence thought right to direct in such quantities as to cover the camp of the murmuring Israelites.
In the autumn, great quantities are frequently imported into England from France for the table; which we have frequently seen (says Dr Latham) on their passage to London by the stage-coaches, about an hundred in a large square box, divided into five or six partitions one above another, just high enough
enough to admit of the quails standing upright; these boxes have wires on the fore part, and each partition furnished with a little trough for food; and I have been told, says our author, they may be conveyed thus to great distances without difficulty."
With us they may be said not to be plenty at any time. They breed with us, and the major part migrate south in autumn; the rest only shift their quarters, as they have been met with on the coasts of Essex, and in Hampshire, in the winter-season, retiring there in October.
It feeds like the partridge, and like that bird makes no nest, except a few dry leaves or stalks scraped together may be called so, and sometimes an hollow on the bare ground suffices. In this the female lays her eggs to the number of six or seven, of a whitish colour, marked with irregular ruit-coloured spots: the young follow the mother as soon as hatched, like young partridges. They have but one brood in a year.
Quail-fighting was a favourite amusement among the Athenians. They abstained from the flesh of this bird, deeming it unwholesome, as supposing that it fed upon the white hellebore: but they reared great numbers of them for the pleasure of seeing them fight; and flaked sums of money, as we do with regard to cocks, upon the success of the combat. Fashion, however, has at present changed with regard to this bird: we take no pleasure in its courage, but its flesh is considered as a very great delicacy.—Quails are easily caught by a call: the fowler early in the morning having spread his net, hides himself under it among the corn; he then imitates the voice of the female with his quail-pipe, which the cock hearing, approaches with the utmost assiduity; when he has got under the net, the fowler then discovers himself, and terrifies the quail, who attempting to get away, entangles himself the more in the net, and is taken.