Gould regretted that the clearing of woods and man's interference with nature had resulted in the extinction in Britain of such species as the Bustard and the Capercaillie. He wrote 'This splendid Grouse was lost to us nearly a hundred years ago, but has recently been reintroduced through the laudable spirit and liberality of some of our more wealthy highland proprietors, and again has become very numerous on many Scottish estates.'

The illustration shows the male, (above) about twice the size and weight of the female. The female is portrayed from behind to show her 'remarkably barred markings'. Both are depicted about two-thirds lifesize.

DISTRIBUTION: Breeds northern and north-central Eurasia from north Europe east through northern Siberia to upper Lena river and south locally to Pyrenees, Cantabrian Mountains, Alps, Balkans, south Urals, west Siberia, Mongolia and Transbaicalia. Became extinct in Britain in the eighteenth century and reintroduced into Scotland in the nineteenth century from 1837 onwards. Decline in numbers and distribution since the early 1970s, and population currently a few thousand