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U.B.C. LIBRARV

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THE LIBRARY

THE UNIVERSITY OF
BRITISH COLUMBIA

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GAME BIRDS

AND

SHOOTING-SKETCHES

THOMAS BEWICK,
BORN 1753, DIED 1828,

BY

Sir J. E. mi LLAIS, R.A.

GAME BIRDS

AND

SHOOTING-SKETCHES

ILLUSTRATING

THE HABITS, MODES OF CAPTURE,
STAGES OF PLUMAGE

AND THE

HYBRIDS & VARIETIES WHICH OCCUR AMONGST THEM

By JOHN GUILLE MILLAIS, F.Z.S., &c.

SECOND EDITION

LONDON

HENRY SOTHERAN & CO.

37 PICCADILLY, W. AND UO STRAND, W.C.

189-4

©etjicatetJ

TO
THE MOST NOBLE

THE MARQUIS OF BREADALBAXE

A KEEN SPORTSMAN AND NATURALIST

PEEFACE

In sending forth the second edition of these Shooting-
Sketches the Author has not found it necessary to make
any material alterations beyond the withdrawal of the
coloured plates which were to be found in the first edition.
This not only has the effect of reducing the original price
of the work considerably, but also allows it to be reissued
in a simpler and handier form for sportsmen and natural-
ists generally.

The success of the first edition and recjuests of my
friends who w^ere not in a position to obtain the first
edition, combined with a growing taste in the British
public for specialistic literature both in sport, art, and
ornithology, have induced me to produce the book in its
present form ; and with all the newest forms of process-
illustrations I trust that the book will give as much
pleasure to the reader as it has given me in its compilation.

J. G. MILLAIS.

CONTENTS

PAGE

CAPERCAILLIE {Tetrao urogallus) 1

BLACKGAME {Tetrao tetrix) 57

GROUSE (Lagopus scoticus) . . . . . . .111

PTARMIGAN {Lagopus mutus) 155

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Frontispiece: THOMAS BEWICK. By Sir J. E. Millais, Bart., R.A.

CAPERCAILLIE {Tdrao urogalhis)
FULL PAGE

Adult Male and Female

Driving Capercaillie .

Hybrid Capercaillie and Blackgame

Home of the Capercaillie

Pale Variety of Capercaillie .

IN THE TEXT

Illustrative Letter C . . . .

Capercaillie surprised in the Open .

Dawn (Capercaillie Cocks fighting)

Hybrid Capercaillie and Pheasant .

Hens assuming the Plumage of the Male

Young Male Caper in First Plumage

Tails of Capercaillie, Greyhen, and Hybrid between the two

The Capercaillie Pass, Craigie Barns, Dunkeld

Tailpiece — Caper shot .......

XVI

9
17
41
47

1

4
26
31
35
49
51
53
54

BLACKGAME {Tetrao tetrix)

FULL PAGE

Variety from the Collection of the late J. Marshall, Esq., of Taunton b'o
Amongst the Firs and Larches (Blackgame in the Trees) ... 65
Blackcocks fighting on a Playing-ground ..... 73

Driving Blackgame . . . . . . . . .97

Xll

GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

IN THE TEXT

Illustration commencing Blackgame

A Glen in Winter

Evening at the Loch-side

Hybrid Blackgame and Pheasant .

Hybrid Blackgame and Grouse

Varieties of Greyhen from the Collection of the Hon. W. Rothschild

Autumn (Blackgame in the Stubble) .....

Attitudes of the Blackcock? on the approach of a Greyhen

Hens assuming the Plumage of the Male ....

Instance of an adult Blackcock assuming the Plumage of the Greyhen

Young Blackcock in state of change

Tailpiece .....

57

60

62

64

68

71

77

85

102

103

105

108

GPtOUSE {Lagopus scoticus)

FULL PAGE

Grouse-shooting .

Grouse resting

Grouse disturbed

Grouse-driving

The Fringe of the Moor : Grouse pairing in the Spring

IN THE TEXT

"Here they come''

The Hidden Hand

The Appearance of the Peregrine

" Embarras de Richesses " .

" A Snipy one under the Kite "

The Double Feather found in Game Birds

Showing manner in which the Claws are cast

An Old Highlander from Sutherland

Melanism ......

Hybrid between a Grouse and Bantam Fowl
Tailpiece ......

110
114
117
129
149

111
123'
125
126
136

138

141
142
146
152

LIST OF ILLL'.STltATIOXS

Xlll

PTAKMIGAX {Lagoinis mutus)

FULL PAGE

Showing Stages in every Month in the Year (two plates)
A Highland Pastoral ......

Snowy Corries (Black Mount) ....

Above Loch Maree (Ptarmigan-Shooting)

154, \'u

. 10.-)
. 172

. 180

IX THE TEXT

Illustration commencinc^ Ptarmigan

"Hunted"

The Fatal Shadow

Mode of trapping Ptarmigan

Supposed Hybrid between Ptarmigan and Grouse

Tailpiece— A Day in the Woods at Murthly (Oct. 20, 1888)

155
161
169
175
183
185

CAPEKCAILLIE

APEECAILLIE, notwith-
standing the improvements
in shootinsf and modern
shot-guns, now that they
have become one of our
birds of the chase, seem to
be still slowly and steadily
increasing, and in most of
the places which may be
regarded as their home in
this country hard shooting,
at any rate, does not seem
to diminish their numbers.
For though a great many, mostly hens, are annually killed
in the low-lying woods of Perthshire and Stirlingshire,
their places are generally filled up the following spring by
l)irds which come down from the rocky hills that may be
near and from places which will not admit of successful
driving, of which there are many in these counties.
Perthshire, Stirlingshire, and Forfarshire seem to be the
counties in Scotland most suited to the habits of this
magnificent bird, a few being found in Aberdeenshire,

B

2 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

Argyllsliire, and Fife, one having been killed in 1888 as
fav south as Dalmeny, in Mid-Lothian.

The ground Capers seem to like best is broken and
rough hillsides, overgrown with larches and Scotch firs.
There must also be good and varied feeding-spots beneath,
where heather and mountain berries grow, and banks of
fern and bracken where they can lie in hiding during the
summer months. Such spots are to be found everywhere
throughout the above-named counties. It is a curious fact
that, although these birds have been several times intro-
duced into Inverness-shire and Eoss-shire, where every-
thing seems to be in their favour (in addition to those
counties being their former home before reintroduction),
they do not thrive, and the birds, after being carefully
preserved for a year or two, have totally disappeared.

Their affection for certain places, which at first sight
one would little imagine were frequented by them, is
sometimes most extraordinary. There is a little wood, quite
twenty miles from the nearest Caper ground proper, and
situated out in a barren and desolate tract of sand-hills
on the coast of Fife, which for a great many years has
been inhabited by Capercaillie ; and I often wondered how
they originally came there, until, one day, I met a brother
gunner shooting on the estuary of the Tay, who told me
that he had once seen a cock Caper crossing from Forfar-
shire to the Fife side, where the wood is situated. This
must have involved a flio^ht of at least seven or eio-ht miles
(no mean journey for a game bird). Mr. Speedie, who
owns this wood on Tents Muir, where I have spent many
a pleasant day after Snipe and Woodcock, tells me they
never increase or diminish, probably owing to the young

CAPERCAILLIE 3

cocks wandering in seareli of " pastures new " when they
are able to look after themselves.

On the whole the Capereaillie may he called a shy bird,
especially the old cocks ; but during the autumn even
these sometimes l)ecome quite tame, and a field of oats
near their haunts is an almost sure find for them in
August and September. At this time of year the crack
of the beater's stick and report of a gun have become a
memory of the remote past ; in addition to which, the
abundant feeding that surrounds them is too good a thing
to be left at once on the first indication of danger. I have
seen them sit on a paling by the roadside till a driver
cracked his whip at them, when they would reluctantly
flop ofl' a few yards into the field, where they would stand
upright, like turkeys, till the disturber of their peace had
passed on.^

When surprised in open ground, and the danger is not
such as will immediately put them to flight, they often
stand in the erect position I have endeavoured to show in
the sketch, for a considerable time. One Sunday, when
walking on Craig Vinean, near Dunkeld, I disturbed a cock
and two hens, which were reoalino- themselves on the
blaeberries that abounded on the hillside. They stood
perfectly erect and motionless for fully ten minutes, until
at last I thought they must have become petrified in their
upright position, when one of the hens gave a " short
cluck " and recommenced feeding, evidently satisfied that

^ I remeniber one summer evening, avIk'u returning from trout-fishing in
lloluillion Loch, I came across a hen Caper sitting on the wall which sur-
rounded a cornfield on the Murthly march. I thought I would try and see
how near I could approach her, and almost succeeded in touching her back
with my fiy-rod before she thought it time to move otl\

GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

I meant them no harm ; but not so the old cock, who,
with a slow dignified step, stalked up to the top of the
nearest rock, from which he could obtain a good Adew all
round, and stood there watching' me till I was out of sight.
It is not often that the Caper resorts to lying close
until the danger is past except in the early autumn, when

.4

^^

CAPERCAILLIE SURPRISED IN THE OPEN.

in the fern-banks and feeding on the wild raspberries, or
when wounded. In the former case they often sit so close
that the dogs catch them before they can rise above the
bracken. This power of remaining perfectly still to elude
observation is a wonderful faculty of the Game Birds, and
their instinctive knowledge in selecting ground and
surroundings which are in exact accordance with the
colour and markings of their own plumage is a merciful

CAPERCAILLll': 5

l)rx)n wliicli Nature has l)eiieficently proviflcd for tlieir
.safety. I low well does tlie little Partridge know that,
though he is crouching on the open clay of a stubble-field
with but tw^o or three straws or Ijlades of grass around him,
he has as good a cliance of escaping unobserved as if he
were hidden beneath the thickest cover ! So, too, it is
extraordinary to see in wdiat a scanty cover a large bird
like a cock Capercaillie can hide himself without being
discovered. It is a common sight to see an old cock come
tumbling down wdth a broken wing amongst the short
heather and utterly baffle the efforts of tw^o or three
beaters to find him. They come up and stamp down all
the ground round about the spot wdthout success, and
then, after a considerable time has been w\isted and the
scent destroyed as much as possible, Avith much shouting
and yelling a " dug" will be brought up, who w411 at once
pick up the lost one from amongst their feet, much to
their astonishment.

Notwithstanding the size and shape of the wrings of the
Caper, wdien fairly launched in the air its flight is both
graceful and rapid, the bird at times moving as fast as any
one could wusli, as far as shooting purposes are concerned.
I have on several occasions seen Capers approaching a line
of guns, in company wdth Grouse and Blackgame, and
noticed with wdiat apparent ease they held their own,
flying about the same pace as the other two species, but
with apparently half the effort, giving now and then two
or three steady beats of the wing, a little slower tlian
Blackgame, and then sailing for a great distance. AVhen
passing over roads, drives, or small clumps of trees, which
they think are dangerous, they often adopt a peculiar

6 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

swinging motion of the body, which renders it easy for
them to shoot off in whatever direction they can best avoid
their enemy. It is not an uncommon sight to see hen
birds, on observing the gun, make a sudden dive towards
the earth from the tops of the trees from which they have
just emerged, and dash past the shooter, quite low, often
rendering a successful shot impossible, until about to
enter the cover behind ; but in places wdiere Capers are
seldom driven, this is of rare occurrence, the bird generally
passing overhead in a quick decisive manner. It is only
where the birds have been frequently driven, and the
chance of seeing their dreaded enemy has become a
painful certainty, that they adopt this strategy. It is the
means, however, of often saving their lives, for if the
shooter is not on the look-out for this little manoeuvre on
their part, and is very " nippy," he is apt to find he is too
late. As a general rule, when the Caper has determined
as to what is to be his line of fiight, he seldom divero-es
from it, even though he has to run the gauntlet of a line
of guns which he can see perfectly. Then his flight is
bold and unwavering, and he cannot fail to create respect
in the hearts of his would-be slayers, as he sails onw^ard,
having received the contents of the last barrel in his back
without a quiver.

Capercaillie, when travelling from the low to the high
grounds, generally find it necessarv to make one or two
wide circles in the air before leavino- the old ground
altogether. This is performed in order to give the
necessary elevation for their point of alighting, so that
they do not have to rise during their flight ; they never
seem to be able to fly up-hill, except on a very gentle

CAPERCAILLIE 7

slope. It is a ])eautiful siglit to see one preparing to start
on a lono- fliojit. I once watched a lien thus, on a still
autumn evening, as she rose off a larch on the high cliffs
above Stenton ; after taking two or tliree little circles in
the air, as a sort of preliminary canter, she started off
a^ain in (drcles orowinoj wider and wider, and liavin^:
reached an elevation of about 200 feet above the cliffs, she
went off in a bee-line for " Craigie Barns," a hill about five
miles distant.

When disturbed on hilly ground, they rise clear off the
trees and either proceed in a direct line or incline slightly
down-hill, fiying forward in this manner till their journey
is ended by their pitching in some tree or on the ground.
It sometimes happens that they suddenly find themselves
at the end of the cover, with no other place of refuge
within reasonable distance. In this case they swing at
great speed up the hillside, skirting the tree-tops, appar-
ently borne forward by the impetus which their flight
down-hill has given them, and, flying back a short distance
in the cover, will alight within a hundred yards or so of
the edge of the wood. This is about the only time the
Caper makes any noise in flight, for, as he goes by you
with a " swish " like an express train, you find it difficult
to associate him with the bird that usually glides by like a
ghost, and which takes all your perceptive faculties to
observe at all. When passing directly overhead, the noise
produced by their wings resembles that of a Wild Duck,
but scarcely so loud. If the wings are not being beaten,
there is absolutely no noise. The hen bird can, as a rule,
rise neatly and without much lal)our from the ground ;
but the cock is not quite so graceful, having to take two

8 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

or three steps to launch himself into the air, and then his
flight is accompanied by some heavy and clumsy flapping
before he is ftiirly under weigh. After heavy rains or
snow, if they should be surprised in deep heather, I have
seen cocks totally incapable of rising, so that the dogs
have run on to the unfortunate birds before they have
gone a dozen yards. There is a wood at Dupplin where
this often happens, for Capers seem to resort thither to the
deep heather during w^et and stormy weather, and, if
surprised in this situation, it is diflicult to instil into the
brains of one's canine friends that this mode of capture is
not exactly a legitimate form of sport.

I was much amused one day at Strowan, in Perthshire,
when I was placed forward in a wood, waiting for Caper,
at seeing two cocks, which had come forward but were out
of shot, to my left, alight about 30 yards behind one
another on an open glade in the middle of the wood.
Immediately tliey saw me, both in turn toddled gravely
up the hill till they judged they were safe, and having
climbed on to a nice high bank, looked round and round,
and once more resumed their journey onward.^

Capers, whilst in the air, generally fly at such an
altitude as will enable them to keep clear of the highest
trees, and seldom are out of gun-shot from the ground,
except when it happens that they are strangers to the place
and meditate a long journey home ; then they will put
themselves out of reach of their persecutors at once, and
move off" at a height of 200 or 300 yards. Occasionally

1 This betrayed on their ^^firt a fine sense of reasoning, for they knew that
if they liad again risen and resnmed their journey their flight would neces-
sarily have to be down-hill, and consequently towards me. So by thus
ascending the hill they put such a possibility out of the question.

CAPERCAILLIE 11

their line of flight takes them across gorges and valleys,
which, of course, puts them altogether out of range, and
for this reason some woods w^hich are full of birds are shot
annually with poor success.

As a general rule, in Capercaillie-shooting one's eyes
will l)e found to be most useful, and one has to keep every
sense of observation strung to the highest pitch t(j detect
the approach of the l)irds. It is this, perhaps, that makes
the sport of Caper and Blackgame driving in cover so
intensely fascinating ; for all the other species of game
give you due w^irning of their approach, or resort to open
land, wdiere they can be seen advancing for a considerable
distance. It often happens that, although the shooter may
have been watching most intently to his front, an old cock,
nearly as l)ig as a turkey, has slipped past him like a ghost
within a few yards, without the shooter, who, perhaps, is
keenness itself, having even observed him. This does not
happen once or twice, but frequently ; and it is very
amusing to hear the different comments made by the guns,
the drive being over, as to their respective ill-luck at not
seeing anything. On one occasion a friend of mine was
very anxious to slay a cock Caper : after several unsuc-
cessful beats, wdiere he said no birds had come forward to
him at all, we put in a pass on a road intersecting two
w^oods. There w^e knew^ it would be a perfect certainty that
the birds w^ould cross. The beat having commenced, in
glancing down the road I had the satisfaction of seeing first
a cock and then a hen go gliding up to him ; but of neither
of these did he take the slightest notice, and was quite
pleased when he killed the next bird that came to him, being
perfectly unaware that any others had passed him at all.

12 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

The Capercaillie is a bird whose powers of flight must
by no means be underrated, for many a man who is a good
shot has gone out with the idea " that any idiot could hit
a l)ird that size," but has returned with the fixed intention
of treating the cock of the woods in future with the proper
amount of respect which is due to him.

Owing to a cock Caper in the Natural History Museum
at South Kensino^ton havino^ been stuffed with its leo\s
drawn up to its thighs, there was for some time a discussion
amongst naturalists as to what was really the correct
position in which the legs were carried during flight.
Some naturalists affirmed that this attitude was correct,
and others that the leg^s were straio^htened out behind
under the tail, after the manner of Ducks, Waders, etc.
At any rate, the unfortunate specimen, which is most
admirably set up, was subjected to a considerable amount
of pulling about before it w^as finally settled that the legs
should be kept drawn up. Had the bird been rising
instead of sailing, as it is represented to be, I should have
thought this position quite correct ; but, in my humble
opinion, they should be stretched out ; for after carefully
watching Caper for a considerable time, I have been led to
the conclusion that they in no way differ from Pheasants
and Partridges in this respect, namely, that the feet are
drawn up close to the body until the bird has attained the
necessary elevation at which to pursue his flight, and then
stretched out. One day I spent entirely with a man
standing beside me to watch as minutely as possible the
portion of the body from which the legs seemed to fall
when the bird was shot, and it was a long time before any
opinion could be formed at all, for very good reasons —

CAPERCAILLIE 13

Capers were scarce, and it is not one in every six that
comes near you ; in addition to whicli, if the Ijird is flying
at a good pace and is shot stone dead, there is little or no
movement on the part of the legs, as the back is paralysed.
However, a good chance at an old cock eventually offered
as he sailed past within twenty yards, and in my anxiety
to shoot him where I could see his motions clearly when I
fired, I contrived to hit him in the back, which was really
about the best thino^ I could have done, and his leo-s
seemed to me to at once drop from below his tail as he
came gradually to the ground some thirty yards behind.
I accordingly asked the keeper, who is a most observant
man, without letting him know what my oj)inion was, and
found that his ideas coincided with my own. But this
was hardly conclusive enough, so I spent the next days
we were shooting the woods and scaring the Capers in
lying flat on my back, watching them as they passed over-
head, with the same result. But here again arose another
difficulty, from the fact that the feathers on the bird's
legs were the same colour as those on the stomach, which
rendered an accurate view by no means certain.

The Capercaillie is but a poor performer once he gets
on the ground, for his running powers, unlike the rest of his
species, are of the feeblest description. Both Grouse and
Blackgame, when wounded, will occasionally put a very
considerable distance between themselves and their per-
secutors, if given time to do so ; but the Caper seldom
moves many yards from the spot where he has fallen, and
prefers to creep into the first stump or inequality of the
ground that presents itself. Nothing ever seems to really
startle or frighten them, for every movement they perform

14 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

on the ground, or wlien sitting in a tree, is carried out in a
slow and deliberate manner ; liurry does not seem to be any
part of their composition. Should you suddenly come under
a fir-tree on which there is one sitting, he will take a good
look at you with his neck stretched out, as if wondering
what you were disturbing him for at that time of day of
all others — ^just when he was taking his dinner, too ! he
will shamble up the branch, push out of his way the
branches which would obstruct his flight, and deliberately
throw himself clear, dropping like a Cormorant, till the air
has inflated his wings sufficiently to carry him away.
So, too, one cannot help admiring the delightful sang-
froid which he will sometimes display when, after falling
head over heels into an open field, he slowly gets up and
proceeds to shake himself, after which he will perhaps
have a look round at things in general and then at himself
in particular, as if to ascertain whether it was any fault
on his part that had occasioned the unforeseen accident and
soiled his best and only coat. Then he will discover that
his wing is dragging on the ground and is useless ; where-
upon his natural instinct will lead him to make himself as
scarce as possible, which he will accordingly do by stroll-
ing in a cool, leisurely manner to the nearest furrow, and
squatting therein, where the poor bird soon breathes his last !
In places where the Capers are much shot, one but
seldom has opportunities of observing them in anything
like fairness ; for once danger is known by them to be on
foot, there are few birds that understand how to look after
themselves better than the cock of the woods. Occasion-
ally one will surprise them in trees, and then one has a
good opportunity of observing their movements and habits

CAPERCAILLIE 15

for a few seconds Ijefore they take tlieir departure. On
one occasion, at Murthly, I rememl^er when I was out In-
myself and the keepers beating some woods near tlie
Castle for an old roebuck, which had escaped for several
years, that I arrived at a small pass at which I was to
stand whilst the men worked up in my direction : there I
noticed the branches of a large Scotch fir, within a few
yards of the place where I was standing, swaying about in
an agitated manner ; thinking at first it was only a party
of squirrels, which literally swarmed in the w^oods, I took
no notice of it, until at length there appeared the head of
a bird I knew so well, quietly nipping off the young-
shoots at the ends of the branches. Putting down my
gun, and forgetting all about Mr. Eoebuck, I got into
such a position that my friend was out of sight behind the
trunk of the tree, and crawled on my hands and knees to
the foot of the tree. My journey was but half completed
when I discovered, by the flapping of a wily old cock as
he made off, that the one I had seen was not the only
occupant, for, on peering cautiously round the stem, there,
to my delight, w^ere no less than five others all busily
enofaored on their evenino^ meal. It was ten minutes before
the keepers came up, and in that time I think I learnt
more about the positions and attitudes of the bird tlian
I have ever done since. Though they never once thought
of looking dow^n at me, it was very interesting to notice
the simultaneous manner in which they all stopped feeding
on the first warning crack of the beater's stick.

On another occasion, I was runnincv down throuoh a
little wood where the firs were not more than 20 feet in
height, when I surprised a full-grown young cock, who

16 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

came as near evincing anything like Imny that I ever saw
one do. He never looked to see if he could get a clear
flight above him, for I was under the tree and there was a
dense spruce-fir on the other side, so he made two blunder-
ing ineffectual attempts to force his way upwards, before he
eventually came to the conclusion that the orthodox method
adopted by his ancestors was the only reliable manner in
which to escape. This he succeeded in doing so well that
I thought at first he was going to break my head as he came
bowling down at me, so that I involuntarily dodged out of
the way. The efi'ect of a bird like a cock Caper, weighing
as he does from nine to twelve pounds, striking a man
would be very damaoino' when a small bird like a Grouse,
weighing a little less than two pounds, is sufticient to stun
a man or knock him head over heels. (There was an
account in a sporting paper lately of a man who had been
knocked over whilst the bird spitted itself two feet down
the barrel of his gun.) At any rate, some very near
shaves are seen at times of shooters being struck by them,
and I should be sorry to be the one on whom such
retribution falls.

At the commencement and during stormy weather.
Capers are very unsettled and are constantly on the wing.
This applies more to the birds in the higher ridges and
open larch-woods ; and should the gale be of any duration,
they will resort to the thick cover on the low grounds,
even though they have to travel considerable distances to
such places. During the last week of November 1888 a
friend of mine, who was most anxious to shoot a brace of
Capers, went to Murthly, to try and procure them, which,
under ordinary circumstances, would have been a certainty,

CAPKRCAILLIE 10

as lie was a ^ood shot and a krcw one to Ixjot. However,
ii.s had liK'k would liav(i it, tlie woods seemed almost
destitute of l)irds, and the few shots lie did get were liard,
so lie failed to seore, and the next day he left, much dis-
appointed at his ill sueeess, as one does not get Caper-
shootiiiii' everv da\'. All that ninht, however, and the
next two days a fearful storm of wind and snow raged,
after which I took my friend up from Glasgow again to
try his luck once more. We were met next morning
by James Keay (our old keeper and the most genial and
good-natured creature ever created), who gave us the
pleasing intelligence that on the previous day, wdien look-
ing for a wounded Koe, he had found the Capers in one
or two thick parts of the woods " fairly swarming."

The day was unusually calm and still, as is usual after
a o^ale, which no doubt accounted for our seeino- but verv
few birds until the afternoon, for they had probal)ly
availed themselves at once of the opportunity to return
home now that tlie winds had gone down again ; they
had not all gone, however, for on driving quite a small
corner of thick firs no less than fourteen came forward
over one stand, though how man\' went out at another
corner, at which there was no i>un, it would be hard to
say. Also, in another part of the woods we found a large
number tooether ; some could be seen sittino- hioh on the
tops of the firs looking about them, meditating a start for
the home they had left up amongst the rocks of Rohallion.
We hardly got a shot at these, as they moved off long-
before the beaters had begun to advance, and we were
just getting into our places ; they evidently had no in-
tention of waiting in a place where they could see their

20 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

deadly foes collecting on both sides of them. It must,
however, be a very severe gale that drives them from
their usual haunts, for, as a rule, the rocky hillsides to
which they resort are to a great extent shut in by other
hills, which form for their homes a natural protection ;
thus it is of rare occurrence to see the birds changing
their ground for shelter, and on those occasions when
they do, Capercaillie may be said to be gregarious to a
certain extent, whereas, as a general rule, one does not
see more than a family party together.

On a fine still day the birds seem to like to resort to
the hisi:h trees on the edo-e of their domain, and it is a
common sight in autumn or winter to see three or four,
generally hens, sitting on the ends of the branches, whilst
they trim their feathers and bask in the sun. Weather
seems to have much to do with the movements of the
Caper, for on such days as these they will betake them-
selves to great distances from their home to make havoc
on the cornfields in the neighbourhood ; but I do not
recollect a sinoie instance of seeino^ them feedino- in the
fields during wet weather. Grouse and Blackgame seem
to be but little afi*ected by wet weather ; they come into
the " stooks " as readily then as they would any other
evening ; but Capers seem to manifest a much greater
disinclination to move from the woods and the deep
heather, in which they are generally to be found, on wet
and stormy days.

The Caper changes its ground in search of fresh diet,
as do nearly all other birds, and low-ground woods which
one day may be known to hold a large number of birds
are comparatively deserted the next without any apparent

CAPERCAILLIE 21

cause. Shooters who liave experienced this grievance
<an well imderstand liow annovino- it is to see covers,
which they knew a few days previously were teeming
wiih hirds, a day or two after utterly destitute of living
creatures of any sort.

This partial migration usually takes place just at the
very time wlien you think the auspicious moment has at
leno'th arrived wlien vou are o-oino^ to have a " field-day "
amongst them ; and many a shooting tenant has returned
home on the evening of an unsuccessful day and given his
keeper a good all-round " talking to '^ for saying there
were heaps of birds when the reverse was the case, whilst
the guests have departed inwardly anathematising Caper-
shooting and voting it a snare and a delusion. But, per-
haps, this deliglitful state of uncertainty constitutes half
the charm of this sport ; for it is no matter of surprise to
a man who is accustomed to it if no birds come forward,
and when he has a really good stand at which he gets a
number of shots he knows thoroughly how to appreciate
it ; and he who is not prepared for disappointments at
those times when he has probably formed the most
sanguine ideas of success is not the one for this trulv
no1)le sport.

Sometimes the birds will remain away on the hill-faces
for a month or two before they return. There they get
al)undant feeding among the larches and are loth to leave
them for the acorns and l)eech-mast that tliev set down in
the woods below durino- winter. But thino-s generallv
manage to balance themselves in the long-run, for the
low-ground birds bring with them a few of their friends
with whom thev have latelv been stavin^r, thus more or

22 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

less equalising by the end of the season the number of
birds killed by each separate proprietor.

The unfortunate Caper is unjustly accused of a great
manv heinous offences of which I for one believe him to
be entirely innocent, though there is no doubt he takes
off the shoots of the Scotch firs and larches which come
within his reach, and which does very little damage to
trees that have already reached any size. But many
sportsmen and owners of forests affirm that their choicest
morsel is the topmost sprig of a young spruce-fir : no
doubt it may be ; but how is Mr. Caper going to get it,
unless he hovers over it like a Flycatcher, and nips it off
in his flight, which, from his physical construction, is a
moral impossibility, and there are few spruces that would
bear his weight anywhere within reaching distance of the
top. For when the trees are small and it would be
possible for the lairds to reach them, they are generally
surrounded by wire netting to keep the rabbits off, and, if
not, the little fellow on four legs is more likely to have
done the deed than his two-legged companion. So it ever
was : " Give a dog a bad name.'' You have only to sug-
gest to a forester that it merely wants Capercaillie to
make those magnificent woods of his complete in their
natural beauty to see him " spread" himself and call down
a torrent of abuse on the head of that unfortunate fowl.
Neither do the farmers love him, having caught him, per-
haps, one fine evening enjoying a little bit of fun all by
himself; for Mr. Caper, after having finished his dinner,
will sometimes indulge his irrepressible spirits by knock-
ing over a " stook " or two and pulling them to pieces out
of pure " cussedness," for he is somewhat of a humorist.

CAI'EUCAILLIK 23

This naturally leads to uiipopulaiity, and the owners and
tillers of the soil having got it into their heads that he is
a scoundrel, he has no one to lo\'e liiin but the sjxjrtsman,
who exhibits his affection for him by shooting him with a
chokebore and No. 4 shot.

On the whole, Perthshire and the surrounding counties,
where the bird exists in numbers, are proud of their
a(;quisition, and the Caper there thrives and remains ;
for in every case where they are turned down, as before
remarked, they do not thrive but gradually disappear.
In other places where they would do well, Speyside for
instance, the proprietors will not have them at any price,
on account of their alleged destructiveness, and use every
means in their power to keep them from becoming
established. Some big game-preservers object to them
on the 2:round that tliev will drive off and kill, if tliev
catch them, any cock Pheasants that come near their
haunts durino- the fiohtino-season. One can well believe
this ; but there is that little \vord '' if," which is small
l)ut means so much. I think most people would say
that a cock Pheasant is quite able to take care of himself
against any l)ird, as his running-powders and agilit}' far
exceed those of the Caper. Still the idea has gained
ground and has taken a strong- hold in the minds of
some old keepers in Perthshire, at any rate ; and they
have so persuaded their masters, who probably think that
because a keeper has been keeper all his life he naturally
knows all about them, that they invariably give orders
that any one of their men who finds a Caper's nest shall
at once put his foot upon it and destroy the eggs. This
is decidedly rough on the poor Caper, for most sportsmen

24 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

Avho go about much and chat with keepers concerning
their work will have noticed how perfectly astounding is
the ignorance sometimes displayed by men who have
been all their lives with nature around them, and yet do
not know the names of the commonest birds and trees
which they see every day, and who go on year after year
beating this wood, or driving that moor, in a way that
almost sets your teeth on edge, causing you to wonder
how a man can be such a consummate idiot as to try
and perform things that are utterly adverse to all laws
of nature ; and he will go on doing it, teaching his children
to do the same, for his father before him has taught him so,
and that is all-sufficient. But fortunately there are plenty
of those, on the other hand, who have brains and think
for themselves : it is a common thing to meet with men
who pay some attention to, and have a natural love for,
the beauties which surround them, and which are daily
forcing themselves under their notice. Such men are a
pleasure to meet wherever they are, and are always good
keepers as well, for they take trouble and set themselves
the task to find out the reason why things are so, and
when anything goes wrong, persevere to solve the
difficulty. To meet such a one is a treat, he is generally
one of nature's gentlemen and commands your respect,
whereas the other only teaches you how poor the English
language is in powers of expression.

But to return to the subject of the Caper. With the
exception of the one month in the year when the male is
engaged in his love-song, both sexes are extremely silent,
never uttering any note but the usual ''coq coq," which
has to do duty as a call to one another as well as to

r'APERCAILLIE 25

indicate the presence of danger. The lien calls in tl'is
manner when wounded and running away to escape man
or dog. As one approaches to pick the bird up, whether
c(X'k or hen, it will give vent to a peculiar loud hissing
noise, at the same time distending all the feathers of the
neck and looking somewhat fierce before you can lay your
hand on it, though in reality it will evince no more ferocity
than a Partridge.

The formidable appearance of this grand bird when
winged has allowed many a sportsman's imagination to
get the better of his veracity. One occasionally hears
such remarkable and thrillino- accounts of the savao-e
nature of the cock Caper wdien wounded, and such stories
of hair- breadth escapes from the beak of the infuriated
bird, that one really begins to wonder why the Caper
is so prejudiced in selecting the objects of his animosity,
by always choosing those unfortunates who have only
bearded him in his native haunts perhaps once or twice,
and that he never seems to think it worth his while to
attack men who are prol)al)ly after him nearly every day
in the shooting-season, and who may have been compass-
ing his destruction for years ; at any rate, I know thirty
sportsmen at least, and as many keepers, who have been
all their lives shooting Capers and who never yet saw one
^offer the slightest resistance.

"Seven or eight years ago, a very distinguished and
well-kno'vn Member of Parliament (who, if he ever reads
this, will probably get a bill passed excluding all naturalists
and other irresponsible persons from voting) was staying
with us, and, being most anxious to slay a cock Caper, was
accordingly put in the best places in the drives to try and

26

GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

effect this. After several shots lie succeeded in winoino-
an old fellow, and from the account he gave us of the
unprovoked assault the dastardly bird had made on his
person when he went to pick it up, we began to thank
Providence for having been pleased to spare for the
benefit of his country one of the most brilliant ornaments
this ao-e has seen. This
naturally excited one's
curiosity to see the dar-
ing scoundrel, and after
advancing to the spot
where the bird was last
seen, not without a con-

DAWN (Capercaillie Cocks tigliting).

siderable amount of caution, he was discovered concealed
in a drain in the wood, from which he was extracted, and
attempts were made to again excite his bellicose disposition,
but, alas ! without success. Perhaps the prickings of his
conscience had been too much, and remorse had seized
upon him for his recent conduct, and he had given way
to despair. Still it is hardly fair to make statements
without thoroughly sifting both sides of the question.

CXVFAlCAilAAl-: 27

and, like ^Faik Twain's character, who affirmed that no
one could l)e positive in his assertion tliat a buffalo was
unable to cliinl) a tree, simply because no one liad ever
seen one of those animals try t(j do so, so is it quite
possible that these birds may at times attempt to defend
themselves. I know another gentleman — an excellent
naturalist — who declared to me that once on f^oino- to
kill a cock, which was ensconced under a spruce-fir tree, it
had rushed out at him and snapped in two a little stick
wdiich he was holding in his hand and with which he Avas
endeavouring to oust the bird from his position. He is a
man well known in sporting circles in Scotland, and would
not make such statements unless they were true.

Perhaps no bird is so little poached or so little
interfered with in any way, both on account of its scarce-
ness and its very small marketable value, as the Caper,
and a poacher would have to be a very smart fellow
indeed to make any success in trapping them. In this
country one may say they are never killed in any way
but by shooting, and for an account of all the ingenious
devices used in Norway, Sweden, and Eussia for its
capture by snares, I must refer m\' readers to other works
on the subject, as these few notes of mine are intended to
be entirely in the " rough," and are innocent of the scissors
in furnishing elaborate accounts of what I have never
myself seen.

Not l)eing regarded amongst the Game Birds proper
of Great Britain, the Capercaillie has no special time
assigned as to the commencement or termination of the
shooting period. It can therefore only be looked upon as
one of our ordinary wild birds, and may therefore be shot

28 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

from 1st August to 1st March. This is a great pity, as
numbers are annually killed in the first two months of the
shooting-season, when they afford no more sport than
Water-hens do, though perhaps they are rather better
for the pot. In places where the shooting of them is
regarded as an institution they are never killed, nor
should they be, before the month of October, thus giving
the birds time to assume the full beauty of their plumage,
and give the sportsmen the satisfaction of picking up a
really handsome bird, instead of a lump of half-grown
flesh and feathers. No good sportsman cares about fight-
ing his way through undergrowth and banks of ferns five
feet high, to butcher birds in a half-moulted condition,
which rise at his feet and go slowly flapping away,
though many are killed in this way every year. A
rocketing cock Caper that comes crashing down through
the crags and firs amply repays the proprietor for having
stayed his hand and those of his friends by giving his
birds a two months' grace.

To those who are fortunate enough, and have the
opportunity of indulging in it. Caper -shooting offers
charms not, in my humble opinion, to be surpassed by
any other form of sport in this country. Not only is it
extremely fascinating in itself, requiring on the shooter's
part the utmost observation, quickness, and precision in
order to attain success, but the main charm, perhaps, lies
in the magnificent surroundings and scenery in which the
sportsman is thrown, and lovely landscapes, second to none
in the universe, that are spread out before him like a map
as he stands on the hillside awaiting: the commencement
of the drive. Can there be anything more delightful to

CAI'EUCAILLIE 29

tlie lieart (jf the true sportsman, as he sits snugly behind
some fallen tree or ])()ul(ler, on a Ijriolit winter's morning,
and draws the keen frosty air into his lungs, feeling the
blood mounting to his cheek, than to let his delighted
eyes wander over the distant landscape down to the win<l-
ing river that creeps on like a silver streak far away in
the valley below ? A feeling of content steals over him
and overcomes any little internal resentment that he may
have felt for a moment in having been forced to climb to
that lofty perch. Peace and quietness reign supreme
around him, and the funereal silence of the woods is only
broken, now and again, by the perky little squirrels cast-
ing down the fir-cones in wanton sport, running and
oambollino' about in front of him, as if fear were to them
a thing unknown. Ever and again a faint breeze will
stir the topmost branches of the trees and waft the frag-
rant incense of the pines towards him, so that he feels he
is amply recompensed for all those long and weary office -
hours he has spent in the City, and it is worth the toil
twice over to spend such moments as these. ,Now he can
at any rate shake off the worries that have oppressed him,
and from which no man is free, and can take Dame Nature
l)y the hand and she will put on her loveliest raiment for
his special edification whilst they wander fancy free
too'ether. He sits watchino- her varied beauties with
feelings that would do justice to a Sunday-school teacher,
till the heavy fiappings of one of his would-be victims as
he alights on a tree warns him that it is time to turn his
attention to grosser things and the destruction of one of
the most beautiful of the fair Lady's works he has so
lately been admiring. Such, alas ! is the inconsistency of

30 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

human nature — one moment to admire, the next to
destroy !

Never can I think of Caper-shooting as it shoukl be, in
all its perfection, without my thoughts running back to
one or two happy days spent in a certain grand wood on
the hill-slopes of the Tay, above Ballinluig, near Pitlochry
— where, indeed, shooting ^ar excellence is to be had, not
only on account of the number of birds always to be
found there, but from the sporting shots one is sure of
getting, and which very soon test the shooter's skill with
the weapon of death. AVithin about two hundred yards
of the south end of the wood there are placed the two
best stands, one a shelf of rock on the top of a little pre-
cipice, at the foot of which the other is situated. On this
higher spot the sportsman, when he has had time to
recover his breath after his recent exertions in climbing,
can look around him and see about as lovely a panorama
stretched out before him as can be found in Scotland,
which is saying a great deal. A Sparrow -Hawk that
conies sailing by, skirting the tree-tops, looks an uncom-
monly long shot away below him, and he involuntarily
steps back a pace or two from the brink, as he tliinks how
easy it would be for him to slide over the edge of the
rocks if those slippery pine-needles were only given half a
chance. He must keep his gaze steadily directed towards
the north, for that is the direction from whence the
beaters are comino- a distance of nearlv two miles, and he
will not have lono^ to wait ere he sees somethins^ like a
little black speck that every moment causes its identity to
grow into a palpable form, and he knows that the drive
has begun.

CAl'EllCAILLlE 31

How well do I icmenilier the first time I stood on that
(Icli.uiitful spot, for liitherto my experience witli the Capers
had lu'cu mostly confined to the low grounds, where the
chances of good " Rocketers " are rare, most of the shots
there ])cing (piick low ones over rides or Scotch firs.

HYUUID CAPERCAILUE xVNB PHEASANT.

The first bird to come along the face, and which I saw
approaching for fully half a mile, was a grand old cock.
I was luckv enouo'h to kill him well out, and, leanino- over
the rock, watched him drop for 200 feet till he fell crash-
ing down into the " quarries " below^ carrying away the
rotten branches of the larch and fir in his descent. At

32 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

lunch that day we had twenty of these magnificent birds
hiid out on the hillside, besides other game ; and what a
laugh we had at one member of our party who insisted on
claiming a large portion of the bag as his share, he
having, previous to our start in the morning, confided to
our host's son that he had never handled a gun in his life,
and from whose cartridges the latter and myself took the
precaution to abstract the shot for the safety of the com-
munity ! After lunch we had another ten or fifteen birds.
This would be considered a very good day at Capers,
though as many as seventy have been killed in one
day on the Dowager -Duchess of Athole's ground near
Dunkeld.

When driving woods for Capercaillie it is necessary
that strict silence should be observed whilst the guns are
being posted. Many a good beat has been spoilt by
neglect of this precaution. The host should do his best to
impress this on his guests before starting, and convince
them that their own sport as well as that of all the rest
may depend on their cessation of talking when moving to
their posts, and quietness on their arrival there. No bird
takes alarm more easily or is more quickly on the alert
when danger is suspected than the Capercaillie, and being
gifted with a more than tolerably level head for a bird, he
comes to the conclusion (having turned over the state of
afi'airs in his mind) that there is as much danger to him in
proceeding forward as in breaking back.

Besides his natural watchfulness, the nature of his
dwelling-place also helps to keep him in comparative
safety. The crack of a rotten stick or falling of a fir-cone
is heard to a very considerable distance in the still, echoing

CAPKUCAII.LIE 33

woods; and should lie Ije seated on a tree -top, which
is very often the case in the winter mornings, and tlie
weather be fine and frosty, lie will not take long to deter-
mine which of two evils is the less, and will decide in
favour of the orthodox clamorous boy, who generally
begins to yell as he sees a gloomy form vanishing ])ehind
him, and will soon make himself scarce, under the impres-
sion that the next parish is close quarters for the modern
shooting-iron ! But tlie boy's frantic cries and waving
of arms are of little use, even should he see the bird
approaching, for when the Caper, like the Blackcock, has
once made up his mind as to what line he is going to
follow, it needs a small army of beaters to turn him, such
as he never has to encounter.

When such incidents occur, it generally happens that
the birds, having taken in the situation, sit still on the
trees or on the ground, as the case may be, and remain till
the beaters make their appearance, and then they fly
forward, and either alight within a hundred yards or so of
the guns, whose position they know exactly, and from
whom they l^reak back over the heads of the beaters when
the proximity of men on both sides becomes disagreeable,
or they will wheel in their flight, soaring out to either
flank, and pass away back, re-entering the wood at
some point where they know they will not again be
disturbed.

The foregoing remarks apply rather more to the cock
birds, for the hens are at all times less wary and suspicious,
though occasionally they may become quite as cute as the
other sex, if frequently driven. But it is more common
for them to come forward, and on sio-htino* the o-uns, of

D

34 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

whose presence tliey are perfectly aware, resort to the
peculiar diving flight before mentioned.

In beating for Caper, a small number of men who
know their work is all that is required, and often half a
dozen, who understand the flight of the birds and the
dangerous point where it is likely they may break back,
if not properly flushed, can perform more than a host of
boys and irregular hands, who will not hold their tongues,
thinking all game alike, and only requiring a good
frightening immediately it is on foot. The beaters should
be placed at intervals of from thirty to one hundred yards,
accordino; to the number available and the nature of the
ground, and being under the orders of one good man in
the centre, should advance tapping the stems of the trees,
being careful, above all things, to keep as perfect a line as
possible ; it is not numbers that are effective, but uni-
formity. This tapping on the trunks seems to have a
most stirring effect on the Capers, and not a single one
will sit on the neighbouring trees after they have heard
the sound, whilst those sitting on the ground always
follow the line of flight adopted by the others when any
have passed over them.

When beating strips of wood on a hillside that are not
very broad, a gun walking along parallel with the beaters,
about fifty yards ahead, will often get very pretty shooting,
as a number of birds will generally break down-hill to a
point about this distance ahead, whether it is their inten-
tion of breaking back or going ahead clear of the wood ;
but should there be birds sitting on the trees near the sum-
mit of the hill, they nearly always go forward. I cannot
remember ever having seen a Caper turn in front of the

CAPERCAILLIK

3r>

beaters on a liill-tnp and cliclv. hack, except when tlie enl
of the cover lia<l been readied and there was no other
means of escape open.

( 'apcrcaillic when mortally wounded <an hardly be said
to t(Aver, after the manner of Grouse and Tartridi^es, but

HENS ASSUMING THE I'LUMAtJK OF THE MALE.

seem to l)e suddenly arrested in their fli^^ht, and tumble
head over heels till they reach the ground with quivering
wings. The shock that Capercaillie will stand, particularh-
the cocks, is very great, if not hit well forward. Whvu
struck in the head or neck they drop at once, and are ipiite
as easily killed as a Partridge even up to forty and fiftv

36 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

yards ; but when the shot is placed too far back, unless the
bird is so near that the pellets have not spread, they will
carry on for a great distance, and are in most cases lost,
although apparently " cut to ribands." Many sportsmen
advocate shot from No. 1 to No. 3 ; but in reality No. 4
is quite large enough, and if properly placed is more
effective than the larger sizes, as 12-bore guns, in nearly
every case, cast very unsatisfactory and irregular patterns
with these larger sizes of shot.

There are times when a cock Caper fairly astonishes the
shooter by the shock that he can withstand. It is no
uncommon sight to see one shot at in front drop
apparently stone dead to within a couple of feet of the
ground, then suddenly recover, and once more inflate
his wings and pass away in the woods behind, leaving the
astonished gunner in wonder, and causing him to forget
that he ever possessed such a thing as a second barrel until
too late.

At times your shots may be so easy that they are like
so many Turkeys, and probably the next drive you will not
grass a bird and will feel tolerably small — you can scarcely
believe these to be the lumbering old fellows that flopped
out past you twenty minutes ago. At Murthly I once saw
a really good driving shot fire a number of times without
bagging one ; four of the birds were undoubtedly very hard
hit — behind, of course — and must eventually have fallen,
though not within sight, two of the birds, both old cocks,
coming almost to the ground in front of him, he allowing
them to get at least fifty yards away in both cases before
giving them the other barrel, which only seemed to hasten
their retreat. After the drive I heard him bewailino- the

CAPERCAILIJE 37

snialliicss of liis shot and the extraordinary vitality dis-
phiyed by tlie Ijirds. Now I often meet him shootin;^, and
a real good sportsman and a first-rate shot he is, l>ut he
never speaks of the Caper save in tones of the deepest
respect, or acknowledges that No. 5 shot is any too small
for him.

Tlie Comtc dc Paris seems to be the first sportsman to
wish to introduce into this country the art of stalking the
Caper-cock in spring, when trilling his love-song; Imt the
sport is not, and probably never will Ije, general, owing to
the scarcity of ])irds. This manner of slaying him is most
fascinating, requiring the greatest care and quickness in
approaching the bird whilst engaged in his song. It is
only during the last few bars that the stalkers have time
to make an advance of two or three quick steps forward,
for it is at this moment that the bird seems to be thrown
into an ecstasy of delight at the sound of his own voice and
to become quite oblivious to his surroundings. But woe
to the clumsy Nimrod who takes just one step too many
and is discovered in the open, or treads on some rotten
stick that crackles at his touch, he will have to go home
both unhappy and Caperless for that morning at least.
At this season of the year the male bird becomes most
extraordinarily vigilant and his sense of hearing very
sharp ; the breaking of a twig at a distance will at once
put him on his guard, and also put an end to his amorous
ditty, his ears being ever intent for the sounds either of
danger or tho approach of his hated I'ival.

A friend of mine, ^Ir. Arthur Eden, a very keen sports-
man and admirable shot, followed this sport annually in
spring for a number of years during his residence in Russia.

38 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

He describes it as being most intensely exciting, and re-
quiring quite as much knowledge and observation as deer-
stalking. The cock Capers, he says, in some districts,
where they are in the habit of beins^ stalked and shot at
regularly, display an extraordinary amount of vigilance
and cunning, particularly in adopting the following dodge.
The stalkers are able to advance only during the time the
l^ird is completing the last few bars of his song, and at this
moment, after taking two or three steps forward, they are
generally well in the open, and would at once be observed
by the quarry if he were to suddenly cease his music.
This is just what a natural instinct has taught him to do,
warning him that this is the real moment of danger, and
having been previously stalked he has thus acquired an
intuitive caution that almost amounts to a reasoning-
power. Thus it often happens that the unfortunate
sportsman is discovered when in the act of making his run
forward, and the would-be victim lives to be stalked
another day.^

At the latter end of April the hens draw in towards
their breeding-grounds, and may be seen sitting in little
parties together on the larch trees, of the shoots of which
they are especially fond at this season of the year. Here,
too, in chosen spots, generally some open piece of rising
ground in a grass park near their haunts, come the cocks
to settle their little differences of opinion with regard
to their respective claims to the fair ladies. Many
and fierce are the battles engaged in during the early

1 I have never found mucli difficulty in approaching the cock Caper-
caillie in Scotland in the spring. If ordinary care be taken, the sportsman
or observer, as the case may be, can generally approach to within fifty yards
of the bird when engaged in his love-song.

CAPEUr'AILLIK 39

spring mornings on l)elialf of their pro.s])ective spouses;
and lie wlio wonl*! wisli to witness the picture of
fury and rage let loose has ])ut to rouse himself in tlie
*' wee sma' houi's" from his comfortable lje<l and hie him
to the hattle-irround in time to see the morninfjj sun break-
ing on a new day. He may not always be fortunate, but
if lie ii'oes to a well-known fioiitin^'-i'round, where birds
are numerous, he will not be disappointed or sorry that he
came. The onlooker having secreted himself carefully
behind some big root or stone wall, an old cock will soon
make his appearance, if not already on the ground when
he arrives, and will proceed to strut about, showing
himself off to his own evident delight — at one time
elevating his red w^attles and expanding the long feathers
on his neck till they stand up like bristles on a hog's back,
whilst he utters his hoarse croaking call to attract the
attention of the hens ; at another makino: little short dio-ni-
fied runs forward with his chest held like an old soldier, and
his tail spread and drawn in close round his thighs, emit-
tino' the same curious loud hissino- sound as when cauo-ht bv
the hand. He is in all his glory and feels the proudest
creature in the universe till another cock arrives ; then,
as two such natures cannot lono- remain in harmony tooether
without some sort of understanding as to whose claim is
the better, they very properly try and solve the problem
of the survival of the fittest by promptly going for each
other with a will. Then a fio-ht ensues, commencino- with
a sort of preliminary skirmish like gamecocks ; but as rhov
warm up to their Avork their mode of attack becomes more
blind, and consequently less scientific, catching hold of
each other's neck, and ripping out wliole mouthfuls of

40 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

blood and feathers, till they are perfectly exhausted. By
this time another cock will perhaps have arrived on the
scene, and will keep "cave " in case of danger, and look on
at the fight with a calm and unbiassed eye, not having the
slightest intention of calling " time," as he knows quite wxll
that the more his friends in arms get '' pumped," the easier
time will he have of it himself when it comes to his own
turn ; and so the fight goes on, always one bird not
engaged being on the look-out, whilst the new-comers in
the ring in turn test their strength and activity with the
last victor, till the contest ends in a general melee and free
fight all round, one fighting with the other promiscuously,
and they become so weak and blind that they pay no
attention to the warning call of the sentry should there still
be one keeping watch. The spectator can then walk up to
them within a yard or two, when they will make off with
a considerable amount of unsteadiness in proportion to the
nature of wounds received. Numbers annually kill each
other in this manner, fighting till their heads are torn to
such an extent as to be almost unrecognisable. M'Intosh,
the Duchess of Athole's keeper at Dunkeld, tells me he
picks up two or three cocks every spring that have been
killed in these fights ; and James Keay, our keeper at
Murthly, told me that on one occasion, when going his
rounds through the woods, he came upon tw^o old cocks
who had so successfully mauled each other as to be lying
on the ground in a perfectly helpless state, facing each
other.

About the end of April the hens again seek their
former breeding-places, and large numbers of them leave
their winter-haunts in the hills for the low grounds, there

HdMK OF THE (.ArKUCAlLI.l K.

CAI'EKCAIMJK 43

to look out for suital)le spots for nesting, not returning to
the roeks and precipices till late the following autumn, in
ni,iii\' cases not at all, heing so easily killed in the early
})art of the shooting-season. Having selected a favouraMe
spot under a spruce-fir or withered stump,^ she proceeds
to scrape out a fair-sized hollow, and lines it with a few
leaves and feathers to suit her taste, and therein deposits,
at the end of May, from six to thirteen eggs. When
incubation commences, she sits very closely, even alhjwing
herself to l^e stroked by the hand without betraying any
uneasiness beyond a shake of her head and a hiss of
disapprobation. In course of time the chicks make their
appearance, and very seedy-looking little chaps they are,
requiring on the part of their mother the utmost care
and attention during the first few perilous days of
existence, which are so fatal to the large majority of them.
No young Game Birds, except perhaps Blackgame, and
even these are as a rule stronger, are so difficult to rear,
and though the hen Capercaillie hatches out the whole of her
brood, it is quite the exception ever to see more than three
or four voun^sters with her after the first week : not that
she is a bad or careless mother like the Pheasant, beino-,
on the contrary, most attentive and careful with them ;
but the young ones have so many difficulties to overcome,
such as dee}) heather and spring showers, that their
delicate little constitutions seem unable to surmount them ;
w^ith the exception of one or two of the strongest, most of
them are soon killed by the damp or are lost in the deep

^ Tlie sketcli entitled " Tlie Home of the Capercaillie " was taken

from the -svoods near ^Iiirthly Castle. Beneath the decayed root shown

in the centre of the picture there was, in 1888, a Caper's nest with twelve
ek'us.

44 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

bracken. Those, however, that are fortunate enouo^h to
attain any size, seldom succumb afterwards, unless the
season should be a particularly wet one, for they grow at an
astonishing rate, gaining strength rapidly.

On disturbing a hen with young, she rises with a great
fluster, and flaps off, endeavouring to attract attention
by the usual broken-legged feints whilst her brood are
making themselves scarce. If she does not succeed she
will sometimes come right up to within a few feet, utter-
ing her stereotyped "coq coq," accompanied by little
rushes to the right and left ; and if the intruder should
still remain, she resorts to other stratagems, by flying
away with apparent unconcern, and then suddenly re-
appearing from another direction with her silent ghost-like
flidit.

Whilst the young are still in a half-fledged condition,
the mother keeps her brood amongst the deep heather
and bracken, where they can generally find a good supply
of small insects, ants' eggs, worms, etc., which she scrapes
up for them. This diet is not changed much till the
middle of August, when the wild-fruit season commences.
Then, during the evenings, they are to be found in the
raspberry and blaeberry beds, taking but little notice of
any one who may perchance disturb them at their meal,
beyond lifting their long necks and marching gravely
out of the path. In September the cornfields offer
their attractions, and every evening the family party
adjourn thither, showing their true Highland spirit by
displaying a marked predilection for oats above all other
kinds of grain ! It is generally at this season that your
friend has his holiday and is eager to shoot a Caper

CArEUCAILLIH 45

wherewith to .ulorn lii.s liall ; l)Ut the l)inl at this season
is far from being a thin<^ of Ijeauty, so many a man, who
has a more suhtk^ niind for th(^ fitness of things, has
preferred that his small uncouth specimen shouhl he
accom})anie(l to the ])ir(l-stufier ])y a little note stating
that the enclosed bird must be replaced by an old cock
in good 2)lumage when the season is more advanced !
Thus he ensures for himself a trophy he may well be
proud of, and can show to his friends without a blush.
A taxidermist told me that he mounted thirty or forty
old cocks every year to be sent south to sportsmen as
having been " shot " by them !

A most curious and extraordinary nesting-place of the
Capercaillie was discovered in 1889 by the keeper at
Rohallion, Perthshire. The nest was placed on the top-
most branches of a Scotch fir, about 40 feet from the
ground, and in this perilous situation the hen hatched her
eggs, though how many survived the descent it is hard to
say. Had they been like young Water-hens or Wild Duck,
l)irds which occasionally build in situations like the above,
they would probably have all got down in safety and little
the worse for their rough descent. Not one, however, was
pi<ked up on the spot, for Boath (the keeper) told me he
had searched about in the vicinity of the nest at the foot
of the tree and could find no trace of them, and it was
not till a fortnight after the brood were supposed to have
tumbled down from their loftv home that he saw a sino-le
young l)ird with a broken leg accompanied by the old
hen. This, he thought, was the sole survivor, as vermin
of some sort most likely carried ofl' the others that were
killed by the fall. This is the onlv instance known to

46 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

me of a game hird nestiiio- otherwise than on terra
Jirma}

Tlie plumage of the Capercaillie varies but little.
They have but the two changes, one in spring and the other
in autumn, the latter being slowly assumed, as in the case
of the Grouse. The dress of the young male in first plum-
age is interesting (see figure, p. 49). This is cast about the
beginning of September and completed by the end of that
month ; so that when October arrives he cannot be dis-
tinguished from the old cock except by his great disparity
in size and the narrowness of the white band on the tail.
During the second year this band becomes broader and
more definite and the bird puts on about 2 lbs. in weight ;
and in the course of the third year there is still an in-
crease in the size of the tail, and the bird generally adds
from 2 to 4 lbs. more to his weight. A young cock of the
first year will weigh from 4 to 7 lljs., and third year and
after from 10 to 13 lbs. I have heard of 14-lb. birds,
but have never seen one. No doubt the Russian and
Scandinavian birds sometimes scale a little heavier than
ours.

Amongst Capercaillie, as, in fact, amongst most birds,
two kinds of plumage occur, namely, a light and a dark ;
but the Scotch cock Capers are almost invariably dark.
This is of course owing to climatic influences, and the
warmth of our climate in winter is suflicient to account for
the lack of the rich white colour so noticeable in Con-
tinental specimens. The hens, how^ever, have the two
kinds of plumage very pronounced, both the dark and the

1 Since writing the above, I have been informed of two instances in
which hen Pheasants have nested in similar situations.

"•^>...

TALE VAUIETY OF CAPEKCAlLLIE.

(Killed at Ballathie, Perthshire, by Colonel Richardson, December 1S89.)

CAPEKCAILLIK

VJ

li^^^lit colours being strongly developed — the dark plumag.-*
occurring most frequently amongst young birds, and the
white amongst old ones, the latter being frequently white
from the crop dnwiiwards besides having the beautiful
white spots on the upper wing-coverts.

YOUNG MALE CArEH IX FIRST I'l.LMAiiE.

The C^^ercaillie is a bird in wliidi albini.^m, or anv
^■ariety, is extremely rare ; and after a careful search
amongst the best British collections, I have not been able
to discover a Britisliddlled variety. In the year 1889,
however, throui>h tlie kindness of Colonel Richardson i^f

50 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

Ballatliie, Pertlishire, I became the fortunate possessor of
the beautiful variety figured on p. 47. This is, I believe,
the only known British variety, and its extreme rarity
may be judged from the fact that, out of thousands and
thousands of Caper that are annually received from
Norwav, Sweden, Russia, and Germany, as vet no other
albino, or variety, has appeared in the London markets,
althouo'h numbers of naturalists and the oame- dealers
themselves are constantly on the look - out for such
varieties.^

Instances occasionally occur amongst birds of the
female assuming the plumage of the male, but with this
species it is somewhat rare, and most of those which 1
have examined have been in the first stao-e of chano-e :
and whether in course of time they would have completely
assumed the dress of the male, in proportion to the
destruction of the ovaries, is hard to judge, as the subject
has not been fairly worked out. Having dissected a large
number of hen Pheasants in various stages of this change,
I have found that the assumption of the male plumage
seems to vary in proportion to the state of the ovaries —
although not invariably so, for sometimes the bird had
nearly complete male plumage when the ovaries appeared
Cjuite healthy ; but I have not the scientific knowledge to
enable me to discover abnormalities which are not apparent
to the ordinary observer. I may have overlooked some
vital points, and the liird might have been suff'ering

1 There are beautiful varieties of the Capercaillie in the Lund, Bergen,
St. Petersburg, and Christiania Museums, and the best foreign examj)les in
this country are in the museum of the Hon. W. Eothschild at Tring. The
late Mr. J. Marshall, of Taunton, also had a very handsome cream-coloured
variety, which he obtained from Russia.

CAI'KIjrAlMJK

51

iunn .some oiIrt lVi;j;lilt'iil iiialii<l\', wui-«: than guii.sho..
wounds or the little white ahsee.sse.s which are noticeable
ill the ovaries oftho.se commonly known as '*mule" birds.
Thr two bii'ds depicted on page 35 are from my own
cnlk'ciion ; the iip[)or figure shows a specimen with the
plumage of the male just commencing, whirh was kilh-d
November 1885 within a few miles of Perth. The other
bird has almost completely changed, with the exception
of one or two red feathers in the breast, and where in the

TAILS OF CAl'KUCAI I.I.I E, GHEYHKN, AND HYBHIU BKTWKEN THE TWO.

cock the shield on the l)reast and crop is usually metallic
green, in this specimen it is of a deep purple : it would
be ditticidt at first t(j distiiiiiuish it from a vouii^ cock,
wne it not for the absence of wattles and its diminutive
size, which is smaller than the ordinary hen. This bird
was also shot near iV'rth, December 1883. Colonel
('ol(|uhoiin has one nearly as dark, and I liave another
with still a little more brown and russet intermixed.

The only other species with which this interbreeds is
Blackgame — the li\brids 1 icing tlie product of the IMack-

52 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

cock and Caper hen. Every year one or two are killed in
the districts inhabited by the Caper in Scotland. Though
I have repeatedly tried to secure a specimen of the female
of this cross, I have never yet been successful, and now
begin to feel some doubt as to obtaining an example to
figure.^ All the birds that have been shown or sent to
me as veritable specimens have turned out to be Greyhens
commencing to assume the male plumage, or hen Capers
doing the same. M'Gregor, the keeper of Ochtertyre,
Perthshire, who is a most accurate observer, stated that
three, all hens, had been shot on that estate ten years
ago, and he described the birds very accurately, so that
I have no doubt they were female examples of this hybrid.
These were preserved, Ijut he had no recollection as to
what had become of them. The chances are, then, that
the reader is not likely to see any but males. The
specimen of the male from which the drawing is taken
is a very handsome one, showing as it does the character-
istics of both species well, for, as a rule, the plumage is
somewhat sombre and dull ; and with the exception of
this one, which shows the Caper well in the back and
wdngs, and two that General M'Intyre of Fort Kose has,
which are as black as Blackcock, the males may pass as
somewhat uninteresting birds, possessing the respective
beauties of neither species. These hybrids manifest a
peculiarity which is not noticeable to any extent in either
Capercaillie or Blackgame, namely, that of a roving dis-
position. At times, a single bird will suddenly appear in

1 Since writing tlie above, Mr. Walter Rothschild has been kind enough
to lend me an undoubted specimen, which is ligured in the illustration of this
hybrid on page 17.

CAI'EHCAILLTK

53

places where Ciipercaillie are quite unknown/ thus show-
in<r that it must liave wandered far from the phice where
it was l)«)iii. J 11 the year 1889 one was sliot at Locldoy,
near Nairn, by Ronald Baillie, Esq., and others have been
killed at various times in Aljerdeenshire. At tlie first
reintroduction of Capercaillie, two cocks were kept penned

THE CAI'EUCAILLIE I'ASS, CRAIGIE BARNS, DUNKELU.

up witli domestic fowls, and in one instance the hen's eggs
were hatched and successfully reared, but no specimen of
this curious cross was ever preserved.

Since writino- the foreo'oino; notes I have been kindlv

1 This, again, luiglit be accounted for by tlie presence of a roving hen
Caper that liad come to the ground in the spring, where slie had paired with
a Bhickcock. It is noticeable in the case of the hen Capercaillie that when
she wanders from her native ground to other districts not frequented by her
species, she will as likely pair with a Blackcock as not. Vith', for instance,
Capercaillie and Pheasants.

54

GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

informed by J. A. Harvie Brown, Esq., of the existence of
a hybrid between the present species and a Pheasant which
had occurred at Arden, Loch Lomond. This remarkable
cross was very courteously sent to me by Mr. Lumsden,
who shot the l)ird on his estate on that beautiful lake. It
cannot certainly be called a handsome bird, for the size of
the feet give it an ungainly appearance. It bears a strong-
resemblance to the Blackgame and Pheasant hybrid, but
is on a large and clumsy scale.

CAPER SHOT.

BLACKCIAME

There is jio doubt, although every care and precaution
is taken by those who have it in their power to ensure
the protection and increase of this noble bird, that in
almost all parts of England and Scotland it is gradually
on the decrease. In a very few places, where they were
formerly comparatively scarce, they now exist in consider-
able numl)ers, but these spots are few and far l)ct\vecn :
and the fact of the state of the oround liavinu' become in

58 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

the course of time suitable to their habits is sufficient
reason for the partiality, sudden or gradual, for these
localities. Many causes are assigned as reasons for this
gradual extinction, and certainly not the least potent is
that of the destruction of the hens, which are at all times
less wary than the males. They are easily shot, while the
cocks, which ought properly to number only one-fourth of
the stock of birds, as a rule, far exceed the hens in point
of numbers. I can well remember when I first went
regularly to shoot at annual Blackgame drives on
Eohallion, that, in the course of two short Ijeats of
about a mile each, we generally used to kill from fifteen
to twenty brace of these birds. Since that time
(1881) I have noticed with sorrow the annual change
for the worse, in the state of the bao' after shootino^
these two drives, until in the year 1889 but two
Blackcocks fell to the guns, whilst only about twenty
were seen altogether. On this moor every care has been
taken of the birds, and for its size it is one of the best
Grouse-grounds in Perthshire, yet the Blackgame, from
amongst which but very few hens are killed, have
gradually diminished, till I am afraid it will in time be
considered quite a vara avis. This little moor is only
a case in point, for the same may be said of about three-
quarters of the Blackgame-ground in Scotland.

Bv Avatchinof these birds durino- the breedino'-season I
have also noticed — comparing the species with other game
birds — how very large a pro|)ortion of the hens are barren.
One would imagine from this that the period of fertility
of the Greyhen is much shorter than that of the other
kinds, in fact only lasting two or three years ; and should

l;LArK(;AMK 59

indisciimiiiate sliootiiiir be (-arned on, it leaves Imt a sirall
percentage of" breeding binls to cairy on the stoek.

Change in the condition of the ground they have been
accustomed to inhabit materially affects them, and tlie
necessary food and kin<l of shelter they require often
change throuoh the advance of time. For Black^ame like
])est young plantations skirting moors and r-ultivated
lands; when, therefore, these devehjp into l)ig, silent
woods, as in course of time they will, if left alone, the
birds move off to seek for " pastures new," leaving their
old haunts to the Owl and Woodcock, and the old sports-
man may then wander all day through the deep heather
and k)fty pines without seeing a single l)ird, where he
formerly used to kill his ten or fifteen l)race anv day in
the autumn. Of late years, too, the springs have n(jt
been all that could be desired. Heavy snow and hail
showers have occurred often in Scotland in the beginning
of June and caused o-reat damaoe. One heavv storm at
this time, when the chicks are just taking their first peep
of the world, is quite sufficient to exterminate such delicate
little creatures as they are. They are also subject to
numerous other danoers, and beino* hatched oenerallv on
rough and swampy ground, they frequently end their
short existence by tuml)ling into peat-holes and drains
from which they are unable to extricate themselves.
However, sportsmen must hope for the best, for many a
one would be sorrv to miss from the mixed bao- the
addition of the Blackcock, certainly one of the handsomest
birds of the chase we at present possess.

The best districts in Scotland for Blackgame are Dum-
friesshire, Roxburgh, and parts of Perthshire, Inverness,

60

GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

and Aberdeenshire ; and in England, Westmoreland,
Cumberland, and Northumberland — though they are
found here and there in almost every county in both
England and Scotland, having been shot in every county
from Caithness to Cornwall. I once saw near Aldershot a
Blackcock and a hansom cab within sight at the same
time, and remember being rather amused at the occurrence,

A GLEN IN WINTER.

as one naturally associates the former with blue mountains
and silvery birch-w^oods, and the emblem of all that is
wild and free, whilst the latter goes with Piccadilly and
modern civilisation. Formerly, and up to a recent date,
o'ood bao's were made on Exmoor and the neio'hbourins:
hills in Somersetshire. In that county a friend of mine
with another gun, on 1st September 1884, killed twenty-
seven brace ; but since that time there has been a marked
change for the w^orse in point of numbers. The New

BLACKOAMK 61

Forest, Wuolnier Forest, ami parts (jf Staft'ordsliin* a'ld
Dartmoor iise<l also to be good, hut there are only a few
stragglers now left. Like the Capercaillic, Blackgame show
no permanent attachment to places wiiere they have been
introduced, an<l will not stay anv Imi'th of time in some
districts even where conditions are favourable to their
habits in c\cry respect. Introduction lias Ijccn tried
without success in a number of places, most noticeably
in N(n'folk and Ireland : but it has ahvavs resulted in
failure, the birds staying till the following spring, some-
times a little longer, and eventually disappearing entirely.
The oround Blackoame like best is a roui>li and broken
country bordering cultivated and arable land, where birch
and fir woods frinoe the wild moorlands, where thev find
good cover amongst the deep heather and rushy margins
of the mountain Imrns, and every kind of insect and
vegetable food is easily to be had within reach. This
is the chief attraction to a o()vu'met like the Blackcock,
who is wont to change his diet everv three months,
stuthng his crop every morning and evening as tight as a
dnnu willi whatever delicacies the ditierent seasons atiV>nl
in the shape of fruits, heather, grain, or insects. When
their natural homes cannot supply these latter necessaries,
their instinct is called into play, and they will wander far
to obtain them. 1 liave often shot l)irds out of turnips
and potato-patches in (October, that must have trawdled
many miles to gratify their palates : the crop of a Grevhen
which I opened contained iaspl)erries, blaeberries, ants,
heather, grass, and oats, and the bird, after having half-
fillod her crop witli the grain, had evidcnlK- completed
her dinner with a course of meat and dessert.

62

GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

During the winter months Blackgame do not feed on
the shoots of the Scotch fir to the extent that Capercaillie
do ; in fact, I think they seldom eat them at all except in
very severe weather, when the whole of their food is found
on the trees. They generally prefer the buds of the birch
to anything else, and if surprised during their hours of
repast, which are generally in the early morning and late

EVENING AT THE LOCH-SIDE.

afternoon, they do not manifest that extraordinary degree
of shyness which is inherent in the species.

That they do not feed on the pine and larch tops to the
extent that Russian or Norwegian birds do can be easily
imao'ined, for Blackoame will not eat these unless driven
to do so through hunger. In our comparatively mild
winter the birds have seldom to rough it for any long
period, wdiereas the foreigners generally have to endure
months and months of privation. This particular food

liLA(K(;AMK 6S

lias the ert'cM't of making the Hesh of the latter exeeediiH'lv
laiik and tiirpcntiny, whereas it is seldom that one gets a
8eot( Ii «>r Kiinlish Kird that <aii honestly he called at all
<lisaf,a-eeahle in this respect — there is ^(enerally just enou<rh
of the gamy flavour to make it agreeahle.

In this country BlackLiame do not migrate, as they do
in some districts in Sweden and Russia ; indeed even the
large flights of the l)irds seen in those countries can liardlv
be called mii>rations, tliev are only makinii' their annual
change in search of the food they like l)est, and do not
always travel to the same spots, their goings and comings
l)eing regulated \)y the abundance or otherwise of the
birch-l)ud or fir-crop in the various districts to which they
journev. Here, one but occasionallv sees sinole Ijirds or
small parties travelling high in the air from one range of
hills to another, during the spring or autumn : these are
individuals in (juest of new feeding-grounds, or are merelv
being moved by the usual sj^irit of restlessness that over-
takes most l)irds at those seasons; they generally return
again to their old haunts after a short absence.

AVhen the icy blasts of winter show signs of abatement,
and the first warm rays of the ^larch sun have taken the
sharp edge off their keenness, the bellicose disposition of
the IMackcock, that has so long been dormant, is once
more aroused into life and activity by their (piickenino-
inHucnce, till, by the beginning of April, the martial fires
can be sululued no longer and find a natural outlet in
open wailarc, when each and every one endeavours to
prove his superiority and his proper right to the affection
of the fair sex bv the strenuth of his bill.

As with the Capercaillie, tliev select a regular >poi

64 GAME. BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

where all who would enter for the tournament must
come to prove their valour. These j^laces are called
'' Playing-grounds," and are usually situated on some
grassy flat at the edge of a moor or wood where the
birds have roosted. Thither the birds come at or just

HYBRID BLACKGAME AND PHEASANT.

before daybreak, the Blackcocks generally arriving some-
what sooner than the Greyhens, but at times with them.^

There are few more beautiful sio'hts than a Blackcock's
" playing-ground " in the spring. Whether he be sports-
man or naturalist, the man who will for once rouse himself

1 On two occasions I waited from daylight, at 4 a.m., till 7.30 before a
single hen made her appearance.

liir't^^

J >>v

5pk,in'u.

AMONGST THE nus AND LARCHES (Blackgaiue ill the Trees).

HLAC'K(;AME 67

to li^lil liis (•.indlr aii<l dress in the <mM ;^rey morning, in
order to visit one of them, will, half an hour later, feel
hi_iihl\- pleased willi himself and his supernatural aetivity,
and, as he goes swi Hiding ahjng at a go(jd paee over the
heather, he will actualls' feel the most intense pity for
those unfortunates wiio know not of sueh joys. The
liiiht niorninii breeze fans his cheek and he feels a cjlow
of health [)er\ade his being as he draws each fresh breath
into his lungs. Every few moments, too, Ining with tliein
fresli pleasures as the opening day advances, and he
watches Nature awaking from her sleep and all lier little
feathered songsters vying witli eacli other to excel in
praise of the God that made them.

The Thrush and the Lark are the first birds to stir,
and their sono^ can be heard lono- before there is sufficient
light to distinguish them. Soon the " AVhirroo " of the
Blackcock and the " Goback " of the Grouse join the chorus
just as the day comes peeping in, and you make out the
misty forms of the little bunnies chasing one another over
the heath. Then a hare will perhaps come cantering up
to the place of ambush }ou have chosen to see the Black-
cock lra\', and will sit u]) with serene composure whilst he
proceeds with his morning toilet ; one creature follows
anr>ther in obtruding itself on your presence, and you look
on with i)leasure and wonder at the al)sence of fear amonirst
tlieni which meet you on all sides. E\'en that most timid
and graceful of all animals, the roebuck, cannot make up
his mind to Hee in terror, as is his wont, but advances with
slow and hesitating steps : he knows (piite well there is
somethiui*" wroni^-, havino- o-ot your wind, bur for once
regards you as an object of intense curiosity, cocking his

68

GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

delicate little ears and sliakino" his head as he runs barkinof
round your place of concealment. For a moment he stands
perfectly still, and as you look through the opening in the
junipers you see him perfectly rigid, except for a slight
twitchinsf of his nose and ears. But that last moment has

^

'

i

^

'^-^

.^^ ,,„.,: .j,„ j^r^a'^i <£tJ'.e^^

HYBRID BLACKGAME AND GROUSE.

been enough to satisfy him that what was an instant
before imagination is now a painful certainty. So he
makes a bound or two to one side, to see what effect it
will have towards making you disclose yourself altogether
and satisfy his curiosity. You still refuse to materialise,
so he gives you a final coquettish shake of his pretty head

BLACKOAME 09

and savs ** Oood-lA-e ! " and you watc-li with regret his
fadin" linni ;is it i^rows fainter and fainter, and vou see
\\\w\ WLMidin^j;" his way, not as you have heen accustomed
to, namely, galloping in steady well-timed leaps, hut
alternating hetween mincing little steps and excitahle
rushes forward, as though feif^ning sudden terror. Unallv
you see him take a farewell look at the morning landscape,
as the sun })icks out Iris l)riglit coat against the hlack fir-
wood into which he is al)Out to plunge. I have spent
many delightful mornings amongst the moors and wor)ds
of bonnie Scotland watchinc^ the awakenino; of Nature after
the winter sleep, and cannot say I ever regretted or missed
the time usually spent in bed ; how one does enjoy breakfast,
too, afterwards ! and when you have had a smoke there
steals over you a deep sense of satisfaction and of having
l)een most agreeably entertained. It is quite as enjoyable,
in realitv, as a ^ood dav's shootino- and the influence that
a sketch- and a note- l)ook have is perhaps more satisfactory,
for they have a powerfully restraining eftect upon the
thirst for gore which is so strongly implanted in the heart
of nearly every vouno' Britisher.

From our point of ol)servation we can see the Black-
cocks arrive on the o-round — that is to sav, if thev are not
there already. One's attention is attracted to the scene of
the future triumj^hs and defeats by the almost continu(nis
whii'ring calls of the Blackcocks, which are loud and
resonant.^ On still, briolit morninos I have distinctly
heard their notes at a distance of two miles. This call
soon attracts the Greyhens, who are sure to be close at

^ Tlio noise resembles iiolliiiiij; that I can tliink of Imt the sound
produced hy a luggage-train passing over loose metals at a distance.

70 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

hand, as all the birds pass the night, during the period of
love and war, in the woods adjacent to the tournament
ring, so as to be up betimes at the first ajopearance of the
day. Should the birds be disturbed on their arrival at
the ground, the hens are the first to take their departure,
the cocks being usually too busy settling their own
particular affairs to take alarm at once, unless approached
very close, when the whole will leave in a pack together.
Unless repeatedly disturbed they soon return.

When proceeding to attack one another (that is to say,
if one of the two Blackcocks has not already beaten off one
or more assailants, when it is usual for him to take up a
position on a small mound and stick to it) both birds
simultaneously lower their heads and arch their tails, at
the same time extending the primary wing-feathers and
trailing them along the ground. The tails are not sjDread
in the form in which they are generally depicted in books,
I.e. upwards, except for a second, when actually in the
process of raising them for expansion, but are spread out
more in the shape of a fan, with a concave surface, the
beautiful curled feathers almost touching the ground. This
I have endeavoured to show to the best of my ability in the
sketch of the Playing-ground on page 73. The positions of
all these birds were drawn on the spot, by watching them
through a strong glass at about forty yards, and I did not
complete any figure till thoroughly satisfied it was correct.

Sometimes two birds "set "to one another as fiir as
thirty yards apart ; they then advance slowly till separated
only by a few feet. Then the actual fighting, if there is
to be any, l)egins. It, however, often happens that, as
with our own bombastic race, it is all " gas," and the two,

r.LAr'KCAMK

71

after skinnisliiiiLi ii)) to <»n<' another with every aj>[)arei»t
gesture of rao;e and tin-w \>y tlie time close-quarter.s are
arrived at. have come to the eoiudu.sion that another
occasion will do just as well as the present for fi<^htin,Li- it
out. So the matter is "squared." More often they stand

VARIETIES OF GHEYHKN FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE HOX. W. ROTHSCHILD.

and fence, after tlie manner of l)an tarns, until one l>v
superior tact and rapidity suddenly seizes his adversary
by the "seruft*" of the neck, and oives him a riuht Liood
dustino-, handlino- him in no o-entle manner with his
stroni>' 1)ill. wliijst he heats him over the head with hoth
his wino's the latter making" a loud noise. When he who

72 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

liatli come off second best eventually o'ets clear, he has
generally had about enough for the time beijig, and is
either chased ignominiously off the ground to hide his
diminished head in some quiet corner, or wings it off
altogether to the nearest wood. This is only temporary,
however, for he does not consider that he is altogether
vanquished till he has made at least another attempt to
display his prowess. The victor gives his plumage a shake,
and calmly proceeds to select for himself a position of
vantage in the shape of a grassy mound, the possession of
which he is now prepared to contest with any opponent
who may be bold enough to tackle him, and if the birds
are at all numerous he is not long in having his wish
gratified. He seats himself com]30sedly on his little hillock
(as indicated in the upper figures of the sketch), and again
commences his song of war, at which some wandering
knight, who yet has his laurels to win, soon takes offence
and at once challenges him. Now, in preparation for this
coming battle the victor of the former strife entirely alters
his tactics, and his attitude is one purely of a defensive
nature ; for, after rising to his feet, he simply watches the
advance of his adversary with lowered head, allowing the
latter to waste his energies in futile attempts at getting
above or behind his guard, till the process of fencing
wearies him, when with one quick movement he repeats
the lesson he gave his former antagonist.

A good fight is very interesting to watch, and
sometimes lasts for a long time when the two are evenly
matched ; but this is rarely the case, and one or the
other usually gets the best of it in the first round. I
have never seen them engage in a> general melee as

K»

liLAr-KCAMK 75

Capercaillie Jo wlieii several cocks are fi^^litiiig at the
same time. With lilackcocks it all is perfectly fair,
Queerisl)erry rules l>eiiif^ strictly adhered to.^

At inter\als during each separate fight Blackcocks
emit a most curious call; it is a hoarse screech, resem-
bliiio' the noise that is too painfully familiar to us. namelv,
that of cats jit night on the ]iou.sc-t(jps, supplemented
by the said animals ljeini>- aftiicted \vith sore throats.
The sound is l)oth wild and unmusical in the extreme.

We Avill suppose that the observer has come early on
the scene, before the Greyhens have made their appearance.
The approach of one of the latter is the signal f')r an
immediate cessation of hostilities on all sides, and intense
excitement prevails amongst the assembled Blackcocks.
Her approach has been observed by a single bird, who
has been sharper than the rest in detecting the lady
afar off. If you are at the moment watching him, you
will see him suddenly draw himself up to a rigid position
of attention, till he is sure she is really coming. Having
settled this in his mind to his own satisfaction, he throws
himself into the air, and flutters up a few feet, uttering
the while his hoarse note with all the power and eflect he
can muster. This is, of course, done to impress the lady
in his fiivour, and arouse in her breast a proper sense of
admiration which he considers his due. His example is

^ 111 the immediate foreground of tlie Blackcock toiuiiaineiit i>ketch
will be noticed three birds in their most characteristic jtositions. The
l)ird with lowered head and arched back is in position of defence, facing
one advancing to the attack, whilst the third, anxious to tight also, dances
round the combatants and though desirous of engaging the bird on the
defensive, is yet too much of a gentleman to attack him whilst occupied
with another.

76 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

immediately followed by all the others, who on alighting
dance about in the most absurd manner, each one trying
to see who can screech the loudest and be the most
ridiculous in his antics (seepage 85).

The sight of the Blackcock is supposed to be very keen,
and is undoubtedly so at all other times. But at the
period of love and war we speak of his senses are often
so dulled or excited, by one or the other, that he does
not seem able to distinguish a Grouse passing by at a
distance from a Greyhen, when the identity of the species
can be noticed at a glance by a human being who is much
further away from the object. Curiously enough, I never
saw them cease their hostilities when a pair of Grouse flew
by chasing each other, a single bird flying straight in their
direction being always the chief cause of their excitement.
On one occasion I saw them mistake a Partrido-e that came
flvino' out from a wood close bv for one of their own
species.

When a hen has alighted on the Playing-ground the
male that is nearest to her pairs with her and fights off
any other that disputes his possession. The hen mean-
while walks sedately round her lord and master, picking
about at the grass coquettish ly and pretending to be
feedino\ Each hen on arrival causes the same Q^eneral
excitement, and is appropriated by one or other of the
successful cocks, till the harems are filled up, one cock
having at times as many as six or seven hens. As the
season advances, after the first few mornings of the hens
coming to the ground, they resort to the same spot each
day, and stay with the same cock who has previously
trodden them, and are not interfered with afterwards

liLA(JK(^AMK

77

])y otlier (.-ocks, wlir) acknowledoci the superior claims of
the male to whom they rightfully belong.

Blackcocks resort to their Playing-ground till the
summer is well advanced, and one morning (June 4,
18D0), when 1 got up at daybreak to stalk Eoe at
Eskadale, on opening the wind(jw to let in the fresh
morning air, mucli to my delight there were my old

friends the
]j 1 a c k c o c k s
again, whir-
ring and strut-
ting about as

AUTUMN (Blackgaiue in the Stubble).

usual in the grass-field. There were aljout ten brace
of cocks and a solitary hen, and I watched an old
cock showing himself off to the latter by running round
and round her for fully half an hour, durinij- which
time he did not tread her or attempt to do so. She was
undoubtedly an old barren bird, as, had she been fruitful,
she would have had a nest claimino- her attention at that
time. The keeper with whom I was staying (Donald
Ross, a most observant naturalist) tells me he has never
noticed hens with the cocks so late as this before.

78 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

No sportsman unless lie has himself witnessed it can
have any idea of the speed in running that a Blackcock
can attain if hard pressed and actually made to run, as
the young cocks have to do when pursued by the old
ones. Every now and again one will see these young
bloods, who have arrived at a fancied estate of physical
perfection, make their appearance amongst the ranks of
the old birds. Their pride, however, soon has its fall,
and when one of the proper masters of the ring approaches
to attack, they suddenly find that their courage has
somehow failed them, and that he who fights and runs
away may perchance be more successful on some future
occasion. Then commences a hurried and ignominious
retreat, in which the young bird is pursued by one
or more of the justly-incensed ones, and endeavours by
the fieetness of his feet to extricate himself from a
position which his own temerity has brought him into.
This is not effected till he eventually takes flight and
departs altogether. His running powers are really very
considerable, and he goes for the time as fast as a
Partridge, and no one who has seen the latter going
down a hedgferow in his best form can assert that the
pace is not good. As a rule one does not form a
very high opinion of the Blackcock's rate of speed.
Knock him over in the open with a broken wing, and
you will see he seldom attempts to use his legs to any
great extent unless given time : even then he does
not hurry much, but covers his ground with the delibera-
tion and coolness that characterise all his movements,
not attempting perfect concealment till at some distance
from the spot where he had been brought down, after

liLA('K(;AMK 79

wliicli he certainly does Imny u[) a hit and travels in
a fairly business-like manner.

In the s))nn<'- evening's tlie Blackcocks a^^ain return
to Huht and make love to their hens as in the morning.
But fewer l)irds come, as a rule, and there is not the
same zest and i^o al)out the show as in the early morning,
and tlie hirds, like all moving creatures, are not so
"heany" in the evening, when ahout to retire to roost,
as at the Ijeginning of the day.^

Bv the middle of Mav the nest is formed of loose dry
grass, and in it the Greyhen deposits her eight to ten
ego's, the first broods beino- seen about the befj'innino' of
June. The young closely reseml)]e those of the foregoing
species in appearance and in point of delicacy, but tlie
percentage of birds raised from the eggs is for greater.
It is common to see seven or eiolit chicks with their
mother, wdiereas a CajDcrcaillie hen seldom raises to
maturity more than two or three of her brood, l^nfor-
tunately, their extraordinary tameness costs many young
Blackgame their lives. In districts where the}' are at
all plentiful, the man who wishes to make a l)ag will have
it all his own way, l)eginning with the mother and
gradually working through the entire family. There
can l>c no sport in picking u}) these unfortunates fr<^m
beneath the doo-s' noses, for a man has nothino- to be
])i'ou(l of if he kills them all, and every thino- to be
ashamed of should he miss any of them. OchhI

1 I trust I shall not have uearied the reailer'.s patience by the some-
\vhat k-ngtheiiecl account of the i>i'oceecliiigs at the Phiying-^TOunds. Not
having read a detailed account of them in any work, I have felt justified in
writing at some length, as the cliief ohject in this work is to put l»efore the-
reader facts of interest that have not heen threshed out elsewhere.

80 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

sportsmen, therefore, will spare their blackgame till a
fitting season, when, in return for the temporary respite,
the birds will have gained strength and beauty, and will
give to the successful shooter a pleasant feeling of gratifi-
cation that appeals to his sense of beauty and pride.

The second week in Julv robs the Blackcock of his
tail, and with it seems to go his fiery nature. From
the roaming knight, proud in gorgeous trappings, which
he is ready to display and prove his right to, he now
changes to a shiftless wanderer, skulking for the greater
part of the day in the thick bracken or gorse covers
that constitute his home at this season. Bereft of his
splendour he seems ashamed of himself, and only ventures
out of his retreat in the very early mornings and late
evenings. He may then occasionally be seen sitting
disconsolately on some hummock amongst the peat-hags,
in company with one or two others, woe-begone like
himself.

On these occasions. Blackcocks are shier than at any
other time, and will move off to cover on the slightest
si oil of danofer. But if the intruder is between them
and the wood, they will pass right over his head, should
he stand still. When once in their leafy homes, their
demeanour becomes quite as lamb-like as that of their
wives and families, and I have seen an old Blackcock
fly right into the pointer's mouth, having become so
confused that he did not know how to make his escape
after sitting so tight !

When September has nearly ended, the Blackgame
gather together and form their regular winter packs,
which may be divided usually into — those composed of

V.].\('Kr.\ME 81

•d inixturc of old cocks an<l lieii.s, or ull old cocks, and
those ill which none hut young birds of the year will
])e found. Sometimes during the winter packs are
composed entirely of old Blackcocks, the hens during
this period going about in small jiarties or more often
singlw < >n a winter's evening, too, if you happen to
be near a roosting -place, you will generally see the
Greyhens coming to roost singly. Packs of Blackgame
may consist of from half a dozen birds to the whole of
the individuals of the species on the ground. Though
some authors say that Blackgame do not pack, such is
not the case. I have twice seen packs at Doune, in
Perthshire, which the sj)ortsmen present agreed must
have numbered two or three hundred birds at least.
When sitting on the stubbles one of these packs looked
in the distance so like an immense flock of Eooks, that
they were at first mistaken for them, but there was not
the slightest doubt as to their identity when they rose.
From the stubbles thev made straioht for the moor about
a mile off, and there bafHed all attempts to get them
forward till late in the evenino- when, folio win o- their
usual tactics of keeping to one favourite pass, they came
to the butt in which I was, in two bio- lots of about a
hundred each, the rest having broken back. It was one
of those occasions on which you seem literally lost in
birds, and which makes you feel how utterly feeble one's
single little "pop, pop" is amongst the serried masses of
creatures that for the moment surround you. At such
times one suddenly wishes for fifty guns with fifty pairs
of hands to work them to stem the torrent of the passing
fiood.

G

82 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

Old sportsmen in the Black Isle and East Cromarty
will tell you that when they were boys it was not un-
common during the harvest- time to see the low grounds
swarming with birds, flocks of four or five hundred being
often seen. This is literally true, for sixty years ago that
was about the best district in Scotland, though now it
puzzles the shooting tenants there to get a few brace for
the table. Cultivation and drainage, to a large extent,
have worked their effects on the animals native to the
district, and the Blackcock is the chief sufferer.

Till the end of October, Blackgame feed much on the
arable land, returning at sunset to the rough and unbroken
tracts, where they pass the night. Here, again, even
should the sexes have been together during the previous
day, they usually spend the night apart, the cocks sleep-
inof in the rouo;li crorse and scrub that fringe the borders
of most moors, whilst the hens, after having resigned
their broods to the tender mercies of the world, can be
seen wending their way to some favourite spot regularly
every evening at the same time. I have timed birds thus
coming in to roost, and found they only varied a few
minutes, and have no doubt they were the same birds
each evening. These s23ots are generally broken peat-
hao's where the heather is long; and rank.

Although terra jirma is their natural sleeping-place,
Blackgame sometimes roost in firs. These are generally
sin2fle old cocks, or hens with broods. In the latter case
it is probably done as an additional safeguard against the
attacks of vermin. Greyhens are not demonstrative birds
as a rule, but to see one seated on the hio-h branch of a
fir, giucking away all she knows until her entire family

IiLACK(;AMP: 83

Iiu.s joined liLT, is ratlun- aiuu.siii^r. She very nearly gel.^
excited, Init iKjt (juite. The young do not take to the
trees till they are two months old.'

Sometimes, when watrhini;- a [rdck of lilackcocks on
the hillsi<l(' in late autumn, you will sof a pair (tf them
dancing about and s(|uarin,u" u]) to each other for a minute
or two as if some transient recollections oi their spring
battles were passing through their minds and were not
quite forgotten. They only do this on those still, warm
October evenings that are so frequent in Scotland. -

Blackgame, though very ditHcult to rear in the earlier
stages of their existence, make excellent and amusing pets;
and one, a Blackcock, reared l)y a friend of mine, became
so tame as to be quite a nuisance. It would f(jllow him
about the garden wherever he went, and ride on the top
of his hat, if allo\ved to ; neither did it betray the slightest
fear of strangers, or of beasts of any sort. During the
spring its habits resemljled those of the wild l>irds. without
the very necessary adjunct for fighting, namely, a foe ;
but this did not seem to distress it very much, as it would
content itself with inuii'inarv ones. A violent death is
the usual end of interesting pets, and this poor creature's
end was no exception to the rule. l)ne summer evening,
a strange gutter-brod mongrel, of an unsympathetic nature
and loc^se principles, got into my friend's garden bv chance,

^ It is interesting to notice the hereditary instinct of this species in
perching in trees. If a Greyhen with chicks, no larger than Thriislies, be
tlusheil oil tin- liillside and there are tirs and spruces below, they invariably
end tlieir tliglit on the summits of the trees, the young birds maintaining
their eipiilibriuin at once, tliougli never in a simihir situation before.

- I see tliat Mr. Abel Chapman, in his eliarming book on Ih'nf-li/e on
the Ihrihrs, calls this pseudo-erotism.

84 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES .

"svlien of course tlie unsophisticated child of the forest
went to make friends with the vagrant, as was his wont
with all new-comers. But the cur either misconstrued
his motives, or imagined he was too good and pure a thing
for this wicked world, and so promptly sent him on a
journey to the next, where we hope his confidences were
not misplaced.

Blackgame are very silent birds except in spring, and
it is seldom one hears them utter any note whatever at
other seasons of the year. Last year, during a drive for
Blackgame, an old cock came sailing along the hill below,
calling his whirring note as loudly as he could, as if he
had lost himself, and was hunting for the others, not
knowing where to go. This my respected parent, who
was the gun over which he passed, succeeded in showing
him to the subsequent advantage of the bag. This is the
only time I ever heard one utter any loud call during the
autumn or winter months. You hear the cocks on rising
sometimes utter a quiet guttural note to one another, as
much as to say, " Now it's about high time we were off" ;
but that is all. The Greyhen gives a "gack, gack" now and
then : I have never heard her make any other vocal eff'orts.

Hawks and other vermin do not aff"ect Blackgame
seriously after they are able to take care of themselves
properly. Falcons may, perhaps, stoop and occasionally
kill a few. Stoats and weasels are too busy looking after
the hares and rabbits and mice, if there is a sufiicient
number of these to supply their fastidious tastes ;
if not, Grouse are generally the victims, their flesh
having a far greater attraction for birds and beasts of prey
than that of their larger brethren. Scotch keepers

r>LACK(;AMK

srj

will tell vou liow fund the Pereicrine is of 8trikiiii{ Blarl-
<^ame sliouM they pass him when he is out on one of his
nianiiiding- exi)e(litions. He will not go a yar<l out of his
way to strike at them, l)iit woe to the unlurky one that
does eross his path : he wouM stand a much better chance
of sa villi'' his life in the hottest of hot eorners than wlini

ATTITUDES OF THE BLACKCOCKS OX THE APPHOACH OF A GREYHEN.

that living ihiiiiderbolt drops from the clouds. 1 have
two or three times seen a Pereorine strike Grouse, Imt
never i31aekgame ; hut I once saw a little ^lerlin dash at
a Blackcock and send him sprawling into some birches
below. Now was a good chance of seeing some fun. I
thought, for 1 was wondering how the little fellow would
hold him down to the i»Tound once haviim* ixot him there,
so 1 accordingly started towards them at full speed : but

86 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

before I had gone three steps forward, up into the air
again shot the little demon of mischief, and hovered
around screaming in his delight at his own fun. Having
no doQ- with me — I was returnino- from fishine^ — I searched
for a long time in the bushes, hoping to catch the Black-
cock and see how- he had been struck. He must have
crawled away under some root, as I could not find him.
The presence of a Hawk has an almost paralysing effect on
any of the Grouse kind, and if they have been, as this bird
was, driven into thick scrub, they will sooner submit to be
picked up by hand than trust themselves on the wing again.

So long as a sufficiency of food is obtainable, a change
of ground to these birds is not necessary. In foreign
countries, small and partial migrations, if they may be so
called, occur wdiere the winters are so severe as to bury
their feeding-grounds too deeply beneath the frozen snow.
Long-continued feeding on fir-tops and birch-tops becomes
too insipid for palates that are ever in search of variety,
and they forsake their accustomed haunts in big packs,
chiefly composed of cocks, and journey to a distance where
a change of diet can be obtained. They are amongst the
hardiest birds that exist, and often are found during
winter as far north as 68% if not further, in company with
the Siberian Jay and the Hooded Crow\ In this country
the birds now and a^j^ain chano'e their OTOund for short
periods, but do not migrate.

The flight of Blackgame is both easy and rapid, being
less heavy than that of the Capercaillie, though at a
distance Greyhens are easily mistaken for the hens of that
species. There is a certain ease and grace about the beats
of the wing, follow^ed by the long sail through the air, that

r,LArKr;AMK 87

gives (li^^niity to their appearance when flying in company
with (irouse or Pheasants. It is so collected and cool
l)esi(le tlie hurried and noisv fliglit of other kinds, and
seems to l)e performed without any apparent effort, which
adds oreatly to its buoyancy. On the other liand, before
tlic l>lack(.'Ock li.is attained the elevation necessary for liis
proper flight, when rising from a flat surface or out of a
hollow, his efforts to rise are accompanied Ijy a display of
clumsiness and noise that even his inferiors in fliofht would
be ashamed of creating. But he has often the satisfaction
of knowino- that liis life has been saved bv the demoral-
ising efi'ect which he lias caused in the heart of the young
shooter fresh " frae the toon," to whose flurried senses he
will liave appeared in tlie guise of the Catharine- wheel
cock pheasant that so terrified poor .Mr. Briggs of Punch
fame.

AVlien once fairly started, unless the cause of alarm is
very near, he will swing round with head to wind at once,
or at any angle across it that occurs to him ; but he will
seldom j)roceed to any distance down the wind, owing
to the discomfort of liavini' his curlv tail blown about,
to which he apparently has the very greatest ol)jection.
If scared l)y coming suddenly on the boxes, should a
stroni;- wind be blowinu" in their faces, I hiWQ often seen
them retreat for a short distance down wind after beintr
shot at, and then, having made up their minds that their
fears were not half so bad as the attendant disccmiforts
of an ignominious retreat, come on again recklessly, even
tliough they have seen their companions fall at their
first attempt to run the gauntlet.

Blackgame can il\' a areater distance than anv of the

88 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

other species, and instances have been known on the Con-
tinent, wliere a local migration has taken place, of their
travelling immense distances in a single night, though it
was not known whether they rested on the way ; but in
all probability they did not do so, as, when travelling from
point to point, they generally ascend to a great height in
the air, after the manner of all birds migrating, and pro-
ceed direct to their destination without any intermediate
halts, often beins^ so exhausted on arrivino- as to be easilv
captured by hand. In this country their journeys are
never very protracted, the longest journeys they ever take
being merely short passages from one range of hills to
another, or trips to the low grounds in search of food. I
have on two occasions seen single birds flying across the
valley of the Tone in Somersetshire, from Blagdon Hills
to the opposite range, called, I think, the Quantocks, a
distance of about fourteen miles, and there is no doubt
they often cross this valley from Dulverton and Exmoor,
as a rabbit-catcher on Blagdon told me he had seen them
arriving from that direction.

The usual heio-ht at which Blacko^ame travel in the
air is from twenty to thirty feet, varied in accordance
with the strength of the wind. If this be strong, they
must naturally be content to lower their flight, gaining
whatever shelter they can from the various rises and
depressions in the ground by skimming close over it. If
Grouse, too, should be flushed with or beneath them,
when they are moving, they often ''stoop" to travel in
company with them. The pace at which Blackgame move
is very deceitful ; for just watch for a moment that old
fellow sailing easily and calmly along the side of the hill

BLACKOAMK 89

with that covey of Tirouse, wliidi sccin to l>e doing their
very best to kee[) on even terms witli him, and you can
well iin<lerstan<l where the contents of thuse hist two
cartridges of yours went to. They certainly were not in
front, ^'oii still k(M'[) your eye on him, and will he again
deceived if you think he is going to settle within sight,
for tlnnigh he seems to he putting on the Ijrakes hard the
whole time, yet he still moves on and on till the shoulder
of the hill hides him from view.

They often resort to the peculiar " header'' alluded to
in the article on Capercaillie, and a wliole pack will do so
at the end of a day's shooting if they have been fre(|uently
driven and hustled about. By that time they are well on
the qui vive and quick to take alarm, being ready to sheer
off at a moment's notice from any spot that may contain
their dreaded enemy.

To men accustomed to driving, and in the habit of
seeing both the species together on the moors, Blackgame
are not difficult to distinguish from Grouse on the wing
when advancing to the guns, except in the late evening.
Then a good sportsman must be forgiven if he innocently
slay a (hey hen, for they are decidedly ditiicult to tell
when coming straight and low over the heather. If their
wings are not in motion, apart from the size, the only
dirl'erence one can notice between the two .species is that
Blackgame, wdien near the ground, carry the head a little
higher in the air. AVhat reallv is most difficult to everv
shooter is to distinguish (|ni<'kly the Blackcocks from the
Greyhens, where it is a case of '* ware hen," so as to
enable him to select his l)ird when it is well in front of
his butt. If the lioht is even, or the sun is behind the

90 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

shooter, he is right enough for his single or double shot,
as the case may be ; for the plumage of the two sexes is
then quite easily distinguished up to seventy or eighty
yards, even when the birds are coming straight on. But
should the light be failing, or the day be misty and dull
(which, by the way, are the best days on which to shoot,
the birds nearly always travelling low and straight ahead
when driven), then the sight of the man who can spot his
birds at even forty or fifty yards is indeed phenomenal
and much to be envied. For myself, and I think the
majority of sportsmen will be of the same mind, I like to
have the least bit of his tail focussed on the retina of one
eye before I pull. By the time this has been accomplished
you find you have only just managed to get your right ofi"
without trespassing on the dangerous angle, so are obliged
to take your left well behind. In shooting Blackgame it
is of the greatest importance that, with Blackcocks at any
rate, one should take the birds in front if possible. When
the light is not very good, this becomes difiicult and
requires very quick shooting, which of course gives an
additional charm to the sport. Blackgame, in nine cases
out of ten, are really very much easier to shoot than
Grouse, provided they are taken at the right time and in
the right way. When hit well forward they drop cleanly
enough, but when fired at going away they will often
carry ofi" a charge that would drop a Grouse at once.

AVhen fully feathered and in possession of all their
faculties, there are no game birds better able to take care
of themselves than this species. When shooting in line,
after the middle of September, it is only now and again
that one gets a chance at them by suddenly surprising a

black(;amk 91

.siii<'le l»inl that has l)ecn restiiif^ in some corner l>ehip<l
the rjjck.s or l)Usho.s, and has not noticed the approach of
the guns. It* there arc ohl l>ird.s ahout, they will have
already irot int(j little parties of their own, and taken up
llieir post of ol)scrvati<»ii in some exposed situation, from
wliich they can have a ^ood view of the surrounding
country in every direction, and thus ensure nearly perfect
safety for themselves. They consequently often do not
get shot when drivino- commences ; onlv the less fortunate
youngsters, wliicli liave not yet learnt to take complete
precautions, have to sacrifice their lives. Occasionally an
old Blackcock is surprised in deep heather or bushes ; hut
if he is, he generally has the cunnino- to sit closer than a
young bird, and therefore has a better chance of being
passed over altogether. By that season in but few places
dogs w^ould be used, and he is either walked right on to,
or discloses his presence by breaking cover behind, when
the line has passed, and he fondly imagines he is well out
of shot. It is these stray birds, with the ever- varying
kind of shot that they present, that ati'ord the cliief
pleasure of shooting to votaries of the gun ; and as every
fresh variety offers an additional charm to the Highland
sportsman, how niueh sliouhl we feel indebted to the
Blackcock, wIkj is ever the most noticeable and beautiful
item in a mixed bag! As the shooter swings along over
the heather, he likes to feel that he is able to bring to bag
whatever is likely to spring up in tlie shape of fur or
featlier, from the boundinu' Roe to the dodoy Snipe, and
nine men out of ten prefer making a small and pretty bag
of eiirht or nine varieties to a larue one of (Jrouse or
Partridges. The sportsman knows that in helping to

92 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

obtain the former he is learning something new in every
shot that he fires, having to make a different calculation
for the pace of each species, and knowing that by practice
at this kind of sport he will greatly improve his shooting ;
whereas in the latter case a man is just a little apt to get
careless in his shooting by undertaking the killing of a
large number of birds of the same sort in succession,
though in reality an equal amount of skill is necessary.
Besides, no sportsman cares to know for certain what he is
to fire at next : he much prefers to use his own powers of
observation in recoonisinof at once, when shootino- on new
ground, the spots that are likely to hold the different
kinds of o-ame, and feels that his knowlede^e of natural
history is of some use to him when he grasses his Snipe
neatly before it has gone half a dozen yards from the bit
of wet ground in front ; while Mr. Jones, on his right, has
been either asleep or has just stopped at that unfortunate
moment to adjust his bootlace or have a "wee dram."
Though probably quite as good a shot, Mr. Jones evidently
had not been using his eyes before he selected to halt, and
therefore has probably lost his one chance of a Snipe for
the day.

Perhaps nowhere in the United Kingdom can prettier
mixed bags be made than at Murthly, one of the most
beautiful estates in the Highlands, about fifteen miles
north of Perth. This delightful shooting my father has
rented for the last fifteen years from Sir Douglas
Stewart, and on this ground we can get a very fair day's
sport from the 1st of August to the last day of the season.
Its chief attraction lies in a most delis^htful little bit of
moor of about 400 acres known as " the Bog," which may

BLACKOAME 93

1)0 familiar to many of my readers in " Miirtlilv Moss," a
laii<l.s(!a])e l)y my father, exhibited in the Koyal Academy,
1888. < Ml ihi> little l)it of moor and marsh and wmxl one
ean ljo out an\' da\' in ( )<tol>er and kill evervthiuir in the
ganir-list with the exeepti(jn of Ptarmigan and He<l and
Fallow Deer.* A more thoroughly sporting spot for its
extent it would Ix' ditiicult to imagine. The illustration
at the head of this Chapter is a photograph, l>y my
brother, of the different kinds of o-ame killed on the Bo^'.
The examples are taken from a bag of eighty head killed
on October 7, 1889, by three guns. Tt includes Partridges,
Pheasants, Hares, lval)bits, Roe, Woodcock, Capercaillie,
Snipe, Teal, AVil<l Duck, Pochard Duck, Grouse, Blackgame,
and W(^od- Pigeons. (Shoveller, AVigeon, Tufted Duck,
and Golden Plover were also seen when rising with the
first flush of the Duck.) Every year P'allow Deer come on
the ground, but seldom stay after the middle of Augu.st,
and consequently are seldom shot. In 1885 a stag made
his way into the cover near Birnam Hall, and though 1
hunted for him for two days, he could not be foun<l or
seen by any of the keepers or myself, but was passed bv
mv sister within a few vards when feedin!»- (luietlv near
the house.

In 1S85 and I88() I spent the eaily winter at Murtldv,
and enjoyed some delightful days in the autumn, wander-
ing by myself over my favourite haunts. There weie no
other s[)()rtsmen staying at the house at that season, and
with my old dog Jet, a better retriever than whom never
step[)ed, and .lames Keay. our lii\id-keej>er, the personi-

^ Saml-Grouse were seen there (1889) l>y James Ilaggiirt, the iiuJer-
keeper.

94

GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

fication of geniality and good nature, passed some very
happy days, trudging quietly round tlie edge of swamp and
wanderino- round the moor and woods. In this manner a
single gun, knowing the ground well, could get as good a
bag as half a dozen could have got, as the ground was not
the least disturbed, and the Snipe and Duck, after swing-
ino- round and round once or twice, would settle in other
parts of the Bog, and could sometimes, if the day was fine,
be flushed once or twice before they would finally take
their departure. A good and varied bag was sure to be
obtained, provided one did not mind a bit of a wetting,
and in some places a rough walk. Perhaps the three odd
days taken from my game-book may be of some little
interest to my sporting readers : —

Date.

Place.

Guns.

02

c
a

q;

o

o

o
o

a;

O

1

o

a

s

X

S

>

3

o

Remarks.

1885
Aug. 19

Sept. 28
Oct. 7

Bog, Murthly

Fields and Bog
Bog

1

2
1

3

/
3

2

4
6

68
24

15

1

1

3

22

17

10

2

2
5

7

1

1

2

1
3

20

4
1

5

2
6

64

107

77

Shoveller, Roe, Pheas-
ants, and Partridges
seen.

Did not get to the
Bog till 6 P.M.

Capercaillie, Roe,
Shoveller, Wigeon
also seen.

The above were all shot in the ordinary course of a
day's shooting, without searching for any single species to
complete the variety.

But to return to our subject. Blackgame will often sit
well in woods during the winter after a heavy fall of snow,
and a good bag may sometimes be made, where birds are

JiLACK(;AME 95

at all numerouH, ])y \v(jrkiii<^ them up from tlie deep
heather and hractkeu with a couple of spaniels, or a steady
old retriever well broken against running in and taught to
hunt chjse. Whether it is that they do not observe the
approach of the sportsman when lying so much below the
ground-level, or that they adopt squatting as a means of
concealment, without having placed a sentry as they
generally do, one cannot very well judge ; but one is
almost startled l)y the sudden manner in wliii-h a Black-
cock can rise from beneath one's feet without being noticed
on the wdiite carpet around. Another and another immed-
iately follow his example, and after you have discharged
your two barrels with effect or otherwise, it makes you
interested to examine the spot from whence they have
sprung. But you wdll find nothing to reward you but a
slight depression in the snow, and no indication to show
that they have been burrowing underneath it, as some
foreign naturalists affirm they do. Perhaps the snow is
neither of sufficient depth nor of long enough duration t<j
warrant the birds doino- so in this countrv. I have seen
Partridges in a snowstorm lying huddled close together
behind a bush, allowing the snow to drift over them till
only their heads w-ere visible.

Numbers are annuallv killed at the stooks in autunni.
and few Highland sportsmen have not sat l)ehind their
hastily devised Ijariicade of sheaves to wait the coming of
the birds in the early morning or evening — generally the
latter time, as one does not much care to bestir himself
before 7 a.m. when he has had a hard time of it on the
previous day. It is most exciting sport whilst the birds are
comino- and in manv a niMtliorn shootino- it is about the

96 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

only way in which they can be got, when the ground does
not admit of driving. When they first commence to feed
on the corn they are most tame and unsophisticated, and it
is not until they have been frequently disturbed at their
feedinof-o^rounds, and the winter season has well advanced,
that they again assume their naturally shy disposition. I
have often seen them, when fired at with both barrels and
coming straight at the gun, complacently alight within ten
yards of their would-be destroyer, and give him time to
reload and do some more shooting as they moved off
again.

Comparatively speaking, in the Highlands, but little
systematic shooting of Blackgame over dogs takes place,
except where the birds move off the ground at a later
season, or where the ground is of such a rough and wild
nature that driving cannot be performed with success.
The sport cannot be said to be good, unless we consider
the pleasure of watching the dogs working, which is
always delightful, and therefore the birds should be left
till a season when they will be both more fit to shoot and
afford infinitely better sport. And after a few seasons,
when driving has become the usual thing, the birds, even
in the early part of the season, will soon become very shy,
rendering the shooting over dogs a matter of uncertainty,
so that the sportsman who owns good Blackgame - ground
must take his choice between the two forms of sport and
please himself; but he will do wisely by choosing the
latter, for he will thereby kill off a large number of the
old and useless birds, and give a chance of getting the
younger birds to breed, which are in reality in their prime,
thouo-h they are not able to hold their own in the battles

nnVINCJ BLACKGAMK.

H

IILACKOAME 99

with the ()\i[ an<l li;ii(l\' stagers who iiKJiiopoIi.se the
haroms.

In the good old chiys when iJhiekgaine were far tamer
and more numerous than they are now, ohl sjKjrt.snien
will tell you that they couhl he shot hy walking up, right
on to the end of the season, and tliat they were in nowise
Avilder than (Jrouse fifty years ago.

'lliere are always certain spots on or ahout a moor
which Bhickgame love to frequent. These will Ije pretty
sure to ])e certain finds for tliem, except during feedincr
hours, provided they have not been driven to seek shelter
in thick cover during rough weather, nor have l)een
previously disturljed ; and a good keeper who knows
his work, and has studied the line of fiioht taken
by the ])irds on leaving, can, with a couple of l)eaters,
move them in the required direction nnich more
easily than Grouse or Capercaillie. The old ])ird on the
watch raises his neck for a second on apprehending the
danger, and immediately the whole pack rise on the
wing and take a line, often a very circuitous one, towards
one or other of their favourite abodes, generally crossing
in their flight one particular point, which of course will
have Ijeen ascertained by the keeper, and where the guns
will 1)c placed. They ai'e as ol)stinate sometimes as Roe,
and often one man, judiciously placed, will ha\e the effect
of o'ettini'' the l)irds forward, where a number would fail.
I am only now speaking, of course, of incidental or
(juickly improvised diives, such as one freijuently has
in the course iA' a day's shooting in the Highlands,
and where birds are not necessarilv plentiful. Bii; davs
at Bhickgame are, alas ! few and far between now, there

100 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

being but very few places where more than fifteen or
twenty brace are ever got in a single day.^ In Dumfries
and Roxburgh, and the Borders, good bags are still obtained,
and then they are driven with the beaters worked in
much the same manner as Grouse-driving, which needs no
description. When being driven Blackgame will not split
up their packs to the same extent that Grouse do, and
consequently, should they stick to one line of flight, as
they often do, one man in a line of guns will have it all
his own way, while the others have to look on and inwardly
criticise his performance. Therefore, if only Blackgame
are being driven, and no chance of other game is expected,
the guns should properly be posted close together in certain
places where the l)irds will be sure to pass.

In the early part of the shooting- season, to men
acquainted with their habits, there are few birds that can
more easily be poached than Blackgame. The poacher has
only to w^atch the line of flight of the hens and broods as
they retire to some secluded bank of rushes or peat-bogs
to pass the night, and with his net he can easily secure
the whole covey. In Scotland but little of this is done,
but in the North of England and the Border counties the
silk net is a good deal in use. Most of the poaching that
is done is carried on by labourers during the harvest time,
and in some of the Northern counties, were it not for
constant watching, it would become systematic. A snare
of small wire or horsehair is artfully fastened to the
ground, or to a stick concealed amidst the stooks, and

1 In two days' covert-sliooting in November 1889 at Guisaclian, Lord
Tweedmoutli's beautiful place in Ross-sliire, 150 Blackcocks were killed
amongst other game.

BLAr-K'iAMi: 101

is either placed at the hase of the sheaves or aUowed to
project amongst the ears at the top, so that birds feeding
ill either phice run every chance of heing caught. It is a
ciiiioiis fact llial uoniru Ix-come the Lrreatest achipts at this
form of poachiii;^ ; tiii4 I kimw of two i^irls, tlie daughters
of a fanner in Banffshire, who kiUeil in one season over
two huii(lie<l Grouse and Bhickgame Ijy means of these
snares. These fair hidies wouM liave little bets with each
other in the morning as to whose snares had l)een the most
successful, each knowing lier own ])y a piece of coloured
worsted attached t(j the wire. A travelling hawker used
to come twice a week and take away the stuff to Banff
or some other neio-hl)ourino- town, where it wjis soon
disposed of

Another verv clever, and in former (hivs hiiihlv
successful, method of killing these birds is for the poacher
to erect over himself a little arbour of sheaves, when the
fields have been cleared of the stooks. He knows well
that, so lon<:>: '<^'^ there is a single stook left standing in
tlie field, the l)irds will ('ome to it, in preference to
hunting for the food which is scattered all over the fiehl ;
and, in addition to this, lUackcocks always like a situation
to feed in which gives them a commanding view of the
surroundini>- countrv, so that even when feediiii*' thev mav
be well on the alert to guard against surprise. He
therefore erects in his ambush a stake to support the
sheaves around liim, and of such a height as to make
another stake, fixed at right angles, a comfortable perch
for the arriving birds to pitch on, and fee(l on the ears of
corn around them. For a man ^^i ordinary height, this
cross-bar is then within eas\- reacli k^{ the arm when

102

GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

extended, and it only requires caution and adroitness on
the part of the poacher to be successful in pulling down
his unconscious victims within his hiding-place. A stuffed
Blackcock will also tend to attract the others to the spot.
This mode of capturing Blackgame is now becoming a

HENS ASSUMING THE PLUMAGE OF THE MALE.

lost art amongst the poaching fraternity, and is, I fancy,
but rarely practised now. It has too many discomforts,
and requires too much patience where birds are scarce, as
they are nearly everwhere nowadays.

Another somewhat deadly method of capture is by
clearing a small space in the centre of a wood, where the

BLACKGAMK

103

hinls are known to resort to rest or feed during the cloy.
The ground is cleared of all the sticks and heather, and
tliickly strewn with corn, etc., in the centre, which is
surrounded l)y a network of nooses, through which the
birds must endeavour to pass to get at the food. I have

INSTANCE OF AN ADULT BLACKCOCK ASSUMING THE TLUMAGE OP THE GREYHEN.

never seen this done myself, lait have been told by keepers
that poachers often prartiso it witli success, particularly
wlien Pheasants can ])e caught as well, and it is worth
tlieir while to try for both.

The adult plumage of the Blackcock begins to slunv
itself in the vouno- l)ird about '20th August, and is com-

104 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

plete by the beginning of October, in point of colouring,
though it is not until the third season that it really
becomes quite perfect, and the tail, the bird's chief adorn-
ment, has attained its complete length and graceful
curves. The young males of the first year can easily
be recognised during the winter by the brown ribbings
on the crown of the head and white markings on the
throat, as well as by the incomplete shape of the tail.

Blackgame, like tlie rest of the Tetraonidse, have the
two kinds of plumage, the dark and the light — specimens
of cocks varying from brilliantly marked forms to others
which appear almost entirely black and wdiich show
hardly any of the bronze -blue on the neck and back.
In these very dark birds the tendency to melanism
generally shows itself by the white feathers covering
the vent being ribbed more or less broadly with
black. One killed by John Sutherland, Lord Cawdor's
keeper, had thick black bars across every feather under
the tail.

The number of species with which Blackgame have
been known to interbreed is larger than that of any other
game bird. These hybrids are of very rare occurrence,
and, with the exception of the cross with the Capercaillie,
are not likely to be met with by sportsmen. The other
kinds with which they have been known to breed are
Grouse, Pheasant, Bantam, and Common Fowl. In
Sweden it also crosses occasionally with the "Eipa"
or Willow-Grouse, of which there is a good specimen
in the Dublin Museum. The hybrid with the Pheasant
is by far the most beautiful and interesting ; and the
specimen belonging to Mrs. Hunter,' of Glen App, Ayr-

BLACKCAMK

105

sliire, from \vlii<h the illustration on pago 64 is taken, Is the
handsomest hyhrid of any game species 1 have ever seen.
It is usuallv the case tiiat, in most of the crosses with whi<h
the Blackcock has anytiiinn- to do, the ycmn^,' take very

YOUNG BLACKCOCK IN STATE OF CHANGE.

strongly after him, and are generally of a very [>lain and
black appearance, without possessing tliat nohle bird's
individual beauties, but in this specimen the characteristics
of both the parents are ])erfectly distinct.

The crosses with the (Irouse arc usuallv vcrv dark, and

106 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

I have selected the specimen that is drawn in the illustra-
tion on page 68 from amongst some twenty that I have
seen, as it is the only one where the markings of the Grouse
are distinctly contrasted with those of the Blackgame.

As in the case of the Capercaillie, any form of variety
in Blackgame is extremely rare, and I have never had the
good fortune to see any more advanced in albinism than
the specimen of which I give an engraving on page 56,
and the pale hen, with Mr. Kothschild's varieties,
which is from my own collection.^ Even in Norway,
Sweden, and Kussia, w^here vast numbers of the birds are
slain annually, it is very rarely that varieties occur,
though at one museum in Norway (Bergen) there are no
less than eight or ten of these pied birds. Some years
ago, when I was driving to fish at Loch Freuchie, a Grey-
hen, whose wdngs were nearly pure white, rose from the
side of the road and flew off in the direction of Amulree.
I made inquiries afterwards, but it was not shot that year
on any of the adjoining shootings.

Although, of course, the number of Greyhens in Scot-
land far exceeds the number of Capercaillie hens, I have
noticed that it is very much rarer for the former to assume
the plumage of the male than the latter. The fact of
being injured in the ovaries, or diseased from other causes,
does not necessarily imply that the bird will change her
feathers to those of the male, even to a slight degree, and
Greyhens prove this, being often killed when barren, or
injured by previous wounds, without displaying any signs
of change, though a far greater number must be annually

1 Two Blackcocks were killed in December 1890, in Lanarkshire, by Mr.
J. Allan, of Glasgow, which were speckled all over with white feathers.

bla(K(;amk 107

wouiided tlian of C^iperraillie liens. It is very curious
tliat one species of (iame should he so much less liable to
it than any other, and that, comparatively speaking, it
should occur ten times as frequently amongst Capercaillie
and Pheasants as amongst the birds in question. I have
onlv seen about ten of these Grevliens which had assumed
the cock's plumage and which had been killed in Great
Britain, and two of these are gi\'en in the illustration on
page 102. The dark bird was shot by Captain Barlow of
my regiment, at Lendrick, near Callander, N.B., and I had
a good hunt amongst a pile of Grouse and bleeding Hares
to discover the bird. He said he had shot a " funnv
young Blackcock with a lot of grey feathers in its
plumaoe 1 " That was enouoh to send me flvino* ofi' to
rummage amongst the spoils, but, before I had got half-
way through the bag, it suddenly dawned upon me he
was having one of his usual little jokes at my expense,
which my brother officers, and he in particular, occasion-
ally indulge in, knowing my propensities. However I
soon forgave him when I discovered the object of mv
search.^

^ A biiil of very great rarity is the variety in wliieli a Blackcock as-
sumes to any extent the pluma^'e of the Greyhen. Tl»e example whicli I
have fiLjiired on paj^'e 103 is, I believe, nniciue, and, with the e.\cei»tii»n of two
cock Pheasants undergoing the same change, is the only exami>le of this extra-
ordinary variety I have ever heard of. This hird was killed in Russiji, in
November 1869, according t<> thf label attached to it ; the condition of the
plumage bears this out, as it is not like that of a Blackcock killed in August,
only the heads resembling each other. The jdumage of the (Jreyhen will l»o
seen intermixing throughout the plumage with that of the Blackcock. N»>
account has to my knowledge been ,i;iven in any work ou Natural History
concerning this variety ; the extreme rarity of its occurrence has prtdvibly
caused it to escai)e the attention <"f naturalists.

108

GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

The Hon. Walter Eothscliild lias been kind enough to
grant me the use of his collection of varieties of Black-
game, and I have selected a few of the most striking
examples of Greyhens, which are figured on page 71.

GROUSE SHOOTING.

GPiOUSE

HERE THEY COME.

Grouse have proved the greatest success of all Ijirds of
the chase, and their steady increase during the past fiftv
years is an achievement of which the game preservers
may well be proud. A careful study of the bird's habits
and requirements has shown the sportsman what may be
done in the course of a few years to further the increase
of his stock by good watching, vermin-trapping, and
judicious heather-burning. The care bestowed on High-
land moors during the last fifty years, with these
necessary precautions, has made all the ditierence in
chanoino' desolate tracts of booov moorland, on whii-h a

112 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

few stray birds contrived to eke out a precarious existence,
surrounded as tliey were by Kites, Eagles, and Foxes,
into stretclies of heathery moorlands, where heavy bags
can now be obtained.

Grouse, then, may be said to be to the Highland laird
the veritable golden goose, for such has become the esteem
and pleasure with which grouse-shooting is looked upon
by the " Sassenach," that immense tracts of country, the
rio-ht to shoot over which could once have been had for a
mere trifle, are now split up into several moors, each of
which may perhaps command a rent of four figures.

During the raw and boisterous davs of winter the
sportsman or naturalist, be he ever so keen, has but few
opportunities of observing the habits of this species.
Birds are no doubt quite as sensitive to the weather as
ourselves, and the beauty cast over their surroundings by
the genial warmth of the sunshine has as much influence
in causing them to be bright and cheerful as muggy and
wet weather has in making them dull and listless. It is
only during that rare climatic phenomenon, a really fine
winter's day, that the sportsman ever has a chance of
observino- their habits and strange attitudes. He is then,
in all probability, sitting crouched in the wet behind a
shelter of sods and heather, and will have but a few
minutes to make his observations, for the first shot that is
fired along the line of guns will bring to an end the peace
and security of the little family-parties that are disporting
themselves in the immediate foreground, and the thoughts
of the sportsman will have to be changed from peaceful
observation to sterner realities. Spring is therefore the
time for observation, and a man wishing to study the

'^ i -v.

GROUSE 11."*

luilnts of Ijirds jind animals will l«'ain inure of interest in
a few (lays at that season than at any otiier. Tliin
necessarily entails early rising, to whi<'li all are not
partial. J[(.' will, however, soon hecome warmed with his
walk to the moor, and wlim <'<)nir<)iial)l\' enseoneed in the
middle of a whin or juniper hn.sh the eohl will not he felt
so much, and he will s(jon heccjme eno:rosse<l with the
beauties of nature that are each moment awakeninL''
around him.

Grouse at this season arc by far the most restless of all
the game birds, not even excepting Partridges. A cock
bird may be seen chasino- a hen for hours together, the
hitter taking only very short rests every few minutes, and
even whilst on the ground she is sehlom still, but struts
about j)i'etending to pick up imaginary scraj)s of food, all
the time emitting her peculiar cheeping note, wliirh is
only to be heard at this season. The cock, meanwhile, at
intervals chases her, or flies up into the air to a height of
fifteen to twentv feet, crowini>' vociferouslv. and, nn a«'ain
alighting, resumes his pursuit of the hen. This perfbrm-
ance is repeated several times, till the hen has obtained
what she considers to be sufficient rest: thereupon she
flies off again, rapidly twisting, and turning quickly from
side to side like a Snipe, in her endeavours to escape from
her hotly-pursuing swain, ft is extraordinarv to see the
marvellous rapidity with which the lattci- can change the
motion of his 1)ody and wings in exact time and accordance
witli that of the hen, so that the movements of the two
seem to be actuated by the same impulse.

During this period of l(t\e and war (h'ouse become
exceedingly tame, and 1 have seen them alight, without

IIG GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

betraying any signs of fear, within a few yards of the
bush in which I have been seated in full view. On such
occasions as these, if one is able to imitate the call of the
hen fairly well, the cocks will become greatly excited, and
will ily round about and endeavour to draw the imaginary
enchantress from her place of concealment with all the
arts and blandishments of wliicli they are capable.

Grouse are no exception to the rest of the game birds
in respect of the pugnacious qualities which they develop
in spring whilst the selection of their respective mates is
in progress. Males in the attitude of fighting erect and
expand the tail much after the manner of Blackgame,
which species they closely resemble at a distance : and
as the cock Grouse at intervals throws up his wings on
striking, he thus presents to the spectator the flash of
white which is so noticeable when Blackgame are engaged
in conflict. So closely do the two species resemble each
other at a distance, that, were it not for the difference in
the sounds they emit, it would be difficult for the observer
to distinguish between them.

When cock Grouse are fighting, the contest is savage
enough as long as it lasts ; but this is usually not
protracted, as there are seldom more than two engaged,
and one or other of the combatants, when he finds he
is likely to come off second best, proceeds to make
himself scarce. Generally speaking, the vanquished one,
durino" the few moments of contest, has had such a
rough handling that he is only too glad to clear out
altogether ; yet it often happens t]iat the one which
at the beginning got the best of the fight becomes so
highly elated with his success that he follows up liis

^:-!m^'^

\ a

(; HOUSE I Mi

victory hy (chasing his opponent to a short <li.stanc''»,
when he finds to liis snrprise tliat liis a<lversary is not
so (•<)ni[)letfly hiinil>hMl as he expected, and is himself
in turn attacked and utterly routed. These running
conflicts may ])er]ia])s last for some time, if the birds
are evenly matched, and no one takes so keen an interest
in them, or is more lii.ghly delighted at all the row that
is going on, than tlie lady herself : she runs backwards
and forwards, chuckling to herself, as if it were a matter
of supreme indifference to her as to which should ulti-
mately win, provided there is a good fight for her. Although
Grouse are not naturally armed with sucli a powerful
weapon of attack and defence as Capercaillie or Blackc(jck,
yet they sometimes contrive to maim each other so
severely as to be completely blinded and rendered quite
helpless from the injuries inflicted to their eyes.^

^ Contests in which more tlian two take part are unusual. On one
occasion I saw four cocks all en''a.rL'd at one time : at first three of them
were chasing the fourth unfortunate, presumably a youn,t,'er otxk, wlioni
they c(msidered had no right to be there ; but after a bit the latter bird
got into a good defensive position on a grassy knoll, where he stootl his
ground so well against unet^ual odds, that at length the other three accepted
him as being worthy of their attacks, and commenced turning their attention
to one another. So furiously did they tight for some moments that one old
fellow, who had evidently made up his mind not to give way an inch, reeletl
up and fell exhausted against a peat-hag, where he contemplated with
nochling head and halting breath the action of the others, till he had gjiined
suthcient breath to enable him to get on his legs aiitl go in again. The hen
meanwhile never ceased running round and round the combatants, uttering
as she did so her peculiar cheeping note, and slie ilid not seem at all
distressed at the ([uarrels ami jealousies which her i)resence had roused.
Most unfortunately I did not get an opportunity of witnessing the terntina-
tion of this interesting battle, as my dog ".Jet" had, unknown to me, also
become interested in the ])roceedings, and s;.'eiug the birds in front tumbling
about in a distressing manner, viTV naturallv came to the conclusion that it

120 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

In the Northern Highlands, where the weather is very
unsettled in the spring-time, fine warm days in Aj^ril,
however much pleasure they may give to us, are by no
means to be desired so far as the nestino- of Grrouse is
concerned. The promise of this summer-like weather is
too often a dismal fraud ; and many of the unfortunate
hens, after leaving their nests to feed, on returning very
frequently find them buried beneath the snow. When
their first nests have been thus destroyed. Grouse are not
nearly so ready to make another and lay again as the
other species are ; so that cold and inclement weather
in the early summer, provided it is not so severe as to
cause a check to the growth of vegetation, is really rather
a thing to be desired in the interest of Game prospects.

Grouse are, like Partridges, the best of parents to their
brood, the cocks, as well as the hens, taking the utmost
care of the family, and protecting them to the best of their
ability from the various dangers to which they may be at
times exposed from the attacks of vermin. The cock is
generally close at hand, and, on a warning note from his
better half, is soon on the spot ready to give battle to the
furred or feathered foe that for the moment is threatening
the young brood. He is at this season an exceedingly
plucky bird, and will, in the defence of his family, blindly
attack almost any creature (except man) which may
approach too near or interfere with them. The birds of
prey, and animals which at other seasons they would flee

was high time tliey sliould be retrieved. The lien was the first to observe
her, and when she had approached to witliin ten yards at once gave the
alarm. It was wonderful to see the alacrity with which the cocks obeyed
the signal, and, despite their wounds and bewildered senses, pulled tliemselves
together and immediately flew off almost simultaneously.

(;RorsK 121

IVniii in icn«M, arc assail(Ml with all th(? fury that they
display towanls one anotlicr in tht-ir contests. 1 have
soon r)no hoat oil' an<l chaso a Ifooih-d Crow that had by
ohanco vA)iint witliin two liunflicd yards of his family
party : even tliis a[)[)earod u> l>e considered too close
(juarters foi* safet\'.'

The watrhfulnoss (jf the old Ikmis at this season for the
safety of their bro(jd is so great, and their power of
detecting danger on its first appearaiioo so acute, that it is
difficult to watch their liabits. One cannot tret near them
without beino- observed, and thev are difficult to find even
with a good glass. When they are discovered, however,
one will be struck with admiration at the care and attention
which the hen pays to eacli individual of her family, now
running to catch flies for one, or pulling up the tender
shoots of grass and heather for another, and inducing the
little one to eat l)y pretending to do so herself. Even a
caterpillar that she considers too large for one is divided
up into separate pieces for the greedy mouths that are
expecting the choice morsel.

Her care, too, does not cease even after the young
birds are well grown, and, from the sport -man's point of
view, sufficiently capable of looking after themselves.
What shooter at the beiiinnini^ of the season does not
know the familiar '' coq, co(| " of the (tld hen? Has he

1 Donald Ros.s, the kee])er at Eskailale, Strath Beauly, toUl nu* lie once
saw a cock Grouse kei'i) at bay a Sparrow-Hawk tliat was attempting to
seize one of his younj,'. The hen gathered all her chicks under her, and
S(iuatto(l down closely in the heather, whilst the cock doilged l»J\ckwa^U and
forwanls under the Hawk, and exposed his hreast whenever the marauder
attempted to pounce. This lasted for some five minutes, till the Hawk
became disgusted and beat a ictrt'at without baving etlectetl his purpa-to.

122 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

not often seen her running in full view in front of the
pointing dogs, trying every inducement to warn her family
of their danger, sometimes even rising herself for a yard
or two out of the heather, and, when she finds her efforts
to make them take wing of no avail, dropping down again,
a piece of self-sacrifice which often costs her her life ?

Grouse have but few curious attitudes which are
peculiar to themselves, their movements on the ground
much resemblinof those of Blacko-ame or Partrido^es. One
thing, however, which is noticeable is the dainty manner
in which they carry the tail during wet weather or when
snow is on the ground. They seem to have a particular
aversion to getting this appendage wet, and consequently
carry it liiHi in the air, where it will not become bedrao^o'led
and uncomfortable. They also erect and expand the tail
when fio^htino- after the manner of the Blackcock.

Excepting in the extreme northern counties of Scot-
land, its adjacent islands, and the west of Ireland, unless
unusually fine weather prevails, Grrouse soon become
unapproachable and shy after the first month of the
shooting. They are more easily influenced by changes in
the weather than any of the other game birds. On a wet
and stormy day the birds become so unsettled that covey
after covey can be seen moving off far out of shot, although
they have not yet, perhaps, heard the sound of a gun. A
covey that has been moved on a hillside will, in the course
of its retreat, give the w^arning to all others over which it
passes, and should it not succeed in taking them with it,
will at any rate give them due warning of the danger that
they know to be approaching and the direction from which
to expect it. The reason is, that on wet days Grouse will

GROL'SE

123

not remain in llir <lii|)[)in<jj hoatlier, wln-re llioir plunm^^e
bocoines wet aii<l heavy, ami where the water i.s foret**! in
iiinh r lh<'ir feathers bv the soakin*; .shoots of liiiir. Thev
«on.se(|iiently prefer .situations where, although more rain
falls on them, it will run off again, and will not adhere or
penetrate to the same extent. Sitting thus in the open

<>u l>are patches of ground,
or on cairns of stones,
thev naturallv have a verv
niiich l)etter view of the
surr(nin<ling country, wliirli, in their unsettled r-ondition of
mind and ImhIv, renders them (juick to take alarm at the
slightest cause. As the season advances, should wet weatluM-
still continue, tliese dry and commanding situations .soon
become more and more resorted to, till [)acks are formed
which may perliaps remain togetlier through the rest of
the winter, unless it l)eeomes more rigorous, when it is
not unusual for tlu* whole stock of (irouse on a moor to

Ii! I

(JAMi: lllK'hS AND SIKHnMNd SKIC'IVIII'IS

in(*rL!,(' inlo niu* Iiii;m' |>;i(k. Tli('\ llicn Ic.mnc llicir iisiml
li.Miiiils nnd sc.'ircli llir low nioiinds iii(|ii(\s((>r lood. Siidi
WjlM nlinoMi mii\('r;i.Ml in llic wiiilciol* ISSO SI, wliicli wns
|H'(»l»;iM\ one ol llir iiiosi scN'ci'c wiiilrrs lor llic hirds cnci'
Liutwii.

Tlic dii\ cr ttf I lie liiNcriicss nnd Hnlnespick ('oncli l«>ld
inc lli.'il one nioniiiiH', in lli<> nionlli of rl.-inii.-iry of lli;il
Nc.'ir, w lien |>n,s,sini;' oNcr llic ll.il nc.-ir l\l(>\' ll;dl, lie
(Micnnnlci (m| wIi.mI lie (',s|ini;il(M| lo he ;i |>;ick of s('\ ci'nl
I li<»ii;;;ind Mi'ds, ni;in\ of llicni l»rin<'; so iK'niinilxMJ willi
llic cold IIimI |||('\ li;irdl\ lind snllicicnl sli'cn^^lli lo nioNc
(Mil of I lie \\ii\ {){' I lie liorscs' feci. The whole ol I he h»\v
<noiind'>, which he poinle*! oiil l(» nie, were lirer.dly lil;ick
wilh I hem, nnd I h(>\ |»i'ol>nl>l\ <'<tnsl il ill ed I he whoh' slock
ol" Itii'ds iVoni I he sin roiindinn liiMs.

I'mh'T ordinniN condilions. nller I he niid<ne of
Se|>leml>er I he Iwo sexes ;;e|>nrnle, I he hens i;"(»in_i;' l)\'
iheinseKcs in pnilies (A' iVoin lisc losescn, nnd ihe cocks
lendiii'; either n solilnr\ existence or j^oini;' nlxuil Iwooi'
Ihree lo^clher. ( hie of I he nioslciiiioiis Incls ihni sliike
one when ( J rouse dri\ inn," is IhnI, in shooj ini;" ceitnin heals,
no hircls l»iil hens me kiMcij, nnd n (\',\\ or I w <» n flerw nrds
|ierhn|)s none hiil cocks. I >oiilt| less Ihe hens JinNc iheir
own |»nil icidni- l»enl. which lhe\' resoil |o rei;nlnrl\ il
nndislnrhcd, nnd il (h>es siM'ni sli*niii;'e ihni on n pnri icnkii"
(KmA' il shonhl he descried nnd ihe cocks Inke I heir |)hie(».

In I h(> ( )ikne\ s ( Jrouse soniew hnl \nr\ in ihcirhnhils
iVoni lh»»se of ihe nunnlnnd o\' Scollnnd. \\ hen ihe Iwo
sex(*s s«'|»nrnle in Ocloln'r ihe hens nlwn\s heconie nnich
more sh\ ihnn ihe cocks, so ihni n shoolci" in Noxcndier.
Inking' n si roll wilh his doi»'s, will lind ihni sevcnlx or

(IHOUHK

mC)

<*i<'lllA' IXT ci'lll "1 lil-> l»;i'' rolisi.^ls ()| cuck-^. TImt<* is hill
little «j(>(m| ,sli(M»liii;4 Ij) Im- |i;i(| in lliosc, iMJjiinl.s hdoie iIh*
(•ii<| nf ( )(|(ilM'r <»i' iM'Liiiiiiiiiv "^ Non'ciiiImt, as, until lli.it
H('US(»n, llic l»ii<ls will not sil jo don,,, hiii mn l/ir ;iIh';i(| «.|
tln'in an<l rise out of ,-li<»l. Tln'y Mcldoni pink, and nnlc-^.s
lorcf'd |(»(»('tli('i' l>\' drivin'j iIh'V rrnwnn sin<dv <'•" i" littl'*
|);irli('s nnlil l''<'l»rn;n y, wln-n
tJic^y j);iii-. TIh'V also dilliT in
tJial> llicy arc icniarkuhly nilcnl
hirds, hciii^' liar<||y cvci' li<';ird
to crow.

'lilii^

^

'IIIK AI'I'KAIIANCK 0| III), IIKKUUINK,

It, is very rare i'ny (ironsc to ali;j^^lit, (^JMcnvJH ic ili;in on
fcrt'fc Ju'nut, y(;t tli<'y niay at. limes h(; h(mmi silling on
mLoik; walls or, nioic rarely, wire I'eiiees. Tliev do, liovv-
(;ver, oeeasionally ali^lit, on tn;eH, or, to speak more
eori-(!elly, hnslK^s. In W C^l nioickmd, in I lie winter
monlJis, when lood hee^onicis searee ;ind a elwin'je of diet
is necessary, the itiouHd somejime.s ]ea\(; the Tells uinl

126

GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

descend to the upland pastures, where they may be seen
sitting on the bhickthorn bushes, eating the red berries.
But in Seothmd and Irehxnd such are not their habits, save
in very severe winters, when their natural feeclinof-arounds
are buried beneath the snow, and they are forced to come

EMBARRAS DE KICHESSES.

to the low grounds to search for whatever they can pick up.
Durino- the winter of 1880-81, when the Yorkshire Grouse
were clriyen into the farmyards and became so tame as to
feed with the poultry, many of the Inyerness-shire birds

1 The above incident happened to my brother hi Aberdeenshire in 1887,
when a covey of Grouse, after being flushed several times, eventually became
so confused as to take refuge in his butt.

GROUSE 127

probiihly owed their existence U) the food whifh they
obtained from the l)hickthorn and i(j\van trees. A crofter
on the mar<^in n{' I.ocli IJuthven in that county tohl me
that every dav during the month of Januar^', when there
was a depth of five or six feet of snow over tlie whole
country, he liad seen the Grouse sitting on the IjLnckthorns
and eagerly devouring the hips and haws, looking like so
manv J^lackcocks. When the snow eventually cleared
away, numbers were found lying beneath the l^ushes,
having died from starvation when all the berries were
exhausted.

It is, of course, difficult for birds furnished with so
feeble a development of the hind claw to maintain
anything like a steady perch wdien sitting on trees, but
with practice they are perfectly able to do so. In addition
to the Tetraonid^e, most of the Grallatores (Waders) are
quite at home in trees, two of them, the Wood and the
Green Sandpiper, even nesting in them. A curious
instance of how habits, such as I am referring to, ma}' be
acquired, was related to me by a friend of mine who
resides in Westmoreland. He procured a setting of
Grouse eggs from the moor and placed them under a
bantam hen, who in course of time hatched them all.
Some w^ere accidentally killed, and the others died from
various causes, except one cock, which throve well and was
greatly attached to its stepmother. Every evening the
])antam used to repair to a large beech tree near the
house, in which she was in the hal)it of roostinu' when
unencumbered by family cares. So when she was allowed
to remain out for the nioht her first thou oh t was to make
for her old perch, to which she considered the youngster

128 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

was perfectly capable of following, as he could now fly
well. The latter, after many ineflectual attempts to keep
on his legs, was forced to sleep on the ground at the foot
of the tree, for, although he managed to get up to the
perch, his eftbrts to keep there were quite useless, as he
always fell oft' aoain, either backwards or forwards. How-
ever, in course of time practice made perfect, and he
acquired such a liking for sitting on the trees that he was
often afterwards seen in the daytime flying from branch
to branch, appearing to be perfectly at home.

Grouse make most delightful pets, the only disadvan-
tage in keeping them being that the}' are apt to become
far too tame, and consequently a source of annoyance.
The bird above mentioned had a particular aftection for
the lawn-tennis court, and whenever any of the members
of my friend's fomily began to play, ^h\ Grouse would
always put in an appearance, seeming to enjoy the fact
that he was an obstructionist, and refusing to clear off"
unless forcibly removed and shut up in his pen. If taken
to the other end of the grounds, he would almost
immediately return to the tennis-court. Such was the
sociability of his disposition, that he had absoluteh' no
sense of fear at the report of firearms ; in fact he would
frequently follow^ the shooters out to a distance of several
fields from the house before he would return home,
satisfied that they had taken their departure for the whole
day, so that it would be of no use in accompanying them.
Everv nioiit, before retirino- to roost in his beech tree, he
w^ould take Iouq; fliohts round and round the house and
villaoe, which was close bv ; and in the course of one of
his evening rambles he espied an old man digging, from

(i ROUSE 131

wlioiii he \«'ry iiaiiiially expected he would oljtain s(jme
deli«'a<'\-, as e\('i\' one was in tlic lialiit of" <;iviiig liiiii
<niiirt liiiiu' to eat; l)iiL llii.s old scoinidi-cl was a stranger,
and liarharoiisly despatched the confiding bird with his
spade.

Another that was kept for a long time at (uiisachan,
Lord Tweedinouth's heantifnl place in Koss-shire, Ijecame
ecjuall}' tame, and was probably one of the few pets that
have not suffered an untimely end. After being kept for
several years, he departed as usual in the spring to the
hills, wdiere he annually assisted in the increase of the
stock, but did not return to the house, as was his wont,
during the following winter. He feared neither man nor
beast, and became oreat friends with a certain doo- in the
house, on whose back he often used to ride. The follow-
ing instance of his plucky disposition was related to me
on separate occasions by each of the two guns who were
present when the afl'air occurred. A shooting party were
beating the hillside near the house, when a pointer that
was working stood to birds which eventually rose, and
some were killed ; but as the dog still held, they correctlv
inferred that there was prol)ably another bird left, which
proved to l)e the case. This happened to be the tame
Orouse, whose presence was (juite unexpected, and who
considered l)eing pointed such an insult that when the
unfortunate dog approached near enough to be disagree-
able, he flew up and attacked him so blindly that he was
with diihculty rescued from its jaws. Like the other
tame bird, he seemed rather to appreciate the sound of
guns, and always turned up at the covert shoots in the
park. On one occasion he was taken to Oxfordshire,

132 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

where he lived in a garden for more than a year ; but the
South Country and association with the Sassenach seemed
to have a depressing effect on his spirits, for during the
whole of his residence there he never crowed or appeared
at all happy, so that he was sent back to Guisachan. He
soon showed his delight at returning to his native land
once more, for immediately he was let out of his box he
ran up to a grassy hillock at once and crowed loudly.

On the appearance of danger the first instinct of a
Grouse is to crouch and remain " perdu " till it is past ;
but when the cause of alarm remains on the spot their
powers of patience, engendered by fear, are so great as to
make them capable of remaining for hours together in one
position. Supposing that both dogs and birds were left
alone when the former were pointing, it would be curious
to find out to what length of time the actual powers of
endurance of each could be strained to. Just before
commencing to nest on warm days in spring, Grouse will
sit closer than at any other season of the year ; they will
often allow the passer-by to tread within a few inches of
them without betraying any sign of their existence.
Some years ago, during spring, I was collecting lairds in
the w^est of Sutherlandshire near Loch Naver. The keeper
who accompanied me took me to a small loch high up in
the hills where the Black-throated DiA^ers came every year,
and I was fortunate enough to shoot a pair, which we
found the greatest difiiculty in getting out of the loch, as
the breeze had entirely dropped and the surface of the
lake on wdiich the birds were floating was like a sheet of
glass. We accordingly sat down on a patch of heather by
the loch-side and waited patiently for the wind to rise ;

GROUSE 133

this it oWtiiiately refused to do, save in feeble spasmodir
little puffs : however, in the c^»urse of al>out two hours it
brought the dead ones to within a stones throw, and we
walked about picking up stones to hurl beyond them, a
proceeding that was at last successful, and we were able to
fish them out — of course, just at the moment when a
strong breeze had sj)rung up that would have brought
them to shore in a minute. Beiuic now hiiddv satisfied in
ha vine obtained the birds, and as our internal luncheon
Ijells had l>een rinfcins^ somewhat loudlv, owins: to the
^'igorous exercise we had been taking, we proceeded to sit
down on the heatherv bank aorain and satisfv the calls of
the inner man. Hardly had we seated ourselves when a
cock Grouse, almost immediately followed by a hen, rose
literally out of the bent at our feet, and from a spot that
we imagined had been trampled ujDon dozens of times
during the last three hours. The keeper was as much
astonished as myself at the extraordinary tameness or
inaction displayed.

The living -powers of C4rouse, although at times
extremely rapid, are far inferior in point of endurance to
either Blackgame or Capercaillie. They seldom cover
distances exceedins: two mdes at one stretch, unless
unusually harassed in stormy weather, or scared from
their ground by Hawks or the artificial Kite. The usual
length of a Grouse's flight ranges from a quarter to three-
quarters of a mile, depending entirely of course on the
nature of the ground over which thev are passing, being
as a rule much shorter on heather flats, where they have
numerous and agreeable resting-places, than on broken
ground and rocky hill-faces. In a discussion which took

134 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

place in tlie Field, I noticed tliat most sportsmen were
of opinion that Grouse were incapal)le of flying four miles;
but I have twice seen Grouse on the wing when they were
crossing the " Bring," a wide channel which separates the
islands of Hoy and Pomona, Orkneys. The fishermen
told me this distance, at the spot where I was sailing, was
quite four miles across, and the birds must have come at
least another mile on the Pomona side from the point
where they left the moor.

Grouse feed much about the same time that the other
o-ame birds do, namely, soon after daybreak and an hour
before sunset. Perhaps they remain somewhat later at
their second meal than the other species do. Those birds
which may be still seen on the stubbles after dusk are
nearly always parties of hens, who seem to prefer to take
their meal later than the cocks. Perhaps it is the strong-
instinct of self-preservation in the hens which guides all
their movements during the autumn and winter months ;
they are far wilder than the cocks once they get into their
little parties, and the strolling gunner, late in the season, on
laying out his bag at the end of the day, will find but
comparatively few of the gentle sex amongst his victims.
Also, when shooting under the Kite, one will most probably
not count a sinole hen in the entire bas^ ; durine^ the dav
you have seen them making off in little coveys consisting
of five to ten birds, on the very first view they obtain of
their dreaded enemy, and have not deemed concealment
by crouching amongst the heather a sufficiently safe
expedient.

Although shooting under the Kite has been much de-
precated, it does not always follow that its use is ruinati(^n

OllOUSK 135

to a moor or in any degree unsportsmanlike. A sliootuig
tenant will <lo more good than liaini hy the use of it for a
couple of (lays at the end of the season, where driving is
not practised and the l)irds are unapproachable. AN hen
only resorted to hut once or twice during the shooting-
season it (hjes not have any effect in driving the l)irds off
the ground, as the continued practice of it wouhl d(j, but
only sends perhaps a few coveys of hens over the march : the
latter, beini? ftir more terrified of the Kite than the cocks,
take lono' fliohts and are all the better for having their
lives spared ; they remain away for the rest of the day on
wdiicli they have been disturljed, but will return to their
own moor the same evening to roost, or during the next
day. It has, however, one drawback, wdiich is, that if your
neighbour happens to be shooting on that particular day,
and comes across these coveys of hens, he can make great
havoc amongst them. Should he be beating up towards
the march over which the l)irds have lately come, thev
will then o-enerallv lie verv close or rise l)efore the ou^s
and endeavour to break over the line rather than return
to the moor from whence thev have been scared.

The best wind for working the Kite is one comino-
directlv from behind the o-uns. The Kite should then be
made to sail along in front of the centre of the line, about a
hundred yards ahead, and when the l)irds rise, which they
frequently do at a distance of about 70 or 80 yards, they
come dashing back towards the guns at their greatest
possible speed, affording some really pretty driven shots.
Most birds will, however, sit close till the shooters are
upon them, and then rise (piickly behind or before, giving
nice snipy shots and taking straight shooting.

136

GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

As Grouse-shooting is a subject which has been ah^eacly
hackneyed to the hast degree, and one with which every
sportsman is only too well acquainted, it would be pre-
sumption on my part to deal with that which has been so
ably set forth already by one of our best of sportsmen and

shooters, Lord
Walsingham,
whose article in
the '^ Badmin-
ton Library"
nearly every
one who cares
for the sport
has read and is
familiar with.
Neither would
it be fair to
inflict on my kind readers a
long dissertation on the Grouse
disease, its causes and subse-
quent cure. Human powers
are at present unable to cope
with it, though nearly every
one is aware that nes^lect of a
moor, in the shape of over-
stocking and insufficient
heather-burning, is the chief reason of its occurrence, and
only good care and attention to certain facts can ensure the
prevention of this terrible scourge. It is clear that no moor
is able to hold above a certain number of birds per acre,
and when the place has become overstocked, whether good

A SNIPY ONE UNDER THE KITE/

GROUSE 137

Grouse-irrouiKl or otherwise, and tlic disease once started,
it spreads so rapidly that the estate may be decimated in a
week, and it may extend its ravages over tlie whole country,
if the reader will look carefully into statistics of the
shooting-seasons during the past thirty years, he will find
that in nearly every instance the disease has broken out in
the year following an exceptionally good season. Appar-
ently too many birds have been left for breeding purposes;
and when these have exhausted the supply of good
nourishing food, in the form of young heather, they are
forced to live on the old and rank herbage, etc., which has
the effect of generating the disease and causing the tape-
worms to gYOW.

No bird has such extraordinary variability of plumage
as the Grouse, and it would not be at all difficult to write
an entire volume on its various changes and forms of
dress ; but as space forbids I have done my best to con-
dense these as much as possible to render them com-
prehensive to the reader in a small space, and I think that
the figures given may be of some interest, though I have
found it impossible to give illustrations of all the changes
in feather-castino- which are in realitv coincidental in their
number with the Ptarmigan. Like that species. Grouse
are practically in a state of change throughout the entire
year, wdiether they are actually moulting or merely
alterino- the coloration of the feathers. The red and brown

o

shades wdiich are prevalent colours of the Grouse's plumage
are not so striking as the corresponding ones of the
Ptarmig^an. Therefore these numerous alterations are
consequently not nearly so noticeable ; and the interest
which naturalists take in the Grouse's plumage is not

138

GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

nearly so great as in the case of the Ptarmigan, whereas,
in my humble opinion, the reverse should be the case.

Tlie oTeatest difficulty in working^ out the Grouse

plumage is the fact that many

forms or types exist, both

as regards the males and

females, whilst the Ptarmigan

THE DOUBLE FEATHER FOUND
IN GAME BIRDS.

SHOWING MANNER IN WHICH
THE CLAWS ARE CAST.

have but the two types common to all birds, namely, the
lio'ht and the dark.

The following are the normal typical forms of
Grouse : — ■

Males. The Black, the Ked, and the White.

(;|{(;L'SK 139

Females. Tlie Ijlack, the RcmI, tlie Spotted, the Yellow,
and the Wjiite.

Added to tlie alcove are of course all the forms in
wliich mixtures of plumage of two or more of the types
appear.

Although some of these forms are as widely different
from each other as they well can Ije, yet during the
breeding-season (May and June) there seems to be a
tendency towards a common plumage in all parts of the
British Islands — the prevailing colour in the cocks being-
red, and in the hens black bars on a yellow oround : in
nearly every case the white breast-feathers disappear.

A few remarks on the forms of plumage in the males,
with regard to their occurrence and general distribution,
may not be out of place.

The White Form. — To find birds in this plumage two
essentials are necessary : one being high latitude towards
the Arctic Circle, and the other, height of elevation.
When these two conditions unite, the white form is,
generally speaking, the result ; l)ut it is far from being
the case that either one or other of these is sufficient to
cause this, and that birds killed in hioher latitudes ov hioh
mountains are naturally lighter on the breast than others.
Urkne\' birds are not whiter than Welsh specimens, neither
are birds killed high up on the mountains of Wales neces-
sarily whiter than Caithness ones. But combine the two, as
happens in tlie mountains of Sutherland, and there, on the
highest ranges, you get the wliite type in perfection. The
distance between Westmoreland (where the l)est English
white forms occur) and Sutherland is not really sufficient
to show a very great difference in the })luniage : l)ur 1

140 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

have never seen any English birds approach the beauty of
SutherLand specimens. One of the most beautiful examples
that I have seen, and of which I have given an illustration,
was kindly presented to me by Mr. J. Hall, of Dalreavoch,
Sutherland. It exhibits the growth of the white feathers
all over the back and neck, as w^ell as on the breast. It is
very uncommon to see the white developed to such an
extraordinary degree on these parts of the body, though
one will often see a few scattered lightly over the plumage
of an old cock of the white type.

In mid-winter, when this particular form is seen at its
best, good examples of males will exceed the females by at
least four to one.

The Red Form is found in the most marshy bog-lands
of our islands ; these are notably Ireland, North and South
Uist, and the Lews. Why it does not occur in Caithness,
where the nature of the soil, being so greatly intersected
with water, strongly resembles that of those islands, and
where every condition for the birds doing so is fulfilled, is
singular. These Ked birds are probably the most forcible
proof that, at some remote period in the history of the
past, the Western Islands mentioned were linked w^ith
Ireland into one island, which the encroachment of the
Atlantic has in course of time formed into separate groups ;
and a peculiar fact concerning their habits is their dis-
taste of association with the normal mainland types. I
know of two instances in which the latter were intro-
duced into the Lews, where they thrived well, but always
kept separate from the Eed birds and never interbred
with them. The darker mainland birds w^ere always
found on the higher ground apart from the other type,

(iKOLSK

141

and were evidently treated as strangers In- tlioiii. Xo
doubt, ill course of time they will become assimilated,
and the ])lack and white feathers will disappear in favour
of tlie red.

Apparently this Eed form is but slightly affected by
anv i'e()h:)oi(jd diHerence of soil where it onlv occurs at

J n

AN Ol.U llR.Ill.ANDKU 1 l{OM SUTHKHLAND.

intervals in the ])oo-lands. Out of a laro-e series of Irish
specimens that I have examined 1 find l)ut little ditierence
in birds from the swampy ground of the north and south
and those killed on the liio-h mountains of ]Mavo, Conne-
mara, and Donegal, though winter specimens from the
latter counties certainly do show a oreator inclination to
display white feathers on the breast and cheeks. An

142

GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

old Irish cock in his full breeding - plumage at the
beginning of May is one of the most beautiful birds
imaoinable.

The Black Form is the most unusual of the three
types and one which is very rarely seen developed to any

MELANISM.

degree of purity. It is more often to be found mixed with
the Eed or the White type, but most commonly with
both. When combined with these two forms it is the one
most commonly met with by the sportsman during winter,
and five old cocks out of six, shot at that season, will be
found to be of this description.

Tlie various types to be found amongst the hens are

GKOUSE 143

the Itod, tlie White, tlie Spotted, the Yellow, and tiie
lilack. The females of the Red Irish l)ird are yellow,
and not red as would he supposed; they are, however,
(|uite different tVoiu what aie generally known amongst
Yorkshiremen as •* yellow hens," whieh latter are finer
in the markinus of the feathers and lack the l)oldness
of the lines found in the Irish l)irds, and I am sorry
that space forbids my being aljle to give examples of
both the forms.

Of the types of hens the red is the rarest, and the
spotted and breeding-dress birds the most beautiful.

Any sportsman wdio does much Grouse-driving and
cares to study natural history can form a most beautiful
and varied collection of the various changes of plumage
found in tliis bird without much difHculty, and one which
will ever 1)0 of interest to himself and his friends. For
the past ten years I have been continually adding to my
series, and have now about sixty examples of all the forms
and varieties; with these and ]Mr. T. E. Buckley's, who
has been kind enough to lend me his collection, 1 have
been able to work out all the different forms and oive
illustrations of the most pronounced types. Art, un-
fortunately, is but a poor substitute for Xature, and the
reader, if a shooter, will do well to form a small collection
of his own, from which he will get a far better knowledge
of the subject than from any pictures.

As l)efore remarked, the changes of plumage in the
Grouse are the same as in the Ptarmioan, and birds will
be found to be in full moult in April, August, and October :
the latter chanue, however, takes lono-er than the other
two, and no doubt nian\' Orouse, like the rtarmiuan.

144 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

retain a greater part of tlieir autumnal dress througliout
the winter.

The red dress of the male and barred yellow of the
female may be said to be alike in all parts of our Islands
durino; the breedino'-season. althouoh the natural difference
in shades and marking of the light and dark forms must
be taken into account. Birds of the Black type are
naturally of a much more sombre hue than the purer
Eed forms, and the various shades of colour are retained
to a certain degree.

From the month of May the plumage of both sexes
passes through all the changes mentioned in the case
of the Ptarmigan, and every fresh month brings its
alteration of feather, either by moulting, discoloration,
or both, till by November the bird stands clothed in
its winter dress, that shows the type completed in one
form or another. Young birds of the year are easily
distinguished till the month of September, but by
November it is impossible to see any difference between
them and the old birds. The mode of determining age
by holding the bird up by the lower mandible and
judging by its fragility whether it is a young bird, is by
no means a sure test ; often in September the bill of a
young bird will not break, and sometimes that of an old
one will when the bird is unusually heavy.

Considering the immense number of Grouse that are
annually killed, it is surprising how very few albinos, or
coloured varieties, crop up amongst them. Although
albinism is more common in the Grouse than in any
of the other Tetraonidse, it is very rare to see a complete
albino, or even one in which the red or yellow parts of

GROUSE 145

the l)ir<l liaNc bcf^omc white ainl tlie blaek markings grey.
^Fore often tlie feathers assume only a semi-discoloration,
and the reds and Macks of the plumage become yellow and
brown ; or the bird's natural garij is sprinkled with only a
few of the pure white feathers. These latter are not
uncommon, and 1 know of one shooting, near Amulree
ill Perthshire, where for many years there has been a
race of birds with white primaries in their wings. But
of pure varieties one will see but very few ; and during
the last fifteen years, in looking over the autumn stock
of tlie London and Scotch naturalists, I do not think I
have seen more than six good varieties in any one
year. And at least four -fifths of these are of a buff
colour.

Of the perfectly black variety I have only seen two
examples : one having been killed near Perth, and now in
the Perth Natural History Museum, and the other, which
is the handsomest varietv of the Grouse I have come
across, was shot near Kincraig, Inverness-shire, October
1889. (See page 142.)

The cream-coloured and buff varieties, especially
amongst young birds, are the commonest, whilst the
})erfectly black are the rarest.

An amusing incident happened to a friend of mine,
who is an enthusiastic collector of rarities of all sorts,
and albinos in particular. His keeper came running into
the house one mornino- to inform him that he had seen a
Grouse on the hills with a pure white back. Great was
his excitement, and securino- his oun and a few cartrido-es
he proceeded to scour his little moor, where birds were
few and far l)etween at the best of times. AVith oreat

L

146

GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

difficulty the white-backed one was at last found, flushed,
and missed, owing to his excess of keenness, so he had
nothing to do but to trudge manfully after it throughout
the entire day. This he did without obtainino; another

HYBRID BETWEEN A GROUSE AND BANTAM FOWL.

shot till late in the evening and about to go home, when
the object of his pursuit rose out of the heather at his
feet. This time he did not miss, and his thrill of exulta-
tion as the bird dropped was immediately and rudely

(;R0USE 147

dispelled when he went to pick up his much-coveted
treasure. Ahis ! for the vjinity of human hopes and
ju<lgment, his albino had nothing but a patch of frozen
snow adhering to its back, and its feathers were the same
as those of any other Grouse.

The oidv species with which Grouse may be said to
interbreed in a wild state are the Blackgame. These
hy])rids, notwithstanding the close association and similarity
in size and habits of the two species, are of very rare
occurrence. They are singularly plain and uninteresting-
lookino- creatures, and the bird from which the illustration
on page 68 is taken is the only one out of twenty that
I have seen which may be said to have any pretensions to
good h:)oks. Most of them are dull and sombre birds,
being nearly black all over, with the tail square and the
two end feathers on each side considerablv elono-ated,
but without any indication of the outward curve which
makes the Blackcock's tail so graceful ; l)ut the Glen
Mazeran specimen is decidedly a handsome bird, and
shows w^ell in its plumage the characteristics of the two
species.

A most extraordinary hybrid is that of the Grouse and
Bantam Fowl. The example figured, and another which
is in the possession of ^Ir. A. G. More in Dublin, are, I
fancv, the onlv instances of this curious cross known. Mv
bird, which I ol)tained from Father Eyan, Tipperarv, was
the only surviving one of a brood, the father of which was
a Bantam cock and the mother a Grouse hen. The latter
laid several clut('lies of eggs, but none of these proved
fertile except her last sitting, and all of these died in
infancv but this bird, which continued to thrive from the

148 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

first, and after a period of four years, during wliicli it lived
in tameness and sociability with the other fowls, it was
found dead one morning from no apparent cause, as
it was in perfect plumage and good condition. Probably
one of the Bantam cocks, of which there were several, had
given him a blow on the head which had been too much
for him.

It will be seen by reference to the figure that the
plumage almost exactly resembles that of a cock Grouse ;
but what much enhances its beauty is the metallic bloom
that one observes on the feathers of a Bantam cock, which
sufi*uses the entire plumage. The general shape of the
bird, too, is more or less of a compromise between the two
species, even down to the feet, which are entirely Grouse-
like till within a quarter of an inch of the nail, and then
they simulate those of the Bantam. The tail and bill also
betray the Bantam origin, though it is difiicult to account
for the patch of white which the bird bears at the back of
the head, as neither parent had any such marking.

Mr. A. G. More's specimen is quite white, the father
havinof been a white Bantam.

Owing to the similarity of their habits and the close
association of the two species, one would be led to suppose
that crosses would frequently occur between Grouse and
Ptarmigan : such, however, is not the case, as up to the
present there is not a perfectly authenticated instance on
record. The example given in the notes on the Ptarmigan
is the only one that I know of that may possibly be such
a hybrid ; were it not that some of our l^est naturalists are
of opinion that such is the case, I would not have inserted
it, as I myself believe that it is an example of albinism in

'^t-^

^mM''^i:

^ i'i?.} ,—

OUOL'SK 151

a (irouse, wliidi has Ixyjii the case with every other bird
supposed to have l^een the said cross that I have examined.
This instance, liowever. so fully carries out the natural
inferences that a natiirah'st woidd foijii in his mind of
what such a cross woidd resemble, that it must be
extremely ditHcult even f(jr the most astute to give a
decided opinion as to what the specimen really is.

Ptarmioaii and Grouse, although at times found on the
same tiround, iiotal)ly in autumn and winter, have their
separate elevations to which they adhere more or less
closely as the season and weather permit ; l)ut during the
spring, when pairing is going on, and the weather is fine,
Grouse are all mated and settled in the vicinitv of their
nesting-places long before the Ptarmigan think of hohling
their matutinal levee for similar purposes, for during this
season the two species keep very closely to tlieii* respective
homes aii<l have therefore but little chance of meeting,
l^efcnc da\"break the Ptarmioan cocks descend to the verge
of the Grouse-ground to feed, l)ut at this hour the Grouse
descend also, each working their way upwards on the
rising of the sun.

Mr. J. (irant, of (ileiiurant, Kothes, X.B., kindlv
informs me that there is an undoubted hybrid between the
Grouse and the Partridge in the possession of ]Mrs. Allan,
of Elgin, N.B. There were also two birds supposed to be
of this cross shot near Fcrnioy, Go. CV^rk, Ireland ; but in
noitlior case liave 1 boon able to trace their present resting-
place. Captain llughes-llallett, of my regiment, killed a
l)ird near Stirlino-, N.B., which he thou^'ht was one ; but
eventually I discovered it in the ])ossession of ^Ir. J.
Peacock Edwards, of ^forninoside, Edinburgh, when it

152

GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

proved to be a very curious melanistic variety of the
Partrido^e.

There does not seem to be any reason why the Grouse
and the Partridge shouki not occasionally interbreed, but I
have never seen an example. The blood-red variety of
the Partridge, of which there are several beautiful examples
in the Newcastle Museum, sometimes leads sportsmen to
think they have got a hybrid of the above-named birds.
I have taken several journeys in the hope of discovering
this new cross, but in every case the birds proved to be
Partridges.

PTAKMIGAX

P'J'AK.MicAN are round in cousideral^le numbers anionu'st
the roeks and stones that erown the summits of nearly all
the hills ahove 1500 feet in the deer forests of Ross-shire,
Sutherland. ln\'erness-s]iire. AKerdiH-nshire. and Perthshire,
wjiilst niosi (if the oilier counties norih of Forfarsiiire ()n
the east and Argyllshire on the west eontain mountains
on which they exist, and llicy also oecur in many of the
Western Isles. The species is not now found furtlier
north than ( aithness, thouuh, until »]uitc recently, there

156 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

were always a few in the Hoy hills, Orkneys. It has
also been extinct in Cumberland and Wales for some
time.

Far away from the haunts of man, in their lofty
solitudes, the Ptarmigan lead a life which, compared with
that of the other game birds, is one of comparative peace
and security. With the exception of the occasional
appearance of a stray gunner wandering in to their
domain and shooting a few brace after the stalking-season
is over, they need have but little cause to fear the pres-
ence of man, since he generally appears in the form of a
deer-stalker or passing shepherd and is regarded more as
a friend than otherwise. Were it not for the fact that
they constitute the favourite prey of the Fox and the
Eagle, they would in all probability be as numerous as
their neighbours the Grouse ; but these deadly enemies,
chiefly the latter, are their superiors in point of cunning
and powers of vision, and all their constant watchfulness
and the additional safeguard that Nature has provided in
the shape of the harmonious blendings of their plumage
with the surrounding objects fail to bafile the attacks of
the destroyer.-^

1 In tlie spring of 1888 a colley at Blackmount was observed chasing a
large fox down a liill towards his master's house. James McColl, the
forester to whom the dog belonged, happened to be standing outside his
door as the two came flying down the hill, and was much surprised to see
how easily his dog, which was at all times a slow animal, rapidly gained on
Master Keynard, who appeared considerably distressed and wdio took the first
opportunity that a large cairn afforded of going to earth. McColl soon had
his terriers out, and in a short time the pursued one met his fate in a
manner that would hardly have received the unqualified praise of Leicester-
shire sportsmen. On his carcase being opened, the reasons for his lack of
speed were apparent. The colley had evidently disturbed him at his dinner,

o» o

& 5

< 5

PTAHMKJAN 159

As tlie stalktT sits disconsolately \vaitin</ for the mist
to rise, he is often sunoundcMl liv tiie Ptanni^^an, of whose
presence he was pro])al)ly unaware l)Ut a few moments
Uefore. Now tlicy appear to he perched on the rocks on
all sides ot" liini, and luii^liten, to a certain extent, the
oppressive and death-like stillness l»y their harsh though
n(»t unpleasant notes. l»ui lie sees them not till, per-
chance, there occurs a sudden rift in the gloom, and the
vhnxk of (hirkness that has enshrouded him is thrown
aside and carried away on the wings of the rising ])reeze,
to reveal in an instant a picture the surpassing loveliness
of which seems doul)ly enlianced by contrast with tiie
nuaunfulness of his late surrtjuudings. In the immediate
foreground flutter the Ptarmigan, like little white fairies,
over the glistening rocks ; whilst on the green slopes are
grouped in graceful attitudes the ever lovely forms of
the children of the mist. Fear and beauty seem embodied
in their presence as tliey stand with (piivering nostrils
an<l attentive ears gazing earnestly down the precipice
towards some distant c(jrrie from whence wells forth the
I'cpeated roar of a mighty stag. To complete the vision,
a ti-ansicnt shaft of sunlight lights with sudden force the
stems (d'the l>irclies that fringe the loch below, creating a
perfected image in the glassy depths beneath. The scene is
but a lieaiititul [)icture, to disappear as ijuickK" as it <'ame ;
and landscape, deer, and Ptarmigan all fade once more as
the shioiid nf mist envelops the hill.

no i>jut of whicli he had niaile \\\) liis niiiul to leave behiiul, for he ha.l not
only eaten the complete bodies of three I'tiuniigan, but hud aUo swallowetl
the wings with feathers attached as well, a i)iece of ^duttony tliat had co«Jt
liim his life.

160 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

111 sucli scenes of alternate gloom and magnificence do
the Ptarmigan pass tlie greater part of the year, descend-
ing only to the Grouse-ground in the early summer mornings
or durino' the severer storms of winter, when Nature casts
her white mantle over their homes and forces them to
seek their food and shelter at a somewhat lower elevation.
Even at such times it is their habit to spend a good part
of the day burrowing in the snow, or sitting and basking
in the winter sun on some of the more projecting rocks
from which the snow may have drifted and left bare.

These rocks are generally chosen as points of vantage
from which they can command a good view of all
approaches : they can thus obtain an immediate knowledge
of the advent of their most dreaded foe, the Golden Eagle,
and on the signal being given by one of their number there
is a general disappearance and sudden assimilation to the
rocks that would certainly deceive any eyes but those
which they are intended to. Probably the Eagle has a
far better knowledge of the habits of his victims than
man, and he knows full well the spots which they frequent
at certain hours of the day and the direction of their
retreat if flushed. For this reason it is by no means an
unusual sight to see the Golden Eagle (generally the male
bird) doing a little amateur driving on his own account
and that of his spouse. This may be described as follows :
while the hen bird takes her post on some overhanging rock
on the face of a' hill or exit of a corrie, the cock sails away
liiofh in the air till he has reached the end of the o-round
that he intends to beat ; he then descends and proceeds
to systematically range the rocks up and down as regularly
as a setter, in the direction of his mate. Game is soon

PTAKMIOAX

101

fouiicl, ami instead of <|iH(kly droppiii*^' on to tlie quarn ,
which is their usual haljit when hunting for themselves,
he makes a sudden feint and gets his terrified victims on
the wing at onee, after wliicli he can always force two ov
three l)ir<ls in the re(|uired direction hy keeping just
behind and Im'Iow tlicni. Although the Eagle, in point

HUNTED.

of" dexterity and swiftness, is Imt ii clumsy performer in
the art of slaughter eompared with the Peregrine and
other Faleons, yet he can generally effect his purpose hy
keeping the (juarry moving forward and preventing some
at least from taking sudden downward headers into a
snowdrift or chasm, where they would undoubtedlv escape.
Til us he keeps up with their low scurrying flight with
slow heavy flaps of his own wings till the point is at

M

1G2 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

leno'th reached where the hen sits awaitino^ the cominor
of her lord, and giving a scream or rather yelp, for it more
resembles the latter, he is immediately answered by her,
and the two soon drop on their respective victims and
retire to adjacent rocks on which to enjoy their meal.

Of late years proprietors of deer forests having awoke
to the fact that the Eagles were gradually disappearing
like so many of our indigenous birds, have justly taken
every precaution to stop their destruction. Seven or eight
years ago the slaughter of adult birds was very great, and
if it had continued at the same rate there would not have
been an Eagle left in Scotland ; but now they have greatly
increased again, and at the present day there are probably
as many Eagles as there ever were. As they do more
good than harm in deer forests by killing off the Grouse,
Ptarmigan, and Blue Hares, that only interfere with the
stalking, there is every reason to preserve them, quite
apart from the grandeur and beauty which their presence
naturally lends to their magnificent surroundings.^

^ Previous to the year 1883 tlie slaughter of the old Eagles at their
nests was almost constant, so much so that these noble birds were threatened
with becoming as scarce as the Osprey now is, and in the naturalists' shops
in Scotland, three of which annually receive a large number for preservation,
every tenth bird received was an adult ; but since then the percentage of old
birds killed every year has been gradually diminishing, till in the two
seasons of 1888-89 there were only five adults out of about a hundred
specimens Mr. Malloch (Perth), Mr. McLeay (Inverness), and Mr. Small
(Edinburgh) received for preservation. It would be very difficult to judge
how many of the birds bred in Scotland survive, since during the first five
years of their existence they are wanderers on the face of the earth, and
being driven out of their birthplaces in the safe retreats of the deer forests,
are constantly exposed to every imaginable danger from gun or trap, nearly
every keeper and shooter being on the look-out for them, so that they stand
but a poor chance of escaping. However, so long as the old birds are not

PTARMIGAN 163

DiiriiiL!" the winter, if severe, the Ptarnii;^aii as.seniule
on thcii' own gKHind like the Grou-se, and fre(|ueiit in
paeks the stony ridges free from snow.^ These packs only
unite as a rule for a short time, breaking up at once into
tlieir former covews on tlie first sii^-n of fine weather and
wainith, and remaining so until April, when the pairing-
season commences, and each day sees the little party
become less and less till all are paired except a few old
cocks, who, like Grouse, neither settle down quietly to
domestic affairs nor allow others to do so.

Ptarmioan beino; monooamous, like Grouse, more or
less resemble that species in their habits during the spring,
with the exception that, like the polygamous Blackcock
and Capercaillie, they have recognised pairing-grounds, to
which at daybreak a covey repairs to settle the afHiirs of
love and war. Ptarmigan, however, do not appear to
hold closely to any particular spots from year to year, as
the above-named species do, bur show a decided incon-
stancy in their selection, sometimes resorting to places
that are entirely different in the character of their
surroundings from those selected the previous year. At

one time tlie sr)ot chosen will be situated on a flat amono-st
J. ~

the slates and slabs of granite on the extreme summit of a
mountain, and another in some almost sequestered nook on
the steep slopes where huge boulders are interspersed with
the vegetation and alpine plants on which they like to feed.

molested in tliL-ir homes there is but litth' tlKinee of their hecoming extinct,
even if only a few of the young birds pass through their baptism of gun and
trap in safety.

^ In the year 1891 I encountered a pack of at least 50 birds at Guisaohan
on the 23rd of August, an unusually early date.

164 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

To these recognised places of meeting a covey repairs
at daybreak, the cocks separating and each taking up his
position at some distance apart from the other. They
then commence their croaking " a r-r-r " to attract the
notice of the hens, who reply at once with their plaintive
" ee-ac," until one of the latter approaches to within a few
paces of the rock on which a cock is standing with his
neck stretched to its fullest extent and tail raised and
expanded. Being now pleased with the success of his
music, he turns round and round, and literally '' spreads
himself," to use an Americanism, until such time as he
flies off the rock and commences the love-chase.

Ptarmigan do not fight nearly so much as Grouse or
even Partridges, but a cock whose reiterated calls have
received no response from the fair sex, often leaves his
post and proceeds in search of a mate, of course having to
trespass on the grounds of one of his adjacent rivals to do
so. This is naturally resented at once by the rightful
proprietor and a fight ensues, the various phases of which
are similar to Grouse combats in their character. As
often as not, the intruder gets the best of it, in which
case the hen manifests no uneasiness as to her change of
masters, and rather enjoys the fight while it lasts, running
round and round the combatants uttering her one
querulous cry.

The pairing-season being over by the middle of May,
the hen selects her nesting -place, which is jealously
guarded by the male.

Whilst camping in Iceland in 1889, I spent three
months in the " Myvatn " district, which is by far the
wildest and grandest part of that otherwise uninteresting

A HIGHLAND PASTORAL.

PTAliMKiAX 167

islaixl of trackless lava-beds and hot springs; there I had
ani[)le ()[)portunities of studying the habits of the
Ptarmigan. They are there in certain localities, notably
round the " Fly Lake," quite as numerous as Grouse are
on a \vell-stO('ked moor; broods could be seen every few
minutes, running out of l\\(t way of the ponies, and when
full-grown would rise singly from beneath the feet of the
person who disturbed them. At the end of June I often
came on hens with their young still in down, and on one
approaching to within a few feet, the old bird gave a
warning cry and the wdiole of the youngsters separated at
once and rushed off like so many little mice to hide
themselves under tufts of grass, or, if in the open, to
crouch close to the ground with outstretched neck, in
which position it is most difficult to distinguish their tiny
forms and avoid treading upon them. Even though I sat
perfectly still amongst the hidden family, it was always
ten minutes or more before the hen would cease her
shammed lameness and real distress, and quickly endeavour
to collect her scattered belongings. The latter then rose
suddenly to their feet and scurried off towards her as hard
as their little leos could carrv them.

The old cocks were generally shy when found as
l)achelors, l)ut as l)enedicts they were all that the most
devoted husbands should be, for if within call when their
wives and families were threatened tliev would come ilvinii"
boldly towards the aggressor, as if to attack him, and never
sheered out of his way until within a foot or two, when
they would alight suddenly on the nearest stones and be
as persistent as the hens themselves in attracting attontit^n
or, more ])roperly, in inn)arting fear.

168 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

A man must needs be either an excessive!}^ keen hunter
for a bag or a very indifferent shot to render a whole day's
Ptarmigan shooting in this part of IceLand either exciting
or instructive, for in August they are so numerous and
tame that in order to shoot them they must be Hterally
kicked up, and even then they seklom take flights to such
a distance that the covey cannot be marked down again.

Of all the Ptarmigan found in Europe and North
America, the Icelandic form more closely resembles our
own, much more so even than the "Fjall Eipa" of
Norway, whose similarity one would imagine, from the
proximity of that country to Scotland, would necessarily
be much greater. Such, however, is not the case, the
Scandinavian bird beino^ larger and difterinof in other
respects ; whereas the Icelandic form resembles ours so
closely that, but for a greater inclination to a browner
colour on the part of the male in summer, the two birds
are almost identical. The flight of the Icelandic birds is
not so rapid or changeable as ours ; but the former prefer
tracts of boggy moorland or high plateaux rather than
steep rocky hillsides ; and this dissimilarity in the nature
of the ground over which they pass is sufticient to account
for the diff"erence in flight. A Caithness or a Yorkshire
Grouse seldom squirms and twists as does his kindred
when driven from a rocky and precipitous mountain-top
in any of the Highland counties.

The long and still summer nights of " Myvatn " are
not ones to be remembered with enthusiasm by the sports-
man, traveller, native, or any one who values the delights
of unbroken rest after a hard day, and unless he happens
to be blessed with the temper of an angel and the hide of

PTAIiMKiAX 109

a rliiiioceros he had ])etter not go there. The terri^h^
pest of the country is an insect, half nios(|uito, half
liouse-fly, having all the powers of inflicting wounds, with
something added, of the former, and the disgusting
a<r£:ressiveness and familiarity of the latter, and unless
the sufferer consents to wear a green gauze veil covering

his head and fasteninc;
ti^htlv at the neck, so
that all attacks on the
face are entirely pre-
vented, he will have
no peace. This pre-
ventive naturally de-
bars the wearer from

THE FATAL ^HAIJOW.

taking pleasure in any form of sporr, and therefore
nine people out of ten prefer to sutler in comparative
silence, and arrive in camp in the evening with a face
like a lohster. As the evening approached and tlie sun
sank down to the horizon in a Maze of glory, so departed
our little tormentors for a while. But not so the effect
of their thousand stinos, and wlicn one retired to hed it

170 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

was not to rest but to toss feverishly on what seemed a
red-hot pillow, until at last, if fortunate, one dropped into
a fitful and unrefreshino: slumber that did not last Ions.
In one camp on the " Skafandi Laxa " I never slept a wink
for four nights, but used to lie awake and listen in the
death-like stillness to the murmur of the far-off river and
the bubbling cry of the Whimbrel, a sound that seems to
the traveller in Iceland to be universal, for one hears it
everywhere, as it ceases not day or night. Then, about
one o'clock, the first morning '"Ptarrr" of a cock Ptar-
migan sounded faintly far away up on the moorland
behind, and was repeated with others, gradually growing
more distinct ; one knew they were coming down to the
rocks above the river and to bask in the first rays of the
morning sun. Though vainly endeavouring to court
slumber, such were the regularity of the calls with their
gradual crescendos that you could not help listening to
them, in spite of better resolutions, till at last one began
to calculate how far off the bird was that last called and
when he was going to repeat it again. There was no way
of settling such an argument but by going and seeing for
one's self, which was just what I used to do. At this time
of the day the Ptarmigan cocks were very tame, and would
allow me to crawl up to within a few feet of them and sit
on the same rock, a familiarity they would not have per-
mitted during the later hours of the day.

It is a re2:ular habit of the cock Ptarmio-an durino; the
summer months to leave the high grounds before day-
break, and gradually proceed down the slopes until the
lowest ground to which they descend is reached. In this
country this level is generally about 1500 feet, and though

PTAliMIGAX 173

in ascending the hills in pursuit of these birds one does
not find them, as a rule, so low, there is unmistakahle
evidence of their ha vino- been there recently, by the
presence of their feathers and dro^^pings. Like Grouse,
they prefer to make their morning and evening meals on
ground that is lower than that on which they rest during
the day.

Ptarmio^an are as much affected by the weather as
Grouse are, and though they are not at all shy Ijy nature,
yet a really wet or stormy day makes them unapproach-
able, as the latter w^ould be under the same conditions.
But on a fine day, provided the birds are fairly numerous,
it only requires good eyesight to make a bag. . Ptarmigan
have a habit, when they first observe a human being, of
standing perfectly motionless in an erect position ; and as
in the autumn their plumage so exactly harmonises with
their surroundings, it is very difficult for even the most
practised eye to discover them. Generally they squat,
and the gunner requires a really steady old pointer or
setter to work for him, one that has been well shot over
and has no tendency to creep, even if the birds are
running within a few feet of his nose. But the birds
themselves frequently direct the attention of the sports-
man by some old cock croaking as he approaches or passes
h\. This old fellow is the parent of the brood, and when
the covey crouch he maintains the highest position on the
rock or ground on which they are lying and is always the
first to rise.

When rising, it is very unusual for any of the covey
to be left behind. On the old cock takino- wino- and
crowing, the rest immediately obey his signal and start

174 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

off at once, flying in a more scattered formation than
Grouse, unless the sportsman disturbs them up wind,
when they rise all together and generally "bunch" as
they turn, down or up wind, as the case may be, so that a
good shot can usually get a brace with his right barrel if
put in at the proper moment. It has always struck me as
being curious why Highlanders, who are always such good
sportsmen, should be so very keen on one's shooting at
Ptarmigan when sitting on the ground. Their idea is not
one of slaughter, for it has always been considered per-
fectly legitimate sport to do so ; but why these un-
fortunate birds should be killed in a manner no sportsman
would ever think of usino^ towards Grouse or Partrido^es
certainly seems rather unfair, for it cannot possibly aff'ord
any amusement to the shooter, yet nine stalkers out of
every ten, when the first covey of Ptarmigan are seen
sitting on the rocks, will try and induce you to fire at
them in this barbarous manner.

Owing to the wdld nature of the ground which the
birds inhabit, there are not more than two or three places
in Scotland where driving is attempted or can be made at
all successful — Gaick Forest is the best that I have heard
of In 1886 as many as twenty-seven brace were killed
there in a sino^le drive. Ptarmioan in flioht travel at
much the same rate as Grouse, but their powers of ascend-
ing a stifi" incline are very much greater ; this they will
do with as much apparent ease as if they were going
straight ahead, and in passing over chasms and abysses
they often take sudden headers almost straight down-hill,
if they have made up their minds to strike for some
particular spot or to avoid guns ahead.

ITAIIMIGAN'

175

The infinite variety of the plumage of the Ptarmigan
has ever been a .sul)ject of much discussion and comment
amon^jst Britisli ornitliolomsts, but in realitv it is not a
very ditii(ndt (question to settle, the only time during
which it is at all confusing Ijeing towards the end of
July. At that time many of the birds are well into their

MODE OF THAri'ING PTARMIGAN.

autumn moult, others ha vino- not commenced the casting-
of their summer feathers. Durino- the last two years I
have made the plumage of the Grouse and Ptarmigan a
special study, and have found the changes of the two birds
to be identical ; but as the colours of the Ptarmigan are
more striking to the eye they are consequently supposed
to be more varied, whereas, in reality, they are not nearly
so complicated as those of the Grouse. The reason for

176 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

this is that Ptarmigan do not have the same three forms
that the Grouse have. This is noticeable in the Grouse
cocks by the red, the black, and the white, and in the
hens by the spotted, the yellow, the red, and the black
types. Now if the Ptarmigan had all these it would
indeed be almost impossible to lay down any fixed rule
for finding birds to correspond with the illustrations
given.

By a careful examination of a very large series of
birds, and by having two pairs of fresh -killed birds sent
to me in every month throughout a whole year, I have
deduced the following, namely : — That Ptarmigan have
three distinct moults during the year, and that from
the end of June to the middle of November, when the
white dress is finally assumed, the feathers are in a
constant state of change of colour. The following are
the normal changes throughout the year : —
January. — The white plumage.

Fehruary. — The same. (In very early springs the
first summer-plumage feathers begin to appear,
always on the neck.)
March and April. — Summer plumage coming gradu-
ally in, the breast-feathers being the last to appear.
May. — The summer plumage quite complete by the

last week of the month.
June. — Summer plumage. Males generally showing

white tips to feathers.
July. — The white tips on back and breast of the male
have now worn ofi" the feathers, the breast being-
very black and whole plumage much darker, and
in the female the whole plumage is more rusty

PTARMIGAN 177

{111(1 faded. During' the last week of tlie iiionth
maiiv of the hlue-grey feathers of the autuiiiii
make their a[)pearaiiee and the feathers moult off
tlie legs. This is the case with both the cock and
the hen, but some specimens are far more advanced
than others.

August. — A complete change of both cock and hen to
blue-grey plumage of the autumn, the wIkjIc ])eing
complete about the 20th of this month. The hens
sometimes retain a few of the faded summer-
plumage feathers till the first week in September,
most noticeal:)ly on the back and flanks. At the
beginning of this month the head and neck are
more or less dark with a l:>rown tinae in both
sexes, but by the end the whole bird has changed
to a very much paler blue-grey, the black ribljings
on the feathers becoming less distinct. At the
end of the month the feet are covered with the
new feathers, though short.

September. — The fading of the feathers in both male
and female continues throughout the month, and
the males exhibit a slioht difference in the oround
colourino- of the back-feathers, some retainino- the
brownish tinge and others a pure blue-grey. In
the brown-tinoed birds the black markinos on the

o o

feathers are always ftir less distinct than in the
grey birds.
October. — The plumage of both sexes still continues
fading, while the black markings become less and
less distinct, till the middle of the month, when
the first pure white feathers of the tliird moult

GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTLNG-SKETCHES

make their appearance. These first show on the
back and flanks of the birds, and gradually
increase till by the end of the month both male
and female have an equal proportion of both
old and new feathers. The feet are by this
time quite fully covered, the feathers having
been gradually growing since the beginning of
Auo'ust.

November. — A few of the old feathers of the autumn
remain on the back, and one or two on the head.
Those on the back have, by the 15th of this
month, become so pale that the small black
markings across them can hardly be discerned,
but those on the head and neck do not fade
much. At this season most of the birds will
have cast the last of these old feathers, and
will stand complete in their new winter dress,
in which they continue until the end of Feb-
ruary.

December. — The different plumages noted in the
preceding month may be more or less normal,
but during this month many birds, especially
the cocks, retain throughout the winter a large
amount of the autumn feathers on the back.
One that I received on December 31, 1890, from
West Ross-shire, is figured as an example of this,
and may be taken as a typical specimen, though
somewhat dark. In December the average of
pure white birds is about one in four, but in
severe winters they vary materially, and all the
birds may be pure white.

PTAitMIGAN 181

Of course in (lescril>in<^ tlie various (-lianj^es in "^he
plumage of the Ptarmigan that take place during the
different months there can he no i'lxvA rule i'ov saving;
that the Ijird will be in such and such a plumage to a
day; but the rule will be found to l)e correct to within a
fortnight of the time specified, which will give enough
lateral range either way for the birds to be premature or
late in their feather-casting, as that varies entirely accord-
ino' to the season. For instance, in winters commencinor
very severely with much snow, I have seen Ptarmigan in
full winter plumage on 1st November; and in mild and
warm winters it is not at all unusual to see them retain
one or two of the old autumn feathers on the back and
neck throughout the entire season, and about the middle
of February begin to put forth the first feathers of the
summer.

Writing, however, on the subject of the plumages of
birds is never very interesting to the general reader, who
can learn more in a few^ seconds bv lookino- carefullv over
illustrations. I can therefore only refer him to the illustra-
tions of plumage at the beginning of this chapter on the
Ptarmigan, and he can then judge for himself and anaJvse
the various staoes through which these interestino- birds
pass. I have taken especial care in giving examples of
the whole series, so that none are omitted.

One would imagine that, from the close association and
similarity of structure of the two species. Grouse and
Ptarmigan would frequently be found breeding together ;
but such is far from the case. There is no perfectly
authenticated instance of such a hybrid, and I have only
given the illustration of this supposed cross because it is

\S'2 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

believed to be such by more than one eminent orni-
thologist. The bird possesses all the points that such a
hybrid should have, the head and neck closely resembling
the head of an autumn hen Ptarmigan, and the tail and
tail-coverts being also alike, so that the bird is as likely
as not to l^e a genuine hybrid of the two species. This
bird was shot on the 1st of September 187S, by Mr. AV.
Houston, a well-known veteran Highland sportsman. He
killed it on the Ptarmioan-oTOund above his house at
Kintradwill, Brora, Sutherland, as it was flying with a
covey of Grouse. Afterwards he sent it to Professor
Newton, of Cambridge, who placed it in the Museum of
that town.

A very simple but hiohlv ino-enious trick was formerly
much used in the Highlands by poachers for the capture
of both Grouse and Ptarmigan. The device is well known
amongst poachers, but very few keepers, or even the lairds
themselves, are aware of its practice ; and although in
some parts of Ross-shire and Sutherland, when the snow
is sufticiently deep and the birds consequently hungry,
it is hiofhlv successful, and the chances of detection
are small, it is to be wondered that it is not oftener
practised.

I first heard of this mode of capturing the birds from
mv mother, who told me that, when a girl, she had often
seen the poachers in Glenfinlas thus catching Grouse ; but
it was with some difliculty that I got all the necessary
information from an old Highland poacher, well known in
the neighbourhood of Inverness, who thoroughly explained
it to me and described it in detail. On a well-stocked
Grouse-moor, durino- a hard winter, when the snow fell

PTAUMKiAN

183

early in Noveml)ei' and covered the valle\'.s to the proper
deptli for a month, he said lie could easily lift a hundred
brace before the close of the season, after which there was
no sale for the birds. 'J'lie fact of the season for Grouse
ending on the 10th of December lias done more to stop

SUPPOSED HYIUUD BETWEEN PTARMKiAN AND GROl\SK.

this form of poaching than anything, as there have been
but few heavy falls of snow in recent years before the
middle of that month.

The poacher discovers a place on the hill where the
birds are in the habit of sitting when snow has fallen. To
this spot he repairs when the downfall has ceased, and

184 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES

before niglit, if possible, so that the snow may be still soft
and not frozen. He is armed with nothing but a bag of
oats or corn and a beer or, better still, champagne bottle.
Thus, having nothing of a suspicious nature in his pos-
session, he would be allowed to pass, even though searched.
Arrived on his ground, he proceeds to make a number of
indentations in the snow with his bottle, and the bottom
of the cavity, just within reach of the birds, he fills up with
orain, and, scatterino' the rest of the contents of the basf
near the holes on the surface, he departs, to return next
morning and collect his plunder.

Unless a frost occurs the trick must necessarily be a
failure, but if the cavity becomes properly hardened and
the birds find the food, success is almost a certainty. A
Grouse or Ptarmigan finding what to them is a great
delicacv, immediately imparts the knowledge of its
presence to others in the neighbourhood. They at once
greedily devour all the grain that is lying around, and
then turn their attention to obtaining the stores lying in
the holes. Probably by straining their necks to the
uttermost they may be able to reach a few grains ; but
this only serves to whet their appetites, and they must
have more. Consequently they go on reaching till they
eventually topple over into the hole, which just comfort-
ably corresponds to their own size, and in which the more
they struggle to extricate themselves the more firmly do
they become wedged. When a bird is forced into a hole,
even should the sides be smooth, it is not easily with-
drawn, as the feathers resist being pulled backwards ;
but when the sides are roueii the retention is doublv
great, and the feeble stragglings of the unfortunate bird

inWRMIGAX

1H5

ill its cnunped y)()siti()ii ai'o not siiffiricnt to onaMf it to
escape.

The sectional sketcli on p. 175 will oive the reader a
good idea of this mode of capture.

'a DAT IN THE WOODS AT MURTHLY (Oct. 20, 1S88).

Printed by R. & R. Clakk, Edinburgh

T/-<'

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