Kio wirif XA'ii'in-: ami a camera. 



A favourite metliod of })oaeliin^- Grouse ])\ tliose 

 wlio still induli>"e a little in illicit gunning" is known 

 as " beckinu'/' It is a nuicli more s])ortsnianlike 

 business tlian netting or snaring, and is often use- 

 full v eni])lo3'ed by gamekee])ers in October and 

 Xoveniber for killing off a number of sujierfluous 

 and very artful old cocks that stick to the. higher 

 ground. 



AVhen I was a lad 1 used to go "becking" with 

 a keeper nearly every suitable Saturday morning 

 in the late autunni, and have probably lured more 

 J^Ioorcocks to their destruction in this wa}' than 

 any youngster living. My companion was an ex- 

 cellent shot, and together we have on numy occasions 

 baofsred six brace of birds bv breakfast-time. 



" l^ecking " consists of getting up very early in 

 tlie morning and reaching the deep moss hags before 

 the iirst peep of day. I have on many occasions 

 called a bird within shot before there was sufHcient 

 light to see it by whilst on the ground. At the 

 very first suggestion of da}'-dawn Grouse Ijegin to 

 stir ; the males fly twenty or thirt}' feet into the 

 air, and come down slowly with their heads thrown 

 back and tlieir tails erect, whilst they utter tlu>ir 

 resounding "err, beck, beck, beck," and alighting 

 on a "know(%" finish Avith a more deliberate "go- 

 back, gol)ack, gol)a('k.'' The females utter their 

 jx'culiar call-note, which is much easier to imitate 

 than to re])resent by the characters of the al])habet. 

 It sounds sonu'thing like ''yaj), >'{<p, y^'p/' <*i' ''yowk, 

 yowk, }'owk," and <*an be reproduccnl by conipr(>ssing 

 the nostrils with the index linger and tlnnnl) and 

 then emitting the l)reath in sharp, forced gas})s. 

 There are various other methods of calling, but by 

 far the most successful is that of sucking (piickly 

 at the stem (d' a v\'a\ 1ol)a('co-j)ij)e. \\\\\\ the bowl 



