429 



TUE CAPEKCAIU.IE.* 



Tile name thus g■i^•en lo the Wood Grouso is of Gallic origiii, and literally means the 

 horse of the wood. This bird is supposed to have been an inhabitant of the British isles 

 within the last century. It is still to be found in most parts of the Scandinavian 

 peninsula ; — indeed, as far to the north as the pine-tree flourishes, which is very near to 

 the North Cape itself. It is, however, more scarce in the more southern of the Swedish 

 provinces. 



Its favourite haunts are extensive fir-woods. In co]3piccs, or small cover, it is seldom 

 or never found. The birds which breed in the larger forests remain there all the year 

 round ; but those, on the contrary, which breed on elevated mountains, the summits of 

 which are destitute of trees, or in a more open part of the country, in the event of deep 

 snow, usually fall down to the lower grounds. 



The principal food of the capercali, in its natural state, consists of the leaves of the 

 Scotch fir. It also eats juniper-berries, cranberries, blueberries, and other berries 

 common to the northern forests ; and occasionally also, in the winter time, the buds of 

 the birch, &c. It very rarely feeds on the leaves of the spruce. The young birds leed 

 chiefly at first on ants and other insects, as well as worms. 



The capercali hen makes her nest on the ground, and lays from six to twelve 

 eggs ; it is said she sits for four weeks. Her young keep with her until towards the 

 approach of winter ; the cocks, however, separate from the mother before the hens. The 

 most clear and ample accounts of these birds are given by Mr. L. Lloyd, in his " Field 

 Sports of the North of Europe," including those of Professor Nilsson and Mr. Greifl', and 

 to these we shall be indebted in the description which our present limits will allow. 



Excepting there be a deep snow, the capercali is much on the ground in the day- 

 time ; very frequently, however, it sits on the uppermost branches of the pmes. During 

 the night, if the weather be very cold, it often buries itself in the snow. Its flight is 

 not particularly hea^y or noisy, and it has been observed at a very considerable height in 

 the air, and to be taking a flight of many miles at a time. 



The capercaiUie lives to a considerable age. The cocks do not attain their full growth 

 until their third year or upwards. The older ones may be easily known from their 

 greater bulk, their eagle-like bill, and the more beautiful glossiness of their plumage. 

 The size of these birds appears to depend, in a great degree, on the latitude where they 

 are found. In Lapland, for instance, the cocks (the hens being much smaller) seldom 

 exceed nine or ten pounds. In Wermeland and adjacent parts, Mr. Lloyd never heard of 

 their exceeding thirteen pounds ; whilst in the more southern provinces of Sweden they 

 have not unfrequently been met with weighing seventeen pounds and upwards. The 

 hen capercali usually weighs from five to six pounds. 



With the capercali, as with other birds, occasional varieties of plumage will be found. 

 A hen, that was shot in one of the southern provinces of Sweden during autumn, was, 

 with the exception of a few gray feathers on difterent parts of the body, perfectly white. 

 This bird, however, had several young ones, the plumage of all of which was of the usual 

 colour. 



Mr. Lloyd says : " It is a pity that attempts are not made once more to introduce the 

 capercali into the United Kingdom ; for, if the experiment were undertaken with 

 judgment, it would most probably be attended with success ; the climate, soil, &c., in 

 Scotland at least, not being very dissimilar, in many respects, to the south of Sweden. 

 In Scotland, besides, independently of the natural forests, there are now considerable 

 tracts of land planted with pines, from which trees, when the ground is covered with 

 snow, these birds obtain nearly the whi)le of their sustenance. 



1 < (lau t iiii;allus. 



