322 ENGLISH BIRD LIFE 



thickets of birch and willow grow freely, its general 

 habitat bearing resemblance to that of its Scan- 

 dinavian relative, the Willow Grouse. 



The Red Grouse, on the other hand, never deserts 

 the heather even for a day, except in circumstances 

 of the severest stress. In unusually hard winters, 

 when the moors are covered with frozen snow, it 

 occasionally wanders abroad, and may even depart 

 so far from its natural habit as to be seen upon 

 the branches of the mountain ash feeding upon the 

 berries ; but at the first opportunity it never fails 

 to return to its loved heath. Even when scared 

 from some narrow belt of moor by the advancing 

 beaters, and forced to make a wide detour across 

 the cultivated valley, the driven pack seek no rest 

 until heather be found again, although, as they well 

 know, it lies within the very heart of the danger 

 zone. 



The natural history of the Red Grouse is of 

 peculiar interest. It is essentially British, and is 

 indigenous to no other country. The Willow 

 Grouse ranges throughout the entire continents of 

 Europe, Asia and North America, and it is believed 

 that both this species and the Red Grouse have 

 sprung from a common stock. But our bird, iso- 

 lated for unknown ages in a temperate clime and 

 living amidst the most favourable conditions, has 

 taken on qualities which at once set it apart from 

 the commoner and more widely-spread form. If 

 it has lost the power of turning white in winter 

 with the disappearance of the need of assimilation, 

 it has drawn from the British heather, a rang« 



