28o Northern Observations of Inland Birds 



The crowberry is a very hardy Httle plant, and 

 flourishes well on the wind-swept slopes where practically 

 nothing else can grow. Thus it is a specially important 

 item among the winter foods of the ptarmigan, for it is 

 to be found naked on the wind-swept areas when the 

 more sheltered spaces are buried under the snow. Grouse 

 and ptarmigan feed also on the cranberry, the bear-berry, 

 and the cloudberry, while the blaeberry affords the 

 most important crop next to the crowberry so far as 

 the ptarmigan are concerned. It is specially noteworthy 

 that the seeds of most of these fruits, and the same applies 

 to most fruits which grow in barren places, do not always 

 lose their fertility by passing through the digestive organs 

 of birds, and so moorgame also play an important part 

 in the distribution of the foods on which they depend. 



Now to the habits of the grouse, with which the sports- 

 man must be more or less conversant if he is to obtain 

 the best results from his moor. He must know, for 

 example, where the birds are most likely to be found 

 during the different times of the day and under varying 

 weather conditions. Ahhough they may be abundant 

 on a certain part of the moor during certain hours, it 

 is more than likely that they will be entirely absent from 

 that place at other times. In these days, grouse driving 

 becomes more and more popular, and doubtless affords 

 very excellent sport on many moors ; the result is that 

 the organization of the day is generally left to the head 

 keeper, and many gentlemen who own moors would be 

 hard put to it to obtain a bag if left to their own resources. 



There is, of course, a great science in proper location 

 of the butts, and in knowing just how the birds will fly, 

 all of which is left to the keeper, but when walking birds 

 up and shooting over dogs, it is an entirely different 

 matter. One must then know the habits of the birds, 

 or many a heavy mile will be tramped in fruitless searching. 



