BLACKGAME, 91 



Blackgame are rather scarce on the higher moors. In Sep- 

 tember they find abundant food on the hills in Nature's crop 

 of seeds, and the mountain berries, blaeberries, cranberries, 

 &c. ; but as these become exhausted, and the corn-crops 

 being by then usually led out of the fields, large numbers of 

 Blackgame leave the higher hills and resort to the corn-lands 

 in the lower ground. Later on, as the stubbles are ploughed 

 up, they return to their hill-haunts, usually about the end of 

 November, and their food then consists largely of heather, 

 and the small plants which grow in (or rather form) "old 

 grass land." The following are the contents of the crops of 

 four Blackcocks shot November 3. The first, killed out on 

 the fell, contained heather alone. Abrace shot on the fell-edge, 

 half heather and half aromatic grass-plants, the former 

 uppermost ; these birds had probably been disturbed in the 

 hay-fields below, and had come out on to the heather to finish 

 their dinner. The fourth, shot on grass-land at dusk, had 

 fed entirely on grass-plants — trefoils, sorrels, sedges, &c. 

 Several others examined contained much the same food ; 

 sometimes a few dozen oats at the bottom of the crop, though 

 none might happen to be grown within miles of where the 

 bird was killed. 



All game-birds feed very low, crouching along on the 

 barest ground. It is surprising how easy it is sometimes to 

 overlook even so large and conspicuous a bird as a Blackcock 

 when feeding. A pack of them may be feeding on nearly 

 bare grass, slowly advancing with all heads and tails down, 

 and yet may be overlooked, or perhaps taken at a careless 

 glance to be only a lot of mole-hills. 



There is a remarkable feature in the habits of Blackgame 

 in mid- autumn, the cause of which I have never been able 

 to make out. I can find no explanation of it recorded, and 

 indeed it seems quite inexplicable. I refer to the distinct 

 display of amatory instincts which occurs in October, and in 

 mild seasons even later. On wet, foggy mornings in particu- 

 lar, one hears the old Blackcocks " crooning," "bubbling," 

 and " sneezing," as excitedly as on a fine day in early spring. 

 "With a glass, I have watched one surrounded by his harem, 

 strutting round some bare little knowe in the fullest " play," 

 his neck swollen, tail expanded erect over his back, and wings 



