THE RED GROUSE 143 



nest, and it is the almost invariable rule that immediately 

 she rises the cock, who has been anxiously watching 

 events, dashes down and joins his mate in her flight. 



The eggs laid by a Grouse vary considerably in number. 

 An average clutch consists of from six to nine, but I have 

 seen as many as eleven — and that, too, on high ground — 

 and during the present season (1914) I hear of a Grouse 

 sitting on no fewer than fifteen eggs. It is a most difficult 

 thing to distinguish a Grouse's egg from that of a Ptarmi- 

 gan — I doubt, indeed, whether it is possible in some cases 

 — but, if anything, those laid by the Grouse are slightly 

 the larger of the two. The ground colour is pale brown, 

 and the egg is plentifully marked with dark brown or rich 

 red-brown spots and blotches. Sometimes, when the 

 egg has just been laid, the colouring is remarkably beauti- 

 ful. At times a Grouse will produce amongst her clutch 

 a dwarf egg. On one occasion I found such an egg scarcely 

 larger than that of a Blackbird, and a stalker came across 

 a nest containing an exceptionally large double-yolked 

 egg and also a dwarf egg. Considering how cleverly 

 concealed the nest of a Grouse usually is, it is surprising 

 how easily a pair of Hoodies discover its whereabouts. 

 Stoats, too, devour many of the eggs, and the Black-headed 

 Gull also has recently acquired an unenviable reputation 

 in this respect. 



A great deal of discussion and uncertainty has existed 

 as to what degree of frost a Grouse's egg will stand, but 

 no definite investigations have up to the present been 

 conducted on the subject, so far as I am aware. It is 

 undoubtedly the case, however, that during the period 

 when a Grouse is laying a reading of five or six degrees 

 of frost occurs frequently during the hours of darkness, 

 and yet the eggs suffer no injury. A few hours after 

 hatching the young Grouse are full of life and activity. 

 Should the weather be warm and bright at the time, the 



