THE RED GROUSE 147 



and Peregrine take their toll ; the hill fox poiinees upon 

 the birds as they brood, and often one finds the hole where 

 Reynard has temporarily deposited his victim. Great 

 damage is done by the stealthy stoat, which has a special 

 liking for the eggs of this moorland bird. An interesting 

 case is on record of a Grouse having been captured and 

 killed by an otter. 



To all who know the moors the call note of the Red 

 Grouse is familiar. A Gaelic tradition has it that when he 

 rises excited from the heather at your feet, the cock cries 

 out, " Co, CO, CO, mo chlaidh, mo chlaidh," which may 

 be interpreted as " Who goes there ? My sword, my 

 sword." The call of the hen is a nasal " yow, yow, yow." 

 It is comparatively seldom heard, however, and seems 

 to be uttered chiefly during the quiet of the early morn- 

 ing when a hen Grouse with her brood suspects the presence 

 of danger. 



The Grouse, as is natural with so hardy a bird, is not 

 too particular as to its food. At all seasons of the year 

 they feed on the young shoots of the ling [Calluna vulgaris), 

 and are partial to the shoots of the blaeberry. They feed 

 on the crowberry {Empetrum nigrum), on the bell heather 

 {Erica cinerea), on the cotton grass {Eriophorum), and on 

 the bedstraw {Galium saxatile). 



During the months of autumn they are partial to the 

 berries of the blaeberry, to the bearberry {Arctostaphylos), 

 to the two cranberries {Vaccinium vitis idcea and Vac- 

 cininium occy coccus), and to the averine or cloudberry 

 {Rubus chnmcemorus). They eat the blossoms of the 

 heather, also its seeds. Insects are taken as well. 



The winter's frost and snow acts as a preservative to 

 the various berries on the higher moors, and Grouse have 

 access to them at times till well past the New Year. 



Unlike the Willow Grouse or Ptarmigan, the Red 

 Grouse has only two moults during the year. It is 



