24 Baby Birds at Home 



morning. At the first peep of day the female 

 commences to call "yow, yow, yow," in a pecu- 

 liar nasal tone, and is promptly answered by 

 the male with a resounding " cabow, cabow, 

 cabeck cabecJc, beck, beck." Other notes are 

 also employed by this gentleman of the 

 hills : " cockaway, cockaway," when he seems 

 very happy, and " cock, cock, cock" when he 

 is alarmed. 



The Red Grouse pairs early, and the nest- 

 ing season is in April, May and June, although 

 eggs are frequently found earlier and later. 



The nest is generally well hidden in 

 heather, or ling, occasionally amongst rushes, 

 and the eggs, numbering from five to nine, 

 are of a dirty white ground colour, thickly 

 blotched and spotted with reddish brown. 



The baby birds are covered with a thick 

 coat of down, which is of a light buff colour 

 above, marked with brown and yellowish 

 brown underneath. They leave the nest 

 directly they are hatched, and if any danger 

 should suddenly appear on the scene, they 

 scatter north, south, east and west, and hide, 

 whilst their mother, feigning a broken wing, 

 flaps round and round the intruder until her 

 chicks are safe ; then she flies off. 



