RED GROUSE. 247 



the moors of Scotland and Ireland, and also in the 

 north and north-west of England and in Wales, and 

 in spite of the large numbers which are shot every 

 autumn it seems to remain as plentiful as ever from 

 year to year. The Grouse never perches on trees and 

 indeed does not often fly unless compelled to, but 

 when it does take to the wing it flies low over the 

 heather, moving very swiftly with a whirring noise. 



Grouse feed chiefly upon the young shoots and buds 

 of the heather, also upon berries. They suff^er much 

 from disease in the spring, in which state they become 

 very thin and are often picked up dead ; probably this 

 disease is caused by improper food. 



When Grouse shooting first begins — the 12th of 

 August — the birds are very tame, and large bags are 

 often made, but they soon become very wild and shy 

 and beating and driving tactics are then resorted to. 



The birds pair early, and eggs are laid about the 

 end of March. The nest consists of a slight hollow 

 scratched in the ground and scantily lined with a few 

 scraps of heather and moss. It is usually placed in 

 the heather. Seebohm says : " The edge of a patch 

 of moor where the heath has been burnt ofl^ a year or 

 two previously is a favourite place, and an oasis of 

 heather which has escaped the general conflagration 

 is a still more likely locality to find the nest of a 

 Grouse ". 



The eggs are usually about eight or nine in number, 

 but are often more or less than this, and are some 

 of the handsomest British eggs we can have. The 

 ground colour is huffish or light olive, blotched and 

 mottled all over with rich amber brown. 



The plumage of the Red Grouse is very handsome. 

 Its general colour is chestnqt- brown, the feathers 



