RED GROUSE. . 431 
usually a pale olive, spotted and blotched all over with dark red-brown. 
The spots are frequently so confluent as almost entirely to conceal the 
ground-colour. In fresh-laid eggs the brown is often very red, in some 
instances almost approaching crimson; it appears to darken as it 
thoroughly dries, and sometimes almost approaches black. When fresh 
laid the colour is not very great; and before the eggs are hatched the 
beauty of the original colouring is generally very much lessened by large 
spots coming off altogether, no doubt from the friction of the feathers or 
feet of the bird when sitting. If the weather is wet when the bird begins 
to sit, this is much.more the case. When the colour has once become 
thoroughly dry, it will bear washing in water without injury. The colour 
of the eggs is admirably adapted for the purpose of concealment from the 
prying eyes of Rooks, Crows, and Birds of Prey, being very much lke the 
mixture of moss, lichens, and peat where they are laid. It is impossible 
to distinguish the eggs of the Red Grouse from those of the Willow-Grouse ; 
but those of the Ptarmigan are more sparsely marked and much buffer in 
general appearance. Most of the eggs laid come to maturity. I once 
asked a gamekeeper to watch half a dozen nests which were near his house. 
He told me that out of forty-nine eggs he counted forty-seven chicken 
Grouse. 
As soon as the young are hatched, especially in dry seasons, the hen 
takes her brood down to the more swampy parts of the moor. The Red 
Grouse remains paired all the year round; and whilst the hen is sitting 
her mate is generally not far off, to give the alarm by flying away at the 
approach of supposed danger, uttering his loud kok, kok, kok, to which 
the female replies with a low hoarse croak. 
The note of the male is heard to the greatest advantage in early morning 
in spring; it is then modulated im various ways, each note sometimes 
being long drawn out and frequently very rapidly repeated. The cock 
may usually be discerned through the early morning mist perched upon 
some conspicuous hillock, from which he will spring up into the air and 
descend again to the same spot. His note will be answered by many 
females, and his actions generally are somewhat similar to those of the 
polygamous species of Grouse, though it is not known that he pairs with 
more than one hen. It appears that the cock does not take his turn at the 
duties of incubation ; but when the young are hatched both parents wait 
upon them. 
The food of the Grouse is chiefly the flowers and young shoots of the 
ling; but the capsules of carices are also found in their crop. Were it 
not for the sportsman the Grouse would live a very quiet life on his native 
heath, as much so as the poultry on the farms in the valley. He does 
not migrate in spring or autumn, and his wanderings are confined to an 
occasional raid imto the nearest farms when food is scarce, where he will 
