RED GROUSE. 197 



Blackburn." The eggs vary from six to sixteen in 

 number, mostly ten or eleven, and are usually laid the 

 end of March or beginning of April, but many instances 

 of earlier dates are on record, and the Rev. W. B. 

 Daniel ("Rural Sports," 1801-13) writes that "on 

 March 5th, 1794, the gamekeeper of Mr. Lister (now 

 Lord Ribblesdale) of Gisburne Park, discovered on the 

 manor of Twitten,* near Pendle Hill, a brood of Red 

 Grouse, seemingly about ten days old, and which could 

 fly about as many j^ards at a time : this was an occur- 

 rence never known to have happened before so early in 

 the year." A good supply of water is of vital necessity 

 for the preservation of this species in health, and in 

 a dry spring birds may be found lying dead in all 

 directions on moors not thus well-provided. 



GENUS TETEAO. 



BLACK GROUSE. 



Tetrao tetrix, Linnseus. 



Local Names — Black-cock, Grcy-hoi. 



Dr. Leigh (" Nat. Hist. Lane, e^^c," 1700) writes: — 

 " Of Moor Game we have great plenty, both of the small 

 and the Black, they live upon heath, but more particu- 

 larly upon that part which we call Erica or Dwarf- 

 Cypress." The present species, however, seems to have 

 been unknown in the county for a long time until a few 

 pairs established themselves in Furness nearly forty years 

 ago. lLi his " Fauna of Lakeland," the Rev. H. A. 

 Macpherson adduces evidence that these were artificially 



* Probably a misprint for Twiston. 



