16 THE RED GROUSE 
is wholly without armour, offensive or defensive ; yet its numbers 
are undiminished. And we may confidently say that, as long as 
there are large tracts of land in Great Britain unreclaimed, there 
will be Grouse. 
Red Grouse must, occasionally, fall in the way of the wanderer 
over the Scottish moors, whatever may be the object of his rambles ; 
but a sportsman alone is privileged to make the bird his study at 
all seasons. My sketch, therefore, of the Grouse is to be considered 
as taken, not from the limited observation which I have been enabled 
to make, when I have chanced to start a bird on the hills of West- 
moreland or the Highlands, but to be compiled from the notes of 
others who have had more ample means of observing its habits. 
‘‘The Brown Ptarmigan, generally known by the name of Red 
Grouse, as compared with the Black Grouse, is met with in Scotland 
on all kinds of surface, provided it be covered with heath, whether 
Calluna vulgaris (Ling) or Erica cinerea (Common Purple Heath), 
from the level of the sea to the height of about two thousand feet. 
The low sandy heaths of the eastern counties of the middle division 
appear to be less favourable to it than the more moist peaty tracts 
of the western and northern districts, where the shrubs on which 
it feeds attain a great size.’’ 
Its food appears to be much the same as that of the Black Grouse, 
to which it is similar in many of its habits; but it never perches 
on trees. It has, moreover, a decided predilection for the national 
grain of Scotland. Hence the cultivation of small tracts of land 
with oats in the neighbourhood of moors where it abounds is an 
unprofitable labour. 
Its name, Lagépus (Hare-footed), is equally appropriate as descrip- 
tive of its thickly-clothed foot anJ its fleetness as a runner ; by some 
French ornithologists it is enumerated among Velocifedes, for the 
latter reason. On ordinary occasions it does not fly much, but keeps 
concealed among the heath, seldom choosing to rise unless its enemy 
comes very near. Red Grouse pair early in the season, and build 
their nests generally on the borders between heath and lea ground, 
with a view to providing their young with an open nursery-ground, 
on which to learn the use of their legs, as well as a safe retreat on 
the approach of danger. The nest is loosely constructed of straws 
and twigs which may chance to lie about near the selected spot. 
The number of eggs is usually eight to ten; the hen sits very closely, 
allowing the shepherd almost to trample on her before she springs. 
The period of hatching is a perilous one for the chicks, for, as they 
break the shell, they utter a small but shrill chirp—a certain signal 
to some watchful Hooded Crow that a prey is at hand ; he traces up 
the sound, drives the mother from her nest, and destroys the whole 
brood. 
Once fairly hatched, the danger decreases; the young birds, 
while still quite small, show great readiness in concealing themselves. 
