The Capercailie 241 



quiet part of the forest, and working himself up to such a 

 pitch of oblivion that he falls a victim to the hunter. 

 Seated on a bough in the pine-forest, with his neck out- 

 stretched and the long feathers of the throat blown out to 

 their full extent, he spreads his tail up like a fan and 

 proceeds to utter his love-song, which consists of three 

 notes, frequently repeated, until at last the bird arrives at 

 such a state of blind excitement that he can be approached 

 by any hunter acquainted with his habits at the " leking " 

 time. I have had many conversations about the habits of 

 the Capercailie with my young Norwegian friend, Nicolai 

 Hanson, who is now sailing as naturalist on board the 

 Southern Cross with Sir George Newnes' expedition to 

 the Antarctic Continent, under the leadership of Mr. 

 Borchgrevinck. Nicolai tells me that although he has shot 

 many Capercailies in the pine-woods, it is by no means so 

 easy a task as many people might think. Notwithstanding 

 the great size of the bird, it is of such a shy and suspicious 

 nature that it is not easy to penetrate within reasonable 

 distance without its taking alarm, and even when the 

 " spel " is upon it, the hunter must proceed with the utmost 

 caution and wait in silence between the utterance of the 

 love-notes, as the slightest sound or the snapping of a twig 

 will alarm the bird and cause it at once to retreat to the 

 depths of the pine-forest. My Norwegian friend also 

 found fault with our illustrations of the nesting habits of 

 the Capercailie and the Blackcock in the Natural History 

 Museum. In each instance we have introduced the male 

 bird of both of these species to show what they are like, 

 but Nicolai maintains that to find a male of either species 

 in the vicinity of the nest when the female has either eggs 

 or young birds, is an impossibility, for at that time the 

 males disappear and are never in evidence. He assures 

 me that he has devoted much time to scouring the forests 

 in Norway to discover the male birds of these Grouse 



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