92 RED GROUSE. 



much followed, they, however, become one of the 

 most wild and wary of our game, and are almost 

 impossible to be approached except by stratagem. 

 For nearer concealment they are amply provided, 

 by the similarity of the tints of their plumage 

 with the dark brown moss and heath, and, except 

 for the assistance of the pointer, could not be dis- 

 covered. Unlike the large true grouse, the birds 

 of the present group all pair and continue with 

 their broods until a return of the warm season. 

 The young in some seasons are dreadfully ravaged 

 by the tapeworm almost entirely destroying them 

 in the districts where it occurs. It is their most 

 severe natural enemy. The Bed Grouse pairs very 

 early if mild in January and the female com- 

 mences laying at the end of March. The eggs are 

 deposited in a shallow hollow at the foot of some 

 tuft of heath, which affords a partial covering and 

 shelter, and only a few straws or grasses serve to 

 separate them from the ground. Both parents at- 

 tend, and boldly defend the nest or young from 

 the ordinary aggressors ; one of the most dangerous 

 for the eggs is the common carrion crow (C. cor one); 

 and this is attacked in return, and often beaten off 

 successfully. In confinement they are easily tamed, 

 and become familiar. They even lay under very 

 dissimilar circumstances to the exposure of their 

 native moors, though the young are not often so 

 reared to maturity. We have known a brftod 

 hatched under a kitchen dresser. They have also 

 bred in several aviaries; but the young have suffered 



