CAUSE OF MIGRATION. 77 



Though the Black-Cock, like the Capercali, is looked 

 upon as a SUind-fogel, or stationary bird, yet, as with the 

 latter, it not unfrequently wanders away, for a while at 

 least, from its native home, of which there are many 

 instances recorded. 



" If I mistake not greatly," writes the Chamberlain 

 M. G. A. Schmiterlow, of Olstorp, in the province of 

 Ostergothland, " there have been strdckande partially 

 migratory Black-Cocks in this part of the country. A 

 large pack, from thirty to fifty in number, of these birds 

 were recently seen hereabouts, but all at once lost sight 

 of. They arrived, as it seemed to me, in the beginning or 

 middle of. December, and departed again soon after Christ- 

 mas. My first reason for supposing they were not bred 

 in the country was that when the attempt was made to 

 drive them towards the Bulcan or artificial decoy bird 

 they could not be induced to go near it, but held their 

 own course, backwards and forwards, a thing that hardly 

 ever occurs at this kind of Jagt. Subsequently they 

 disappeared altogether, and, as it would seem, took all the 

 Black-Cocks in the district along with them, for during 

 the remainder of the winter those birds were hardly ever 

 seen. In the autumn of 1830, to the best of my recollec- 

 tion, a similarly large pack also made its appearance in 

 this vicinity, but vanished again in the month of January, 

 1831, and so far as I am aware, without having been seen 

 by any one elsewhere in the district." 



Again : " It has been clearly ascertained," says M. 

 Brummer, "that the Black-Cock is a Flytt-fogel (migratory 

 bird), though not in all years, so far as we know, for certain. 

 But it is only the males that leave, the females, unless 

 too much disturbed, commonly remaining in the same 

 locality. About the period of migration, say the end of 

 October or beginning of November, all the males in the 

 southern country collect and fly away to the north. One 



