152 OUR RARER BIRDS 



glens and shady hollows are exceptionally favoured with the 

 presence of rare birds. The Hen Harrier and the Golden 

 Eagle may oft be seen ; the rare Crested Titmouse and the 

 handsome little Siskin and Crossbill all find a home there 

 congenial to their tastes. The ground under the trees is 

 thickly covered with fallen pine " needles," and every bare 

 space among the trees is covered with heath and other coarse 

 vegetation. The Capercaillie is a fitting ornament to these 

 gloomy forests. Often he may be seen perched on the top- 

 most twig of a pine tree, his massive form coming out in bold 

 relief against the clear western sky. He sits like this at the 

 approach of evening, as if surveying the wide expanse of 

 woods before retiring to his roosting-place. In summer the 

 Capercaillie forsakes the trees for the greater part of the day, 

 although he generally retires to the branches to digest his 

 meal and to sleep. He generally roosts in the trees, but in 

 winter, when the snow chances to be deep, he frequently 

 burrows into it and sleeps secure and warm. The Caper- 

 caillie is not a migratory bird, nor does it wander far from 

 its native woods except in the very severest weather. 



The food of this fine Grouse is composed of the buds of the 

 alder, birch, and hazel, acorns, all kinds of ground fruits, such 

 as bilberries and cranberries, and in winter almost exclusively 

 of the " needles " or spine-like leaves of the spruce, pine, and 

 fir. The young are fed principally on insects, especially ants 

 and their eggs. As may easily be supposed, the flight of this 

 big bird is very powerful, and when he rises hurriedly from 

 your feet or goes crashing out of the branches, where he has 

 been intently watching your movements, although you were 

 ignorant of his presence, his loud whirr of wing may well 

 startle you. 



The Capercaillie is polygamous, and few birds are more 

 pugnacious in the love season, although at other times he is 

 remarkably shy and cowardly, and often allows a Peregrine 



