GROUSE AND DEER-STALKERS. 403 



quarters: though why they should imagine man should 

 single them out as objects of his hostility is not at 

 once apparent: yet they have come to know that he 

 often does do so, while he spares the domestic cattle 

 which are objects of his care. 



Sportsmen out on the mountains, in Scotland etc., 

 being aware of this, are in consequence generally very 

 careful when stalking deer, or out grouse shooting, 

 not to startle a flock of sheep if they can help it, 

 because they know that the panic will spread from 

 them to the wild game, and inevitably alarm a con- 

 siderable extent of moorland. So too on a lake or 

 sea coast, the alarm created by the springing of two 

 or three frightened birds quickly places every other 

 species on the alert: there is nothing therefore that 

 the punt gunner has a greater aversion to than meet- 

 ing with and springing single birds that may happen 

 to be in his path, as a few individuals may in this 

 way so spread the alarm that all chances of getting 

 a successful shot at numerous flocks become exceed- 

 ingly remote. 



It may be that these flocks may be nearly all soundly 

 sleeping, wearied by the labours of the previous day, 

 or night, while dispersed in quest of food: because 

 in hard weather and under various casualties, birds 

 often have to roam long" distances in search of their 

 daily sustenance ; upon these occasions it is usual for 

 them to disperse over the country in quest of whatever 

 they can pick up: after the feeding time is over they 

 reassemble, having evidently agreed upon a general 

 place of rendezvous, where the members of the society 

 can meet together again, and seek repose under the 

 mutual protection of associated numbers. This shows 



