366 TETRAONIDJ). 



The Red Grouse pair very early in spring, and the 

 female soon goes to nest : this is formed of the stems of 

 ling and grass, with occasionally a very few feathers, and 

 these materials are slightly arranged in a depression on the 

 ground, under shelter of a tuft of heather. Daniel, in his 

 Rural Sports, says, that "on the 5th of March, 1794, the 

 gamekeeper of Mr. Lister (now Lord Ribblesdale) of Gis- 

 burne Park, discovered on the manor of Twitten, near 

 Pendle Hill, a brood of Red Grouse, seemingly about ten 

 days old, and which could fly about as many yards at a 

 time ; this was an occurrence never known to have hap- 

 pened before so early in the year." T. H. Sanderson, Esq., 

 also sent me word, in reference to early breeding, that a 

 farmer in burning ling off Shap Fell, burnt over a nest 

 containing fifteen eggs on the 25th of March, 1835. The 

 eggs are from eight to fourteen or fifteen in number, of a 

 reddish white ground colour, nearly covered with blotches 

 and spots of umber brown: the length of the egg one 

 inch nine lines, and one inch three lines in breadth. The 

 female sits very close ; and Mr. Salmon mentions that one 

 allowed him to take her off her eggs. The young brood 

 leave the nest soon after they are freed from the shell, 

 and are attended to by both the parent birds, under whose 

 example they learn to feed on the various vegetable sub- 

 stances by which they are surrounded. The extreme ends 

 of the common ling and fine-leaved heather, with the 

 leaves and berries of the black and red wortle, and crow- 

 berry, and occasionally oats, when grown at the moor side, 

 are the portions and kinds of food most frequently found 

 in their crops. 



The quantity of Red Grouse supplied to the London 

 market only, could the number be ascertained, must be 

 enormous, when it is considered that from the second week 

 in August up to the end of the first week in March of 



