THE FOOD OF THE RED GROUSE 83 



even the brown winter heather is better than nothing, and is 

 to be distinguished from withered dead heather which Grouse 

 never eat. 



The fresh green heather so desirable for the food of Grouse Short 

 does not necessarily represent the young shoots of the spring 

 growth, for these do not generally appear till May, but rather 

 the evergreen foliage which the plant carries upon its lower 

 branches throughout the winter. No one who casually examines 

 a Grouse-moor in mid-winter can realise that the dull brown 

 weather-beaten scrub conceals on its more sheltered twigs a 

 luxuriant growth of vivid green shoots : these green shoots 

 are far more numerous on short close heather than on the 

 long overgrown heather so common on many moors, for as the 

 plant increases in height it becomes more open in its growth and 

 more susceptible to the blighting effects of frost and cold 

 winds. 



In cases where the heather has attained a height of several 

 feet the shelter is so greatly reduced that it is sometimes difficult 

 to find any green shoots at all in winter unless the weather 

 has been unusually mild ; such long overgrown heather is of 

 practically no value as winter food for Grouse (see PL XL, 

 Fig. 1). This type of long and apparently luxuriant heather 

 is very common on the west coast of Scotland, and in many 

 districts in the central Highlands, and probably accounts for 

 the fact that these districts carry a comparatively small stock 

 of Grouse. In other districts the heather seems to have 

 developed a short, close habit of growth to the uninitiated 

 it would appear to be stunted and poor ; yet it is in the districts 

 where this dwarf type of heather is common that Grouse 

 appear to thrive in the largest numbers. The hills are covered 

 with a close carpet of vegetation having a smooth level surface 

 which may be compared to a well-clipped yew hedge this 

 level surface forms a canopy of shelter from frost, while the 

 stems of the heather are so short and stiff that they are little 

 affected by the wind. If this type of heather is examined, it 

 will be found that immediately below the weathered canopy 



