CAUSES OF MORTALITY IN THE RED GROUSE 117 



or two possible exceptions, there is not much probability that 

 they will ever give cause for much anxiety. The exceptions 

 occur most commonly in consequence of the proximity of Grouse 

 moors in certain districts to low ground shootings heavily 

 stocked with Pheasants and Partridges. It is well known 

 that these latter birds are often the victims of various forms of 

 Enteritis, and cases have been reported of Grouse dying of 

 disease apparently contracted from Pheasants which have 

 strayed on to the moor. 



Amongst other causes of death may be mentioned diseases 

 connected with the reproductive functions, diseases connected 

 with the seasonal moults, and diseases caused by deficient or 

 unwholesome diet. 



But apart altogether from mortality due to disease, a large 

 number of deaths are directly or indirectly due to accident or mortality. 

 to artificial causes. Many of these causes may be traced to 

 the agency of man, and it will be shown elsewhere to how great 

 an extent some of them are avoidable by attention to the 

 details of moor management. 



Shooting, in all its forms, is responsible for a great deal of 

 unrecorded damage amongst Grouse ; and the examples of 

 " pricked " birds which have come to the Committee's notice, 

 generally sent as " diseased " birds for examination, show 

 amongst other things how extraordinarily active is the re- 

 cuperative power of an animal in a state of nature. Bones 

 are fractured and reunited, even those of the wing, allowing 

 the bird to survive, to be shot again the following year. 



Peritoneal adhesions may shut off a perforation of the 

 intestine, and even result in a short circuit of the gut before 

 leakage has caused sufficient general peritonitis to result in 

 death. 



The present chapter deals with the mortality and damage 

 due to accidental causes or to natural causes other than true 

 " Grouse Disease," and thus clears the way for the proper 

 consideration of the more important subject dealt with in the 

 subsequent chapters, viz., death due to " Grouse Disease." 



