456 THE GROUSE IN HEALTH AND IN DISEASE 



" eggs " ; care must be taken not to give the ants as well as 

 the " eggs." The method pursued on the experimental area 

 to get rid of the ants is to put the nest in the oven for a very 

 few minutes ; this kills the ants, but does not seem to hurt 

 the " eggs." * 



The full-grown birds on the experimental area remained in 

 splendid condition and plumage. During the four years deaths 

 have been rare among them, and have generally been due to 

 accident or misadventure ; the old birds of 1906 were still 

 there in 1911, when the stock was dispersed. Some birds 

 became wonderfully tame, while others seemed always to retain 

 their natural wildness ; the cocks, as a rule, were bolder and 

 became tame sooner than the hens. Most of the male birds 

 resent any interference in their matrimonial arrangements, and 

 their resentment is shown in many interesting ways. 



On approaching the coops the cocks at once begin to crow, 

 or rather talk ; some will mount on the little faggots of heather 

 supplied for food, and strut and talk and crow, swelling out 

 their throats, elevating their supra-orbital combs, drooping 

 their wings and fanning out their tails, as if defending their 

 wives the whole attitude denoting readiness to fight. In fact, 

 one of the birds has been known at the mating time to follow 

 the keeper's wife (to whom he was usually very attached), 

 out of his pen, pecking at her as hard as he could ; while the 

 oldest cock of all, usually quite tame, always attacked the 

 keeper if he entered the coop when the hen was on her nest. 



As the birds can be observed at a very close distance the 

 plumage can be studied, and the way in which the wings are 

 carried, and the peculiar fan-shaped form of the tail during 

 the courting process is well worthy of observation. 



Mention has been made of the necessity of constantly 

 changing the ground on which the coops are placed ; the more 

 often this can be done of course the better for the birds. But 

 it is only fair to say that for the purpose of certain experiments 

 some of the birds were kept on the same ground for months, 



1 Really the pup.e of ants, popularly known as "ants' eggs." 



