103 REMIXISCEXCES OF A SPORTSMAN. 



CHAP. IX. 



THE black; GPvOrSE. — MY FIRST SHOT AT A BLACK COCK:. 

 HABITS or THE BIRDS. 



"If up a bonny black cock should spring, 

 To whistle him down wie' a slug in his wing, 

 And strap him down to my hengie shing. 

 Eight seldom would I fail." — Bl'ens. 



The black grouse or black cock is found in various 

 parts of Scotland, both in the highlands and lowlands, 

 also in the southern counties of England and Wales, in 

 Staffordshire, Sussex, and in the Xew Forest in Hamp- 

 shire, and in the Western Counties. The male black 

 cock when at its full growth and plumage is a noble 

 bird, and weighs about four pounds. His length is 

 twenty-two inches ; the bill is dusky, and the plumage 

 of the whole body black, glossed over on the neck and 

 rump with a shining blue. The covers of the wings are 

 of a dusky bro^vn ; the inner covers white ; the thighs 

 and legs are covered with dark brown feathers ; the toes 

 resemble those of the red game. The tail consists of 

 sixteen black feathers, and is much forked ; the exterior 

 feathers bend gently ovitwards, and their ends seem as 

 if cut off. The female weighs only two pounds, and its 



