WOOD oaorsE.] 



HV FIKLI), WOOD, A.N D WATKK. 



[ULACK UUOL'8£. 



met with. From authentic accounts, it ap- 

 pears ho onco abounilt'il in the foroats of both 

 Sootland and Ireland. Bewick describes him 

 thus : — " 1I»3 is as Iar;:;o as a turkey, and is 

 about two feet nine inciies in Icnj^tli, and 

 wei^'hs from twelve to fifteen pounds. Tho 

 bill is very strong, convex, and of a horny 

 colour; over each eye there is a naked skin of 

 a bri|»ht red colour; the eyes are hazel, the 

 nostrils are small, aiul almost hid under a 

 covering of short featliers, which extend under 

 the throat, and are there much longer than tho 

 rest, and of a black colour; the head and neck 

 are elegantly marked with small transverse 

 lines of black and grey, as are also the back 

 and wings, but more irregularly ; the breast is 

 black, richly glossed with green on the upper 

 part, and mixed with a few white feathers on 

 the belly and thighs ; the sides are marked 

 like the neck ; the tail consists of eighteen 

 feathers, which are black ; those on the sides 

 are marked with a few white spots ; the legs are 

 very stout, and covered with brown feathers ; 

 the toes are furnished on each side with a 

 strong pectinated membrane. The female is 

 considerably less than the male, and differs 

 greatly in her colours : the throat is red ; the 

 transverse bars on tlie head, neck, and back, 

 are red and black ; the breast is of a pale 

 orange colour; belly barred with orange and 

 black ; the top of each feather is white ; the 

 back and wings are mottled with reddish 

 brown and black ; the scapulars tipped witli 

 white ; the tail is of a deep rust colour, barred 

 with black, and tipped with white." 



The pairing season of these birds commences 

 about the spring, the sexes having assembled 

 together in packs, during the winter, of fifty or 

 a hundred in number. When the pairing has 

 been effected, the female makes a rude kind of 

 nest ; she lays from eight to sixteen eggs. The 

 young, like farm-yard fowls, are active, and can 

 run along as soon as they leave the shell ; and 

 it is even said that they have frequently been 

 seen looking afler their living, with part of that 

 appendage hanging to them. 



These birds are now rare in this country ; 

 but, in some parts of the continent, particularly 

 in Sweden, they form an important item in 

 the game-list. They are commonly, in this 

 country, flushed from the ground in autumn, 

 when they are feeding on a species of berry, 



I of which they are pnssionatoly fond. Their 

 (ligiits are but very short; and if there are any 

 trees in tho way they usually alight upon tho 

 branches. In tho forest, capereuliies do nut 

 always present an easy mark; for, di|»piiig dowu 

 from the pines nearly to the ground, uu fre- 

 quently is tho case, they are often almost out of 

 distance before an aim can be properly taken. 

 No. 1 or 2 shot may answer wry well, at 

 short range, to kill the hens; but, for tho 

 cocks, the sportsman should bo provided with 

 iimeh larger. Towards the commencement, 

 and during the continuance of the winter, tho 

 capercallies aro generally in packs; these, 

 which arc usually composed wholly of cocks 

 (the hens keeping apart), do not separate until 

 the approach of spring. These packs, which 

 are said to comprise fifty or a hundred birds, 

 usually keep to the sides of the numerous 

 lakes and morasses, with which the northern 

 forests abound ; and to stalk the same in the 

 winter-time with a good rifle, is no ignoble 

 amusement. 



There have been various attempts made to 

 re-introduce these birds into Great Britain. 

 The late Mr. Fowell Buxton, and the Earl of 

 Breadalbaue, spared neither money nor care 

 to have them reared in this country. But the 

 success attendant on their anxiety has not 

 been great. 



THE BLACK GROUSE. 



The Block Grouse (Tefrao Tetrix, Linn.) is 

 a noble-looking bird, and is commonly desig- 

 nated the Blackcock, and the female the Grey- 

 licn. According to Mr. Daniel, the male bird 

 is from one foot ten inches to two feet in 

 length ; but some specimens have exceeded 

 this by three inches. Tiie breadth is about 

 two feet nine inches. The ordinary weight is 

 nearly four pounds ; but some stray birds in 

 the moors of Cumberland, have gone beyond 

 this by half a pound and more. The bill is of a 

 dusky blaek ; the eyes dark blue, below each of 

 which there is a spot of a dingy white colour, 

 and, above the larger, one of a bright scarlet. 

 The plumage of the whole bird is very im- 

 posing. It is of a shining bluish black, and 

 very glossy over the neck and rump. The 

 coverts of the wings are of a sort of dull 

 brown ; the greater are white, which runs along 

 to the ridge of the wings, forming a spot of 



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