nED OROrSE.] 



r>Y yiELH, WOOD, AND WATKK. 



[red grouse. 



to long ling and roughish cop30-wood. Under 

 the bank of a deep ravine, particularly in mid- 

 day, and if tliero bo a cold wind blowing, they 

 w ill bo readily found. The young aro compara- 

 tivelv tamo till they have moulted; and the 

 eporUnian has often almost to hick them out 

 from among low thick brushwood. After they 

 have donned their new coat of feathers, they 

 seem to increase in wisdom and cunning ; and 

 frequently bid delianco to the art of the shooter. 



Black grouse require full-sized shot; and a 

 single is often preferred to a double-barrelled 

 gun. According to the strict laws of sporting, 

 it is not held good to kill the hen bird. 



In Kussia these birds are numerous, and 

 they are captured by the use of decoys. Huts, 

 full of loopholes, like little forts, are built pur- 

 posely in the woods. Decoy birds are placed 

 at a short distance from these spots. These 

 are mere artificial imitations, made of black 

 cloth. As the grouse assemble, the shooters 

 fire through the openings ; and if they succeed 

 in keeping themselves out of sight, the birds 

 are not frightened by the mere report of the 

 gun. In this way large numbers are killed. 

 During the winter season, in Siberia, the in- 

 habitauts capture them in the following man- 

 ner: — A certain number of poles are laid hori- 

 zoutally on forked sticks, in the open forests 

 of birch ; small branches of corn are fixed to 

 them by way of a lure ; and, at a short dis- 

 tance, certain tall baskets, of a conical shape, 

 are placed with the broadest part uppermost : 

 just within the mouth of the basket a small 

 wheel is put, through which passes an axis so 

 nicely fixed as to admit it to play very readily, 

 and, on the least touch, either on one side or 

 the other, to drop down and again recover its 

 position. The birds are soon attracted by the 

 corn on the horizontal poles ; and, after alight- 

 ing upon thera, and feeding, they ily to the 

 baskets, and attempt to settle on their tops, 

 when the wheel drops sideways, and they fall 

 headlong into the snare. 



THE RED GROUSE, 

 The lied Grouse {Tctras Scoiicus, Linn.) 

 has the same noble bearing characteristic of his 

 other congeners, and is, in the northern parts 

 of Great Britain, the bird that gives the most 

 shooting of the Grouse family. Its length is 

 about fifteen inches, and it weighs about nine- 



teen ounces. The bill is black, the eyes hazel, 



and the nostrils shaded with small red ami 

 black feathers. At tho base of the lower bill 

 there is a white spot on each side. The throat 

 is red, and each eyo is arched witii a largo 

 naked spot. Tho body is beautifully mottled 

 with red and black feathers, and has a tortoise- 

 shell appearance. Tlie breast and belly aro of 

 a purple hue, and crossed with small dusky 

 lines. Tho tail consists of sixteen feathers, of 

 equal lengths ; and tho four middlemost aro 

 barred with red, and tho others are black. Tho 

 quills aro of a dusky colour, and the legs aro 

 clothed with soft white feathers down to the 

 very claws, which aro of a strong texture, and 

 of a light-brown colour. Tho female is a little 

 less than the male. The naked skin abovo 

 each eye is not so conspicuous, and the colours 

 of its plumage, in general, are much lighter 

 than those of the male. 



This species of grouse pair in the spring, 

 and lay from five to ten eggs, and occasionally, 

 but not often, twelve. Sometimes these aro 

 found on the bare ground, and sometimes on a 

 rude kind of nest, composed of a little heather 

 and moss. This is generally placed iu a some- 

 what sheltered and secluded situation. Both 

 male and female birds attend to the young, 

 and guard them with all the vigilance of which 

 they are possessed, against their numerous 

 enemies, in the shape of vermin, and birds of 

 prey. The young, or poulis, follow the mother 

 the entire summer, in tho same manner as 

 partridges do ; nor is the male bird neglectful iu 

 watching over the welfare of the brood, although 

 he generally keeps alone, and remains somo 

 distance from them. The practice of burning 

 the ling is often very destructive to eggs of 

 the grouse ; and thousands are annually de- 

 stroyed in this way. 



The habits of red grouse are not of so wild 

 a nature as are those of others of the same 

 family. Birds of this kind have occasionally 

 been entirely tamed. A gentleman in Ireland 

 had, for several seasons, two brace of birds, so 

 domesticated, that he used to take them into 

 his parlour, where they played with his setter 

 dogs. They are often found descending from 

 the moors, and locating in the vicinity of corn- 

 fields, and sheltering themselves among the 

 stubble, both of barley and oats. In severe 

 winters, when pressed for food, they will leave 



533 



