to go through their curious love-songs. Some large wide-spreading pine-tree 

 in an open part of the forest is usually chosen, and is repaired to year after 

 year. In the early morning, or just after sunset, the males collect at this 

 place, and go through their performances. One bird will lead off, and 

 strutting up and down some branch he calls the attention of his neighbours 

 and begins his love-song. The wings are drooped and the tail spread out 

 like a fan, all the feathers on the neck being ruffled, and the head stretched 

 out, during the performance, which often lasts three or four minutes. During 

 the last stage of this love-song the male works himself into such a state of 

 ecstasy that he becomes quite oblivious of everything that is going on round. 

 Two or three birds may be seen doing this at once, the females gathering 

 about them and croaking harshly to attract their attention. After the 

 performance is over the males descend from their perches and pair with each 

 of the females in succession. Fierce fights often take place between the rival 

 males, and occasionally one of the combatants loses an eye, or is otherwise 



mutilated. 



The Capercaillie does not make a very elaborate nest, but chooses a little 



hollow in the ground, which she scrapes out a little and slightly lines with a 

 few bits of dry grass or dead leaves. It is usually placed among heather, 

 blaeberries, or bracken, near the foot of some tree in a fairly open part of the 

 wood, or under a young spruce fir in some plantation, and occasionally 

 under some low-spreading branch which sweeps the ground. 



From five to fourteen eggs are laid, sometimes more, but in such cases 

 the eggs are probably the production of more than one female. They are 

 pale reddish buff in ground-colour, thickly spotted with reddish brown. The 

 spots vary in size from a pin's head to tiny specks, and are generally profusely 

 distributed over the entire surface of the egg, often concealing the ground-colour 

 and giving it a much redder appearance. In some specimens many of the 

 spots are as large as a small pea, and confluent, forming irregular patches of 

 colour, while on others the spots are very small, and there are occasional 

 patches of ground-colour with no spots at all. They vary in length from 

 2-4 to 2'o inches, and in breadth from 17 to i'5 inch. They are very like 

 the eggs of the Black Grouse, but are much larger in size. 



When the young are hatched the female is very attentive to them, and 

 defends them bravely from danger. If surprised with her brood in the open, 

 she will gather them under her wings and puff herself out, making a hissing 

 noise and boldly facing the intruder. The young in down are buffish 

 yellow, mottled with chestnut brown. 



12 



