144 Practical Game Preserving. 



the branches. It is shy, and mostly seeks safety by running, 

 so that its chief quality as a bird of sport lies more in the 

 difficulty of getting near it than of shooting it when seen. 

 Its haunts are typical of the country from which it has been 

 re-introduced, namely, Norway among the thickest parts of 

 beech and fir woods, in the wildest, rudest brake-grown sides 

 of the deep valleys through which many of the Scottish rivers 

 meander. 



In the early part of April the first pairings are com- 

 menced, and a month later the nesting. The nest is made 

 upon the ground, generally beneath the shelter of some 

 thick bush or tree, and among long sedge grass, or heather, 

 and is a rough structure after the manner of the black and 

 red grouse. The eggs number from four to eleven, and 

 require thirty days to incubate. The hen alone sits, the 

 male keeping guard. The young are looked after and 

 protected by both parents for some time, but the cock bird 

 leaves the brood first and the hen subsequently, generally 

 when winter makes known its approach. The capercailzie 

 is monogamous. 



These game birds have for their food very similar materials 

 to that of the common grouse ; chiefly may be enumerated 

 the several sorts of cereals, when obtainable, black, cran, 

 and juniper berries, the leaves and shoots of fir, the buds of 

 the birch and willow, and several other trees, and a fair 

 amount of insect food. The young require various insects, 

 chiefly ants, and worms. 



Further particulars are unnecessary here, but we may 

 venture to express a hope that all who can will endeavour 

 to assist to the best of their ability the eventual re-intro- 



