LEAVES FROM A GAME BOOK. 69 



same length, which will average about 25 inches from 

 the tip of one to the tip of the other. At various times 

 I have cut open the crops of these birds, and have always 

 found the contents to consist of the small oblong ever- 

 green leaves of the crowberry, mixed with a few whole 

 leaves of the blaeberry. Those killed early in the day 

 have had their crops only partially filled, while those 

 shot later in the afternoon have been brimful, even when 

 deep snow was covering the hills, for on steep faces there 

 are always snow slips — miniature avalanches, in fact — 

 which leave their food uncovered, and in such spots, 

 on well-stocked grounds, it is not unusual to spy from 

 fifty to sixty of these wild and beautiful birds assembled 

 in a pack. It is of little or no use going after them on 

 days that are unsettled, the wind being the great enemy 

 to success, for when blowing cold and strong, the birds 

 will be wholly unapproachable, and rising wild, they 

 make long flights across the valleys, to find shelter in 

 places which it would take the pursuer an hour of hard 

 walking to reach. 



The next day, the 3rd, broke nearly equally fine, 



