1 84 WITH THE WOODLANDERS. 



ing like bits of cloth from a soldier's coat, about 

 as full of his own importance as a bird can well 

 be. "That 'ere's a werry nice tale he's a-tellin' 

 to them 'ere hens, an' they believes it all, I'll 

 warrant. There they go ! What moved 'em ? 

 Look there ! there goes a fox ; why, he nearly had 

 one on 'em." 



As I have observed elsewhere, increased popula- 

 tion, with the draining of boggy lands, has made 

 the black -grouse scarce where they once were 

 plentiful. In Kent, where they once used to be 

 numerous, none now breed. In Surrey and Sussex 

 they were reintroduced early in the present century. 

 In the New Forest they have never been extinct; 

 and they are fairly plentiful on Exmoor. There are 

 some to be got in the moorlands of the Midlands. 

 In Scotland the bird is distributed generally. 



The young birds are very fond of ants' eggs and 

 other insect food. In spring they favour the 

 catkins and twigs of birch, alders, and willows; 

 later on the tops of the heather furnish a diet ; 

 in the autumn the various moorland berries are 

 enjoyed. Then they visit the stubble-fields, hav- 

 ing an especial liking for barley. In winter the 



