CAPERCAILLIE 67 



often been mistaken for an owl. It can, however, always be distinguished when 

 on the wing by the shrill note uttered by both sexes ; the low note, a sort of 

 grunt, being uttered only by the male. When flying in pairs, the one pursuing 

 the other, a quick slit-slit-slit is heard, the cry perhaps of the male alone, possibly 

 also of the female. Similar to this is the cry of pain uttered by a woodcock when 

 shot and crippled, as it flutters with tail spread and erect. In the evening the 

 woodcock prepares for flight with a low etsch ; as it soars upwards there is 

 heard a dull, hoarse dack; and as it flutters about trying to deceive intruders 

 as to the whereabouts of its young, it utters a note of anxious fear which sounds 

 like dack-dack. Danger is notified by a croaking tschatscha. The woodcock 

 measures almost a foot in length, and is easily recognised by the mixture of 

 rusty brown, black, and brownish white on the back, the dark mark between the 

 eyes and the base of the beak, and the brownish white striped appearance of 

 the under side of the body. 



Passing on to the game-birds of the forest, we come to the members 



Capercaillie. . 



of the Tetraonidce, or grouse tribe, all characterised by having 

 feathers on their legs, and often also on their toes. Another noteworthy feature 

 of the group is the shedding and renewal of the beak and claws, which has been 

 observed in several species, and probably occurs in all. While this process takes 

 place among other birds in such a manner as to wear out or peel off" only so much 

 of the tip of the horny sheath as is compensated by fresh growth at the base, 

 those of this group undergo a complete renewal of beak and claws once a year, 

 when the horny sheaths are shed whole or in large pieces, owing to the newly 

 formed structure beneath. 



The capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) is the largest European representative of 

 the family, and is characterised by its black rounded tail, which is only half covered 

 by the lower feathers, and is often spotted with white, and also by the beard 

 on the chin, consisting of long stiff feathers, and by the dark -green metallic shield 

 on the breast. As a contrast to this, the hen is adorned with a cinnamon breast, 

 and a chestnut tail with the feathers tipped with white and barred with black. 

 The body is well rounded in form, and the short, strong legs are covered to the joints 

 of the toes with close, hair-like feathers. The capercaillie is a true woodland bird, 

 which, with the destruction of the old forests, has been driven from the plains into 

 the mountains. Preferring pine-trees to all others, it lives only in extensive 

 woodland abounding in shrubs of different kinds, or in clumps of small trees, or 

 stretches covered with berry- bearing plants, with here and there a brook, or a 

 sandy, gravelly patch. In such forests it lives on the ground during the nioult- 

 ing-season, but at other times mostly in the trees, not at the tops, but among the 

 middle and lower branches. 



The pairing-season begins towards the end of March, though in January and 

 February the males may betake themselves, one at a time, to the breeding-grounds. 

 If possible, capercaillie return to the place they occupied the year before, 

 and generally choose an elevated situation which affords them a wide view to 

 the east, west, and south, and has only a few trees. Here the old cock, before 

 the arrival of the hens, perches among the pines and rehearses his chant. During 



