CAPERCAILLIE 15 



for a few seconds before they take their departure. On 

 one occasion, at Murthly, I remember when I was out by 

 myself and the keepers beating some woods near the 

 Castle for an old roebuck, which had escaped for several 

 years, that I arrived at a small pass at which I was to 

 stand whilst the men worked up in my direction : there I 

 noticed the branches of a large Scotch fir, within a few 

 yards of the place where I was standing, swaying about in 

 an agitated manner ; thinking at first it was only a party 

 of squirrels, which literally swarmed in the woods, I took 

 no notice of it, until at length there appeared the head of 

 a bird I knew so well, quietly nipping off the young 

 shoots at the ends of the branches. Putting down my 

 gun, and forgetting all about Mr. Roebuck, I got into 

 such a position that my friend was out of sight behind the 

 trunk of the tree, and crawled on my hands and knees to 

 the foot of the tree. My journey was but half completed 

 when I discovered, by the flapping of a wily old cock as 

 he made off, that the one I had seen was not the only 

 occupant, for, on peering cautiously round the stem, there, 

 to mv delight, were no less than five others all busily 



/ mJ 



engaged on their evening meal. It was ten minutes before 

 the keepers came up, and in that time I think I learnt 

 more about the positions and attitudes of the bird than 

 I have ever done since. Though they never once thought 

 of looking down at me, it was very interesting to notice 

 the simultaneous manner in which they all stopped feeding 

 on the first warning crack of the beater's stick. 



On another occasion, I was running down through a 

 little wood where the firs were not more than 20 feet in 

 height, when I surprised a full-grown young cock, who 



