70 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES 



hand, as all the birds pass the night, during the period of 

 love and war, in the woods adjacent to the tournament 

 ring, so as to be up betimes at the first appearance of the 

 day. Should the birds be disturbed on their arrival at 

 the ground, the hens are the first to take their departure, 

 the cocks being usually too busy settling their own 

 particular affairs to take alarm at once, unless approached 

 very close, when the whole will leave in a pack together. 

 Unless repeatedly disturbed they soon return. 



"When proceeding to attack one another (that is to say, 

 if one of the two Blackcocks has not already beaten off one 

 or more assailants, when it is usual for him to take up a 

 position on a small mound and stick to it) both birds 

 simultaneously lower their heads and arch their tails, at 

 the same time extending the primary wing-feathers and 

 trailing them along the ground. The tails are not spread 

 in the form in which they are generally depicted in books, 

 i.e. upwards, except for a second, when actually in the 

 process of raising them for expansion, but are spread out 

 more in the shape of a fan, with a concave surface, the 

 beautiful curled feathers almost touching the ground. This 

 I have endeavoured to show to the best of my ability in the 

 sketch of the Play ing-ground on page 73. The positions of 

 all these birds were drawn on the spot, by watching them 

 through a strong glass at about forty yards, and I did not 

 complete any figure till thoroughly satisfied it was correct. 



Sometimes two birds " set " to one another as far as 

 thirty yards apart ; they then advance slowly till separated 

 only by a few feet. Then the actual fighting, if there is 

 to be any, begins. It, however, often happens that, as 

 with our own bombastic race, it is all " gas," and the two, 



