BLACKGAME 89 



with that covey of Grouse, which seem to be doing their 

 very best to keep on even terms with him, and you can 

 well understand where the contents of those last two 

 cartridges of yours went to. They certainly were not in 

 front. You still keep your eye on him, and will be again 

 deceived if you think he is going to settle within sight, 

 for though he seems to be putting on the brakes hard the 

 whole time, yet he still moves on and on till the shoulder 

 of the hill hides him from view. 



They often resort to the peculiar " header " alluded to 

 in the article on Capercaillie, and a whole pack will do so 

 at the end of a day's shooting if they have been frequently 

 driven and hustled about. By that time they are well on 

 the qui rive and quick to take alarm, being ready to sheer 

 off at a moment's notice from any spot that may contain 

 their dreaded enemy. 



To men accustomed to driving, and in the habit of 

 seeing both the species together on the moors, Blackgame 

 are not difficult to distinguish from Grouse on the wing 

 when advancing to the guns, except in the late evening. 

 Then a good sportsman must be forgiven if he innocently 

 slay a Greyhen, for they are decidedly difficult to tell 

 when coming straight and low over the heather. If their 

 wings are not in motion, apart from the size, the only 

 difference one can notice between the two species is that 

 Blackgame, when near the ground, carry the head a little 

 higher in the air. What really is most difficult to every 

 shooter is to distinguish quickly the Blackcocks from the 

 Greyhens, where it is a case of " ware hen," so as to 

 enable him to select his bird when it is well in front of 

 his butt. If the light is even, or the sun is behind the 



