132 GAME BIRDS AXD SHOOTING-SKETCHES 



where lie lived in a garden for more than a year ; but the 

 South Country and association with the Sassenach seemed 

 to have a depressing effect on his spirits, for during the 

 whole of his residence there he never crowed or appeared 

 at all happy, so that he was sent back to Guisachan. He 

 soon showed his delight at returning to his native land 

 once more, for immediately he was let out of his box he 

 ran up to a grassy hillock at once and crowed loudly. 



On the appearance of danger the first instinct of a 

 Grouse is to crouch and remain " perdu " till it is past ; 

 but when the cause of alarm remains on the spot their 

 powers of patience, engendered by fear, are so great as to 

 make them capable of remaining for hours together in one 

 position. Supposing that both dogs and birds were left 

 alone when the former were pointing, it would be curious 

 to find out to what length of time the actual powers of 

 endurance of each could be strained to. Just before 

 commencing to nest on warm days in spring, Grouse will 

 sit closer than at any other season of the year ; they will 

 often allow the passer-by to tread within a few inches of 

 them without betraying any sign of their existence. 

 Some years ago, during spring, I was collecting birds in 

 the west of Sutherlandshire near Loch Xaver. The keeper 

 who accompanied me took me to a small loch high up in 

 the hills where the Black-throated Divers canie every year, 

 and I was fortunate enough to shoot a pair, which we 

 found the greatest difficulty in getting out of the loch, as 

 the breeze had entirely dropped and the surface of the 

 lake on which the birds were floating was like a sheet of 

 glass. AVe accordingly sat down on a patch of heather by 

 the loch-side and waited patiently for the wind to rise ; 



