THE MANNERS OF THE GROUSE 39 



where persons were working all day. As far as one 

 could see they had abandoned the moors, and were 

 feeding miles away in the cultivated districts on any- 

 thing they could get in the way of food. A large 

 farmer, whose land lies three miles still farther away 

 from their usual haunts, states that immense flocks of 

 grouse were feeding in his turnip fields. Gangs of 

 men were being employed to clear away the snow from 

 patches of heather, but their efforts did very little 

 towards providing feeding ground for the vast number 

 of starving birds.' 1 The Editor of the 'Zoologist' 

 appended to the communication just cited a note that, 

 ' About the time mentioned there was an extraordinary 

 exodus of grouse from the moors in the neighbourhood 

 of Ilkley, in consequence of the very inclement 

 weather. The birds in many cases left the moorland 

 altogether, and large packs were seen in the fields 

 about Arthington and Weedon. ... I )uring a severe 

 winter some years ago we remember to have heard 

 that in Caithness the grouse were all down on the sea- 

 shore, and hardly a bird was to be found on the 

 moors.' A large amount of similar evidence might 

 be cited if it could serve any useful purpose, but the 

 foregoing will suffice to show that not only do single 

 pairs of grouse stray occasionally on to arable ianns, 



1 Zoologist, iSS6, p. 107. 



