RED GROUSE. 431 



usually a pale olive, spotted and blotched all over with dark red-brown. 

 The spots are frequently so confluent as almost entirely to conceal the 

 ground-colour. In fresh-laid eggs the brown is often very red, in some 

 instances almost approaching crimson; it appears to darken as it 

 thoroughly dries, and sometimes almost approaches black. When fresh 

 laid the colour is not very great ; and before the eggs are hatched the 

 beauty of the original colouring is generally very much lessened by large 

 spots coming off altogether, no doubt from the friction of the feathers or 

 feet of the bird when sitting. If the weather is wet when the bird begins 

 to sit, this is much more the case. When the colour has once become 

 thoroughly dry, it will bear washing in water without injury. The colour 

 of the eggs is admirably adapted for the purpose of concealment from the 

 prying eyes of Rooks, Crows, and Birds of Prey, being very much like the 

 mixture of moss, lichens, and peat where they are laid. It is impossible 

 to distinguish the eggs of the Red Grouse from those of the Willow-Grouse ; 

 but those of the Ptarmigan are more sparsely marked and much buffer in 

 general appearance. Most of the eggs laid come to maturity. I once 

 asked a gamekeeper to watch half a dozen nests which were near his house. 

 He told me that out of forty-nine eggs he counted forty-seven chicken 

 Grouse. 



As soon as the young are hatched, especially in dry seasons, the hen 

 takes her brood down to the more swampy parts of the moor. The Red 

 Grouse remains paired all the year round ; and whilst the hen is sitting 

 her mate is generally not far off, to give the alarm by flying away at the 

 approach of supposed danger, uttering his loud Jcok, kok, kok, to which 

 the female replies with a low hoarse croak. 



The note of the male is heard to the greatest advantage in early morning 

 in spring; it is then modulated in various ways, each note sometimes 

 being long drawn out and frequently very rapidly repeated. The cock 

 may usually be discerned through the early morning mist perched upon 

 some conspicuous hillock, from which he will spring up into the air and 

 descend again to the same spot. His note will be answered by many 

 females, and his actions generally are somewhat similar to those of the 

 polygamous species of Grouse, though it is not known that he pairs with 

 more than one hen. It appears that the cock does not take his turn at the 

 duties of incubation ; but when the young are hatched both parents wait 

 upon them. 



The food of the Grouse is chiefly the flowers and young shoots of the 

 ling ; but the capsules of carices are also found in their crop. Were it 

 not for the sportsman the Grouse would live a very quiet life on his native 

 heath, as much so as the poultry on the farms in the valley. He does 

 not migrate in spring or autumn, and his wanderings are confined to an 

 occasional raid into the nearest farms when food is scarce, where he will 



