BIRD-LIFE ON THE MOORS IN DECEMBER. 137 



sometimes left to keep watch outside, but as often as not 

 the precaution is neglected, and the whole pack appears fast 

 asleep. 



When strong winds prevail, it generally happens that 

 large patches of heather are swept clear of snow on the 

 weather- slopes of the hills ; and to such places the moor- 

 game resort in very large packs, finding there both plenty of 

 food and also immunity from their enemies ; for the snow 

 which has been blown off the ridges forms huge "wreaths," 

 or drifts, of great depth, lower down the slopes, and which 

 are quite impenetrable to man. Failing this resource, 

 Grouse and Blackgame are able to find food where sheep 

 have partially uncovered the heather. In these ways, and 

 being of so hardy a nature, it seldom happens that Grouse 

 suffer much inconvenience from the utmost severity of the 

 weather. Their principal danger arises from their appearing 

 to lose themselves from want of their usual landmarks. 



It frequently happens during such weather that one sees 

 numbers of Grouse perched upon trees, especially on thorns. 

 This is contrary to their usual habit (although I have seen 

 two or three instances of it in open weather), and seems 

 strikingly to demonstrate their affinity with Lagopus subalpina, 

 the Rypa, or Willow- Grouse of Norway, which is no doubt 

 the parent race (cf. Wheelwright's " Spring and Summer in 

 Lapland," p. 334). Probably if we were visited in England 

 by a period of severe winters (say, a few centuries), our 

 Grouse would revert to this, the original form, acquiring 

 the pure white breast (some approach to it now) and white 

 primaries of L. subalpina, and would habitually prefer perch- 

 ing on trees to sitting among the heather. 



The big Tawny or Wood-Owls are very noisy at this 

 season just after dusk, and their loud demoniacal laughter, 

 as a pair or two call and answer each other from the woods 

 across a moorland valley, is singularly weird and uncanny. 

 They sit by day in an ivied tree, or on an old Cushat's nest, 

 and find abundance of prey by night in the mice which after 

 dark scamper in all directions across the snow. 



I will now conclude these notes on the moorland birds with 

 the following table, showing the results of my last ten 



