20 THE GROUSE. 



begins to feel the accesses of desire. This extraordinary cry, 

 which is accompanied by a clapping of the wings, is no sooner 

 finished, than the female, hearing it, replies, approaches, and 

 places herself under the tree, from whence the cock descends to 

 impregnate her. The number of females that, on this occasion, 

 resort to his call is uncertain ; but one male generally suffices 

 for all. 



The female is much less than her mate, and entirely unlike 

 him in plumage, so that she might be mistaken for a bird of 

 another species : she seldom lavs more that six or seven eggs, 

 which are white and marked with yellow, of the size of a hen's 

 egg ; she generally lays them in a dry place, and a mossy ground, 

 and hatches them without the company of the cock. When she 

 is obliged, during the time of incubation, to leave her eggs in 

 quest of food, she covers them up so artfully, with moss or dry 

 leaves, that it is extremely difficult to discover them. On this 

 occasion, she is extremely tame arid tranquil, however wild and 

 timorous in ordinary. She often keeps to her nest, though 

 strangers attempt to drag her away. 



As soon as the young ones are hatched, they are seen run- 

 ning with extreme agility after the mother, though sometimes 

 they are not entirely disengaged from the shell. The hen leads 

 them forward, for the first time, into the woods, and shews them 

 ants' eggs, and the wild mountain-berries, which, while young, 

 are their only food. As they grow older, their appetites grow 

 stronger, and they then feed upon the tops of the heath and the 

 cones of the pine tree. In this manner they soon come to per- 

 fection : they are a hardy bird, their food lies every where be- 

 fore them, and it would seem that they should increase in great 

 abundance. But this is not the case ; their numbers are thinned 

 by rapacious birds and beasts of all kinds ; and still more by 

 their own salacious contests. 



As soon as the clutching is over, which the female performs 



