THE RED GROUSE. 319 



withered grass ; and the place chosen for it is some 

 elevated mossy sod, concealed by tall heath, there being, 

 in all birds that build on the ground, an instinctive 

 caution against rain. The eggs are never fewer than 

 eight, and rarely more than fourteen ; they are of a 

 dull yellowish white and straw colour, marked with 

 minute rusty spots, with large blotches toward the 

 small end. The brood continue with the hen till winter ; 

 and when the cold sets in, a number of families unite 

 in a flock. It is late in the season before they come 

 to their full power of wing, though they grow rapidly 

 in size ; and after they have assembled in flocks, they 

 are so very shy and vigilant, that the best sportsmen 

 can with difficulty get within shot of them. When 

 they are in families only, they are much more easily 

 shot. They lie close in the heath, until they be ap- 

 proached very near. Then the cock is the first to 

 spring, which he does in one direction with much noise 

 and motion of his wings ; and the hen and brood run a 

 little way upon the ground, and then take their flight 

 in a direction a little different ; but when they have got 

 out of reach of the danger, they again unite, and after 

 flying in various circles, as if to bewilder their pursuers, 

 alight again, but run a considerable way, and generally 

 in an oblique direction toward the sportsman, before 

 they are again at rest. Grouse-shooting is a very 

 favourite sport, especially in the Scottish mountains ; 

 not, however, on the lofty summits, but on the lowest 

 uplands and slopes, that are covered with heath. The 

 shooting is most successful in the commencement of the 

 season, and before the birds have begun to flock ; but 

 the birds are in better condition afterwards. As is the 



