136 THE WOOD GROUSE OR CAPERCAILZIE. 



sexes had become very obvious before the death of 

 the young males. The plumage of the latter was 

 much darker, their general dimensions were greater, 

 their bills larger and more hooked. These characters 

 became very apparent during November and Decem- 

 ber. 



" The old males have never yet had access to the 

 young birds, so that it has not been ascertained whe- 

 ther they entertain any natural regard for their off- 

 spring, or would manifest any enmity towards them. 

 From the continued wildness of the old birds, espe- 

 cially the males, it was found difficult to weigh them, 

 without incurring the risk of injuring their plumage. 

 However, the male which arrived in 1829, and which 

 then appeared to be a bird of the previous year, was 

 lately weighed, and was found to be eleven pounds 

 nine ounces avoirdupois. Judging from appearances, 

 it is believed that the weight of the old hen would 

 not much exceed one half. There is, indeed, a 

 striking disparity in the dimensions of the sexes in 

 this species. 



" The intention is, as soon as some healthy broods 

 have been reared in confinement, to liberate a few in 

 the old pine woods of Braemar, and thus eventually 

 to stock with the finest of feathered game the noblest 

 of Scottish forests." * 



In addition to the forests of the north of Britain, 

 the wood-grouse inhabits those of the continent of Eu- 

 rope, and is indeed more abundant there than ever it 



* James Wilson, in Jameson's Journal for July 1832. 



