178 NECK-SHINE 



markedly distinct on the breasts of the male birds, 

 whether pheasant or partridge. I do not wish the 

 'shine' on the belly of the cock-pheasant to be mis- 

 taken for the spot which I mean ; the former is of a 

 duller colour. The mallards of the heavy duck and 

 teal species show this shining spot on the neck, and 

 the veteran sportsman is not slow to take advantage 

 of it. The ducks themselves are of a different hue; 

 but practice at flight-shooting enables the gunner to 

 judge where the fatal spot should be. On bright days 

 the sheen on the horseshoe of the cock-partridge is 

 very apparent, though the neck may be hardly visible. 

 Of course, much depends as to how the guns are 

 placed for ' heading,' but in all well-organized drives 

 the usual rule is to place all the 'heading guns' with 

 their backs to the sun, if such an arrangement is 

 possible. If once the horseshoe mark on the breast of 

 a cock-partridge is visible, it is an easy matter to fire 

 at the neck. The 'shine' is also visible on grouse 

 when they rise suddenly over the 'butts,' but the pace 

 at which they fly precludes it being made use of, 

 save on a still bright day, when their flight is, as a 

 rule, less rapid. Young grouse, or grouse just before 

 they show symptoms of disease, appear quite dull and 

 lustreless, even in the sunlight. Who that has ever 

 shot blackcock on a bright frosty morning is likely to 

 forget the way these grand birds ' thud' the heather 

 when shot in the neck ? The ' shine' is then plainly 

 visible, and is a sufficient guide to the sportsman to 

 enable him to stop the most deceptive old blackcock in 

 the full swing of his flight. 



There are, as I have before remarked, various 

 methods of learning to shoot straight. Some acquire 



