52 



BRITISH BIRDS. 



[vol. XIV. 



each feather in the bhd's spread tail, at the spot where it 

 ahghted, there is no chance of making a mistake. The 

 same thing apphes to the Pheasant, though a sure guide to 

 the tracks ol this game bird is the very straight middle toe 

 previously mentioned. Birds use their wings to aid them in 

 walking in deep snow, and they leave the impression of the 

 wing-leathers both when alighting, and on rising from the 

 ground. These " wing stretches " as we may term them, if 

 clear cut, afford from their shape a clue to the track-maker's 

 identitv. 



GROUSE TRACKS. 



{Photographed by R. Clapham. 



To secure more contrast for purposes of photography, it is 

 possible to fill the footprints with fine sand or other material 

 dyed black, but under ideal conditions — i.e., thin, damp 

 snow over a hard, smooth surface — fine detail in individual 

 tracks is lost by so doing. In addition to leaving footmarks, 

 ground roosting birds, such as the Grouse, leave very distinct 

 impressions of their roosting places. These, in the case of a 

 covey of Grouse, are not close together, but scattered about 

 at short distances from each other, the individuals composing 

 the covey being in touch in case of danger. 



