136 FOREST CREATURES. 



augmentation in the same ratio as that of other birds. 

 One is that the hen builds her nest, if the rough con- 

 struction in which she deposits her eggs is worthy such 

 name, on the ground and in exposed situations ; so that 

 they are as liable to be stolen as destroyed. The young 

 brood is for an unusually long time unable to fly : 

 hence it is exposed to continual depredations, and birds 

 of prey and other animals manage to thin its numbers. 

 If pursued by a dog, it will take tree, and from the 

 branch look down on its pursuer with such a fixed gaze 

 as to be unconscious of the approach of a human foe ; 

 who, while the bird is staring downward, easily gets 

 near and shoots him from his perch. The hen too, 

 when sitting, will hardly move from her nest, though 

 an intruder be close at hand. 



Another circumstance may account satisfactorily for 

 the slow increase of the capercaile. The cock is so 

 extremely jealous that he will allow no rival in his 

 neighbourhood. Nor will he permit a single one of his 

 chosen fair to quit his court. The old bird is a despot, 

 and his jealousy grows with his age. He is the terror 

 of all the young gallants around ; and as long as he is 

 unscathed, pairing-time is for them a word without a 

 meaning. Such old cock " keeps company," in maid- 

 servant phraseology, with a bevy of hens, and many 

 of them have nothing more than his company; but 

 they nevertheless are not permitted on that account 



