THE RED DEEFS LIFE 27 



assurances of animal life in the tracks of roes, of 

 boar, and other wild creatures, not to mention the 

 steady drilling of the pied woodpecker, or the noisy 

 clamour of some party of jays engaged in the con- 

 genial task of mobbing an unlucky grey shrike that 

 has strayed into their domain. We must recollect 

 that deer, even in Scotland, live under very various 

 conditions. Some animals pass much of their exist- 

 ence in the midst of sheltered woods. Others spend 

 their entire life under the open sky, with no protec- 

 tion from the burning rays of the August sun but 

 such as they find in the beds of tall bracken, screened 

 from the driving hail and winter rain only by low 

 stone walls or natural barriers of rock. It must, then, 

 be allowed that no one is likely to lay down hard and 

 fast canons as to the traits of deer, without risking 

 unfavourable criticism. Broadly speaking, heavy and 

 long continued falls of snow usually induce deer to 

 leave high, exposed plateaux ; for the lower grounds 

 afford much greater comfort under such unfavourable 

 circumstances. Even full-grown stags have been 

 found to perish in deep snow drifts in the north of 

 Scotland. It is not surprising, therefore, that many 

 deer should endeavour to secure winter quarters on 

 the slopes of mountains, which are less exposed than 

 the tops of the hills which they are so partial to in the 



