94



Mr. H. Wormal,d,



retained until the birds are a fair size, and is then replaced by a

black tail which they wear until after they are quite full-grown,

and is dropped about the middle of September, the outer feathers

on each side being the first to fall out ; in about a month’s time

this tail is fully developed, and is black and the feathers stronger

in the quill than the feathers of the second tail were. This tail

is worn until the moult in the following year. At the end of

October both old and young cocks go through a sort of half¬

hearted spring display, but their supra-orbital combs are not so

fully extended or of such a brilliant orange scarlet as in the

spring.


Blackcocks meet at their playing-grounds and strut about

purring at this time of year for a week or two, and cock pheasants

frequently give their spring crow and whir their wings, but

apparently it is not considered by the birds nearly such a serious

business as in the spring, and I am not at all sure that the grey

hens put in an appearance at all at the playing grounds in

October.


I have not had my adult Grouse long enough yet to make

a definite statement over the vexed and much discussed question

of their moults, though I expect to find that they go through

three distinct plumage changes in the year.


Grouse are very liable to become afflicted with gape worms;

to guard against this I fumigated my chicks every week after

they were ten days old, and fortunately none of them ever showed

any signs of having gapes. It is not my intention to enter upon

a dissertation upon the disease here, but I strongly recommend

everybody who is interested in rearing game of any sort to shoot

every Sparrow and Starling which they may see showing any

signs of having gapes. I am certain that these pests are carried

and spread from one rearing field to another by these birds.

Comparatively little is definitely known as to how the worm first

gets into the bird ; although there are many so-called “cures” I

do not believe that a really satisfactory cure can be obtained

until more is known of the life history of the worm, and I am

glad to say that at least one well-known scientist is working now

at the subject. Most of the game food providers sell tins of gape

powder for fumigating purposes; plain tobacco smoke is very



