tHE BLACK GROUSE 4JJ 



Over himself which is often dangerous ; for the sportsman, well 

 acquainted with the sound, is thus guided to his perch, and, shy 

 though the bird is at other times, is able to get near him unper- 

 ceived or unheeded, and summarily closes his performances. The 

 CapercaUlie hen makes her nest upon the ground, and lays from 

 six to twelve eggs. She is said to sit for four weeks. The young 

 keep with her until towards the approach of winter. The size of the 

 full-grown bird varies considerably according to the latitude in 

 which it is found. In Lapland the male weighs about nine or ten 

 pounds, but in the southern provinces of Sweden as much as seven- 

 teen pounds. The hen usually weighs from five to six pounds. 



THE BLACK GROUSE 



TETRAO XfeXRIX 



Throat-feathers not elongated ; plumage black with violet reflections ; a 

 broad white band on the wings ; secondaries tipped with white ; lower tail- 

 coverts white ; tail much forked, the outer feathers curved outwards. 

 Eyebrows naked, vermilion ; beneath the eye a white spot. Length 

 twenty-three inches. Female—smaMer ; head and neck rust-red barred 

 with black ; rump and tail-feathers black barred with red ; belly dusky 

 brown with red and whitish bars ; tail slightly forked. Eggs dull yellow 

 spotted and speckled with reddish brown. 



The Black Grouse is a native of the northern countries of Europe 

 and of the mountainous districts of the central part of the Continent. 

 In the south it is unknown. Of a hardier nature than the Pheasant, 

 and less fastidious in its dietary, it braves the most inclement 

 seasons, and is never stinted in its supply of food. Moreover, as it 

 rarely wanders far from its heath-clad home, it would probably, 

 if it enjoyed the privilege of insignificance, be abundant in all the 

 extensive waste lands of Britain. But its large size, the excellent 

 flavour of its flesh, and the excitement of the sport which it affords 

 all tend to keep down its numbers, so that a moor well stocked with 

 Black Grouse is a possession not to be thought lightly of by the 

 highest and wealthiest. The male bird is, in sporting phraseology, 

 a Black Cock, the female a Grey Hen ; and it is the etiquette of the 

 field to shoot Cocks only, the Hens being left for breeding. The 

 Black Cock resembles, in one of its most striking peculiarities, its 

 near relative, the CapercaUlie. ' During the spring ', says Mr. St. 

 John, ' and also in the autumn, about the time the first hoar frosts 

 are felt, I have often watched the Black Cocks in the early morning 

 when they coUect on some rock or height, and strut and crow with 

 their curious note, not unlike that of a Wood Pigeon. On these 

 occasions they often have most desperate battles. I have seen five 

 or six Black Cocks cdl fighting at once ; and so violent and eager 

 were they, that I approached within a few yards before they rose. 

 Usually there seems to be a master-bird in these assemblages, who 



