CHAP. Ti.) BLACK GAME—GROUSE—PTARMIGAN. 33 
driven by a falcon into the garden, where he took refuge under 
a gooseberry bush and remained quiet till I picked him up. I 
kept him for a day or two, and then, as he did not get recon- 
ciled to his prison, I turned him loose to try his fortune again 
in the woods. Like some other wary birds, the blackcock, when 
flushed at a distance, if you happen to be in his line of flight, 
will pass over your head without turning off, as long as you re- 
main motionless. In some places, apparently well adapted for 
these birds, they will never increase, although left undisturbed 
and protected, some cause or other preventing their breeding. 
Where they take well to a place, they increase very rapidly, and, 
from their habit of taking long flights, soon find out the corn- 
fields, and are very destructive, more so, probably, than any 
other kind of winged game. A bold bird by nature, the black- 
cock, when in confinement, is easily tamed, and soon becomes 
familiar and attached to his master. In the woods instances are 
known of the blackcock breeding with the pheasant. I saw 
a hybrid of this kind at a bird-stuffer’s in Newcastle: it had 
been killed near Alnwick Castle. The bird was of a beautiful 
bronzed-brown colour, and partaking in a remarkable degree of 
the characteristics of both pheasant and black game. I have 
heard also ofa bird being killed which was supposed to be bred 
between grouse and black game, but I was by no means satisfied 
that it was anything but a peculiarly dark-coloured grouse. 
The difference of colour in grouse is very great, and on different 
ranges of hills is quite conspicuous. On some ranges the birds 
have a good deal of white on their breasts, on others they 
are nearly black: they also vary very much in size. Our 
other species of grouse, the ptarmigan, as every sportsman’ 
knows, is found only on the highest ranges of the Highlands. 
Living above all vegetation, this bird finds its scanty food 
amongst the loose stones and rocks that cover the summits of 
-Ben Nevis and some other mountains. It is difficult to ascertain 
indeed what food the ptarmigan cgn find in sufficient quantities 
on the barren heights where they are found. Being visited by 
the sportsman but rarely, these birds are seldom at all shy or 
wild, but, if the day is fine, will come out from among the scat- 
tered stones, uttering their peculiar croaking cry, and running 
in flocks near the intruder on their lonely domain, offer, even to 
D 
