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weather, the state of the snow, &c, and continues until the middle of May, or, it may be, the end 

 of that month. The ' lek-stalle^ or locality where affairs matrimonial are carried on, is commonly 

 a wooded eminence near a morass, tarn, or other opening in the forest — sometimes, however, 

 though not frequently, ' on a level rock with fir trees growing in and about it.' The ' lek-stalle ' 

 is generally of some extent ; and the Capercali resort to it year after year, unless the trees have 

 been felled, or the forest otherwise disturbed. 



" The oldest or strongest male (or males, as the case may be) is the first in the spring at 

 the ' lek-stalle ;' and in the more northern forests, even when the snow is deep on the ground, he 

 commences his spel, either on the surface of the snow, on which one often sees the marks of his 

 trailing wings where he has paraded to and fro, or perched upon the upper branch of a pine. 

 At such times his neck is stretched out, his wings droop, his feathers are ruffled up, and his tail 

 spread out in the manner of a fan, as depicted in the illustration sketched by Mr. Wilhelm von 

 Wright. 



" The spel of the Capercali, which consists, so to say, of three notes, is of a rather singular 

 nature. An attempt, though an imperfect one, has been made to imitate it by the following 

 words, viz. : — First note, Pellep ! Pellep ! Pellep ! Second note, Klickop ! Third note, Hede ! 

 Hede! Hede! Hede! The first note, Pellep, called kndppingen (pi. kndppingar), is said to 

 resemble the sound of two dry sticks struck together. The second, Klickop, named klunken, 

 has been likened to a sort of gulp in the throat, the noise made when the tongue is smacked 

 against the palate, or when a cork is drawn out of a bottle. The third, Hede, termed sisningen, 

 has been compared to the sucking-in of the breath, as it were, or the sound caused by 

 sharpening an edged tool on a whetstone. The giving utterance to these several notes may 

 altogether occupy from two to three minutes; and, provided the bird be not in any way 

 disturbed, he almost immediately afterwards commences repeating them, and continues to do so 

 almost without ceasing. 



" His spel is not loud, and, if there be wind stirring at the time, cannot be heard (at least 

 by the inexperienced) at any considerable distance. In the most favourable weather, indeed, it 

 is not audible at more than one hundred and fifty to two hundred paces. 



" Between the kndppingar, the first note of his spel, there is usually at the commencement 

 some little interval ; but presently these follow so close on each other as to be all but continuous. 

 Whilst the kndppingar last the bird is wide awake, and not unfrequently turns his head from 

 side to side, as if to look out for the enemy ; and this, to a certain extent, is also the case when 

 he sounds his second note, klunken. But during his third and last note, sisningen, his head is 

 thrown backwards, his neck moves to and fro, wave-fashion ; his expanded tail stands at some- 

 thing like right angles to his body, and froth issues from his mouth. He is worked up into 

 such an agony of passion, as to be all but unconscious of what is passing around him. Many, 

 indeed, assert he is then both deaf and blind ; and it is at this critical moment, as will be shortly 

 shown, that so many of these noble birds fall to the gun. 



"The exertion during the spel has an extraordinary physical effect upon the Capercali, as is 

 evidenced by the frequency and abundance of his droppings ; and during his last note, sisningen, 

 when, as is said, he is worked up into a state of ecstasy, he trembles to such a degree that even 

 the pine, however large, on which he is perched, sensibly vibrates to the touch ! 



