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  BIRDS. 
  

  

  and 
  from 
  some 
  cause 
  or 
  other 
  the 
  Grouse 
  are 
  much 
  more 
  shifty 
  

   in 
  their 
  habits 
  than 
  in 
  any 
  other 
  place 
  we 
  know 
  of. 
  Nor 
  do 
  they 
  

   lie 
  so 
  well 
  to 
  dogs 
  at 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  season 
  as 
  formerly, 
  though 
  

   driving 
  is 
  only 
  resorted 
  to 
  on 
  one 
  or 
  two 
  moors. 
  On 
  the 
  flatter 
  

   grounds 
  about 
  Badenloch 
  they 
  are 
  much 
  more 
  inclined 
  to 
  lie 
  than 
  

   on 
  the 
  hilly 
  grounds 
  near 
  the 
  coast-line. 
  In 
  the 
  former 
  situation 
  

   we 
  have 
  known 
  of 
  25J 
  brace 
  being 
  killed 
  over 
  one 
  dog 
  on 
  a 
  

   short 
  November 
  day 
  ; 
  but 
  then 
  the 
  dog 
  was 
  a 
  red 
  Irish 
  setter, 
  not 
  

   a 
  white, 
  or 
  partly 
  white, 
  coloured 
  dog. 
  

  

  A 
  few 
  Grouse 
  are 
  to 
  be 
  met 
  with 
  on 
  the 
  hills 
  above 
  Nigg, 
  

   and 
  also 
  on 
  the 
  Black 
  Isle, 
  but 
  in 
  the 
  latter 
  place 
  they 
  are 
  a 
  

   diminishing 
  quantity, 
  owing 
  to 
  the 
  moors 
  being 
  reclaimed 
  or 
  planted. 
  

  

  At 
  Invergarry, 
  Grouse 
  are 
  not 
  as 
  numerous 
  as 
  formerly, 
  but 
  

   this 
  Captain 
  Ellice 
  puts 
  down 
  not 
  only 
  to 
  disease, 
  but 
  to 
  the 
  

   enormous 
  number 
  of 
  Hooded 
  Crows, 
  which 
  swarm 
  out 
  of 
  the 
  

   neighbouring 
  forests, 
  and 
  defy 
  the 
  efforts 
  of 
  the 
  keepers 
  to 
  keep 
  

   them 
  down. 
  In 
  1888 
  Grouse 
  were 
  very 
  scarce 
  there, 
  and 
  Murdoch 
  

   Matheson 
  told 
  us 
  that 
  on 
  July 
  15th 
  hens 
  were 
  sitting 
  and 
  others 
  

   only 
  just 
  laying. 
  

  

  A 
  dry 
  hot 
  season 
  suits 
  these 
  birds 
  best. 
  We 
  well 
  remember 
  

   going 
  over 
  a 
  small 
  moor 
  in 
  the 
  east 
  of 
  Eoss-shire 
  on 
  a 
  very 
  hot 
  

   day 
  in 
  July 
  1887. 
  There 
  was 
  only 
  one 
  spring 
  on 
  the 
  ground, 
  and 
  

   a 
  small 
  dirty 
  mud-hole, 
  yet 
  by 
  the 
  opening 
  day 
  these 
  birds 
  were 
  

   abundant 
  and 
  well 
  grown. 
  As 
  in 
  very 
  hot 
  weather 
  dew 
  is 
  very 
  

   plentiful 
  in 
  the 
  early 
  morning, 
  possibly 
  the 
  birds 
  get 
  a 
  certain 
  

   amount 
  of 
  moisture 
  from 
  the 
  dew-drops. 
  

  

  Grouse 
  seem 
  to 
  get 
  wilder 
  on 
  hilly 
  than 
  on 
  flat 
  ground, 
  

   provided 
  the 
  flat 
  ground 
  is 
  broken 
  up 
  by 
  runners, 
  and 
  the 
  

   heather 
  is 
  neither 
  too 
  rank 
  nor 
  too 
  uniform 
  in 
  character 
  and 
  

   height. 
  

  

  Crosses 
  between 
  Grouse 
  and 
  any 
  other 
  species 
  of 
  game-bird 
  are 
  

   rare, 
  and 
  the 
  following, 
  taken 
  from 
  the 
  Inverness 
  Courier 
  of 
  Sep- 
  

   tember 
  6th, 
  1889, 
  may 
  be 
  of 
  some 
  interest: 
  — 
  

  

  'On 
  Friday 
  last, 
  Mr. 
  Macleay 
  asked 
  Mr. 
  T. 
  E. 
  Buckley 
  to 
  

   examine 
  a 
  bird 
  which 
  had 
  been 
  sent 
  in 
  from 
  Glenmazeran 
  for 
  

   preservation, 
  shot 
  by 
  Laurence 
  Hardy, 
  Esq. 
  The 
  bird 
  is 
  a 
  hybrid 
  

   between 
  a 
  Grouse 
  and 
  a 
  Blackcock 
  or 
  Greyhen, 
  and 
  is 
  a 
  male. 
  

   The 
  neck 
  and 
  back 
  are 
  coloured 
  like 
  any 
  ordinary 
  Grouse, 
  though 
  

   perhaps 
  the 
  back 
  may 
  be 
  slightly 
  darker 
  than 
  the 
  general 
  run 
  ; 
  the 
  

  

  