THE RED GHOUSE, 
147 
lie is also neariy the only eulivener of these wild bo- 
litudes, by his loud morning and erf ning call. Da- 
ring summer it may be varied by the whisile of tlie cur- 
lew or the wailing of the goUlen plover, or perhaps in- 
terr(i[iied by the sailing flight of some harrier or other 
birds of prey ; but in winter, for leagues around, 
" Dwells but the gar-cock and the deer." 
Unless where mnvh disturbed, the grouse ia not 
a wild bird, and, unaware of danger, it will allow 
a person to approach or walk past, uttering only 
its call, ns if to make its companions aware that some- 
thing i* near. In districts where they are much fol- 
lowed, they, liovvever^ become one of the most wild 
and wary of our game, and almost imposstible to be 
approaehec! except by Btratageiii. For nearer con- 
cealment they are amplv provided by the similarity 
of the tints of their plumage with the dark brown 
moss and healh, and e.\cept for the assistance of the 
pointer, could not be cliscovered. Unlike the large 
true grouuBt the birdn of the pref^eiit group all pair 
and continue with their hroods until a return of the 
warm season. The young in some sea««ons are tlread- 
fully ravaged by the tapeworm, almost tlestroying 
them entirely in the (listricts where il occurs. It ia 
their most severe natural enemy. The red grouse 
pairs very early, if niil(}» in January, and th*' female 
commences laying at the end of Marcli. The eggs 
are deposited in a shallow hollow at the foot of some 
tufl of heath, which affords a partial covering and 
ahelter, and only a few sirawH or grasses serve to se- 
parute them from the ground. Both parents attend, 
