12 The Natural History of British Game Birds 
which they do not understand, for we find on trial that many things voted slow or 
unfair are in reality quite the reverse, while much that is called "sportsmanlike" does 
not deserve the title. 
Prince Fiirstenberg kindly sends me the following interesting notes of the calls 
and habits of Capercaillie at the mating season : — 
" Capercaillie select special spots where the birds of both sexes collect during the pairing 
season in spring (April and May). The number of cocks and hens at these places varies con- 
siderably. There may be only one cock, which as a rule is an old one, and several hens ; but 
I have also seen as many as thirty cocks crammed together within a space of less than half a mile 
in diameter, and the same number of hens, or even more. The cocks arrive at the pairing places 
any time after sunset, and before it gets quite dark, either flying or on foot. I have often seen 
them walking about, and feeding before they take to the trees. 
"They make a peculiar noise in the evening, which is quite different from the pairing song. 
We call it 'worgen' in German, and it reminds me of somebody being sick more than any- 
thing else. I should have rather not used this unsavoury comparison, but cannot think of a 
better one. The noise consists of three syllables, and sounds something like cha-cho-khooh . . . 
repeated over and over again, sometimes after all the other birds have gone to rest, and no 
other sounds except the cry of the brown owl are heard. Then the cock also goes to sleep on 
a big branch of his tree, and usually sits close to the trunk. 
"As soon as the first signs of early dawn appear on the eastern sky the cock wakes up, 
and begins his early song. It consists of three different successive tunes. The beginning of 
the first one sounds like the knocking together of two little sticks in intervals of ten to fifteen 
seconds (like this: klick-kl£ck ; interval, klick-kl^ck ; interval, klick-kleck . . .), getting quicker 
and quicker, and sounding towards the end more like the ringing of a bell, and ending with 
tune No. 2, which merely consists in a sound comparable to the uncorking of a bottle. After 
that he finishes up with tune No. 3, sounding like the twittering of a bird or the grinding 
of a knife (like this : sch-scht-ssts-pss-sch-scht . . . and so on). Whereas No. 3 is not 
audible very far, No. 1, and especially No. 2, can be heard at a long distance (over half a mile 
on a calm night). When the cock does No. 3, he can be approached easily as he nearly is 
deaf. He does not often sing for more than half-an-hour in the morning, sometimes re- 
maining the whole time on his tree, sometimes going on another one, but usually comes down 
to the ground and continues his song there, jumping a distance of ten or twelve yards at 
every No. 2. 
"The pairing song of the cock is, however, not confined to the morning. I have on 
various occasions heard them sing, and shot them in the evening, especially in the Black Forest, 
whereas this is quite an exception in Bohemia." 
Although I have spent so much time in Capercaillie haunts in the autumn, I have 
never heard the males make any sound at this season, nor have I received a satisfac- 
tory answer that the male ever calls during October from keepers and others whose 
lives are spent in our northern woods. Nevertheless it seemed to me most improbable 
that the cock Capercaillie had no pseudo-erotic show or calls in the fine days of autumn, 
accordingly I addressed a line to Prince Fiirstenberg on this point, and received the 
following reply : — 
" It is not an uncommon occurrence for the Capercaillie cock to sing in autumn. I have 
on various occasions heard him make his love-song in September or October — just the same 
as he does in spring. I remember one evening in Bohemia — I believe it was the 12th of October 
— to have found a cock singing, and to have approached him within a few yards. Then, again, 
in the Alps one evening, on the 7th of October, high up near timber line. And two years ago, 
