F. R, S. Balfour—Capercaillie in Upper Tweeddale 207


This is furnished with tall oleander trees and various palms in tubs.

At present there is no artificial heating, but I hope to have hot-water

pipes, connecting with an already-existing outside stove, installed

during the summer. Natural boughs for perches stretch across the

entire width of the house. Here I have a pair of Maroon Orioles,

a Lesser Bird of Paradise, a Lort’s Roller, Festive Tanagers and

some Royal and Spreo Starlings. One corner has been wired in, as a

separate aviary, and this contains a pair of White-headed Wood

Hoopoes, very showy and amusing birds, which delight in running

up and down the sloping trunk of a tree covered with cork bark,

in a very woodpecker-like way; two handreared Ringed Plovers

run about on the peat moss at the bottom of the aviary, and are

charmingly tame and confiding. Some cages contain Lories, Conures,

and Barbets. Here again a long seat placed against the back wall

adds considerably to one’s comfort when watching the inmates of my

racquet-court aviary.



CAPERCAILLIE IN UPPER TWEEDDALE


By F. R. S. Balfour


Perhaps it might be of some interest to the members of the

Avicultural Society to hear of my successful introduction of Capercaillie

(.Tetrao urogallus) to the woods of Dawyck in Upper Tweeddale.


In 1929 and 1930 I received eggs from Perthshire and one

consignment of day-old chicks. I had no success whatever. The chicks

from the few eggs that hatched died in a short time, as did the live

chicks that were sent to me.


I then set about getting three-quarter grown birds. My efforts

in Scotland were not encouraging ; only one cock and one hen reaching

me from Deeside in August, 1930. In September of that year I was

fishing in Southern Norway and made arrangements for the catching

up of Capercaillie in nets. However, although two hen birds were



