British Birds in Their Haunts

by C. A. Johns

Feathers of the throat elongated, black; head and neck dusky; eyes with a bare red skin above and a white spot below; wings brown speckled with black; breast lustrous green; abdomen black with white spots; rump and flanks marked with undulating lines of black and ash colour; tail black with white spots; beak horn white; eyebrows naked, red, beneath the eye a white spot. Length thirty-six inches. Female—a third smaller, barred and spotted with tawny red, black, and white; throat tawny red, unspotted; breast deep red; tail dark red with black bars, white at the tip; bill dusky. Eggs dull yellowish white speckled with yellowish brown.

The Capercaillie, Wood Grouse, or Cock of the Woods, was a rare bird in Scotland in Pennant's time (1769), and was found only in the Highlands north of Inverness. It became extinct in the eighteenth century, but was re-introduced in 1837 in Scotland, and it is now common in firwoods there, especially in Perthshire. In the pine forests of Sweden and Norway it is still indigenous, but, being a large and beautiful bird, is much sought after, and is annually receding from the haunts of men. It is also found in some of the central countries of Europe, as Poland and the Jura mountains, where it is said to be rather common. It is not only an inhabitant of woods, but passes its time for the most part in trees, and feeds in great measure on the young shoots of the Scotch fir. In summer it adds to its dietary berries, seeds, and insects, for which it searches among bushes or on the ground, returning to the woods to roost. The male bird has obtained great celebrity for his marvellous performances when serenading the hens during the morning and evening twilight in spring. "During his play, the neck of the Capercaillie is stretched out, his tail is raised and spread like a fan, his wings droop, his feathers are ruffled up, and, in short, he much resembles in appearance an angry Turkey Cock. He begins his play with a call something resembling the words peller, peller, peller; these sounds he repeats at first at some little intervals, but, as he proceeds, they increase in rapidity, until, at last, and after perhaps the lapse of a moment or so, he makes a sort of gulp in his throat, and finishes by drawing in his breath. During the continuance of this latter process, which only lasts a few seconds, the head of the Capercaillie is thrown up, his eyes are partially closed, and his whole appearance would denote that he is worked up into an agony of passion." This performance, however attractive it may De to those for whose benefit it is intended, exercises a fascination over himself which is often dangerous; for the sportsman, well acquainted with the sound, is thus guided to his perch, and, shy though the bird is at other times, is able to get near him unperceived or unheeded, and summarily closes his performances. The Capercaillie hen makes her nest upon the ground, and lays from six to twelve eggs. She is said to sit for four weeks. The young keep with her until towards the approach of winter. The size of the full-grown bird varies considerably according to the latitude in which it is found. In Lapland the male weighs about nine or ten pounds, but in the southern provinces of Sweden as much as seventeen pounds. The hen usually weighs from five to six pounds.

THE BLACK GROUSE
TETRÁO TÉTRIX

Throat-feathers not elongated; plumage black with violet reflections; a broad white band on the wings; secondaries tipped with white; lower tail-coverts white; tail much forked, the outer feathers curved outwards. Eyebrows naked, vermilion; beneath the eye a white spot. Length twenty-three inches. Female—smaller; head and neck rust-red barred with black; rump and tail-feathers black barred with red; belly dusky brown with red and whitish bars; tail slightly forked. Eggs dull yellow spotted and speckled with reddish brown.

The Black Grouse is a native of the northern countries of Europe and of the mountainous districts of the central part of the Continent. In the south it is unknown. Of a hardier nature than the Pheasant, and less fastidious in its dietary, it braves the most inclement seasons, and is never stinted in its supply of food. Moreover, as it rarely wanders far from its heath-clad home, it would probably, if it enjoyed the privilege of insignificance, be abundant in all the extensive waste lands of Britain. But its large size, the excellent flavour of its flesh, and the excitement of the sport which it affords all tend to keep down its numbers, so that a moor well stocked with Black Grouse is a possession not to be thought lightly of by the highest and wealthiest. The male bird is, in sporting phraseology, a Black Cock, the female a Grey Hen; and it is the etiquette of the field to shoot Cocks only, the Hens being left for breeding. The Black Cock resembles, in one of its most striking peculiarities, its near relative, the Capercaillie. 'During the spring', says Mr. St. John, 'and also in the autumn, about the time the first hoar frosts are felt, I have often watched the Black Cocks in the early morning when they collect on some rock or height, and strut and crow with their curious note, not unlike that of a Wood Pigeon. On these occasions they often have most desperate battles. I have seen five or six Black Cocks all fighting at once; and so violent and eager were they, that I approached within a few yards before they rose. Usually there seems to be a master-bird in these assemblages, who takes up his position on the most elevated spot, crowing and strutting round and round with spread-out tail like a Turkey Cock, and his wings trailing on the ground. The hens remain quietly near him, whilst the smaller or younger male birds keep at a respectful distance, neither daring to crow, except in a subdued kind of voice, nor to approach. If they attempt the latter, the master-bird dashes at the intruder, and often a short melée ensues, several others joining in it, but they soon return to their former respectful distance. I have also seen an old Black Cock crowing on a birch-tree with a dozen hens below it, and the younger Cocks looking on with fear and admiration. It is at these times that numbers fall to the share of the poacher, who knows that the birds resort to the same spot every morning.'

The food of these birds is abundant in quantity, and though simple, yet partakes of an extensive assortment of flavours. Twigs of the fine-leaved heath (Erica cinerea), and heather (Calluna); buds of the willow and birch; the tender shoots of cotton-grass, sedge, and grass; and whortleberries, cranberries, and crowberries, are the principal items of their bill of fare, varied according to the season. In the months of February, March and April, they do much mischief to plantations by destroying the tender shoots of Scotch and Silver Fir. 'In searching for food, the Black Grouse frequents the lower grounds of the less-cultivated districts, not generally removing far from the shelter of woods or thickets, to which it betakes itself as occasion requires. It sometimes makes an excursion into the stubble-fields in search of the seeds of cereal plants, and in summer and autumn includes those of the grasses and rushes. While thus employed, it walks and runs among the herbage with considerable agility, and, when apprehensive of danger, flies off to a sheltered place, or settles down and remains motionless until the intruder passes by. It perches adroitly, and walks securely on the branches; but its ordinary station is on the ground, where also it reposes at night. It may often, especially in spring, be seen on the turf-top of the low walls inclosing plantations. Its flight is heavy, direct, and of moderate velocity, and is capable of being protracted to a great distance.'[41]

The Grey Hen constructs a rude nest of withered grass and a few twigs in the shelter of some low bush, and lays from five to ten eggs. The male bird takes no part in the bringing up of the brood, but leaves the duties of incubation and attention to the wants of his family to the hen, who devotes herself wholly to the careful nurture of her little ones. While the poults are in their nonage, she assiduously leads them about where food is most abundant; and if surprised by an intruder, leaves them to hide among the heath and ferns, creeps rapidly herself to some distance, and then rises in a fluttering manner, so that a stranger to her habits would suppose her to be wounded. By August 20, the young are supposed to be fully fledged, and the sportsman is expected not only to show his skill as a marksman, but his quickness of eye in discriminating between males and females as the covey rises. The former are to be distinguished by their richer colouring, and by the more strongly marked white on the wings. At this season the old Black Cocks club together.

The Black Cock is found in greater or less quantities in the moorland districts of many of the English counties, but is most abundant in the north of England and Wales, and in Scotland.

[41] Macgillivray.

THE RED GROUSE
LAGÓPUS SCÓTICUS