in all parts of the British Isles. In England it prevails to more or less extent on the moors of the four northern counties of Lancashire, Yorkshire, Derbyshire, sparsely in Staffordshire, and in appreciable extent in other counties. In the mountainous parts of Wales it is also a staple bird of sport, as also on most of the great Irish moorlands; but nowhere is it so abundant as in Scotland, particularly in the north or the highlands, and in the large islands generally on the western coast.

The

The reason of this abundance is not far to seek. grouse is emphatically a denizen of the moor, and it is, moreover, a thoroughly wild bird, which, although amenable to domestication to some extent, brooks no intrusion either by man or beast, upon the uncultivated, unfrequented, almost desolate lands which are its sole habitat. Wherever the improving hand of man encroaches, the moorcock flies before him. It is not because the heather-covered lands of Aberdeenshire, of Sutherlandshire, and elsewhere, possess inherent peculiarities that they become acceptable to the grouse; it is because sheep, shepherds, and sheepdogs do not daily scour them, because the heather is not burned to make way for the growth of pasture, and because the many other conditions are not present which mark the progress of agriculture. Hence it is that we must journey to Yorkshire, to Cumberland, or to the Highlands before the 12th August, and learn, for the most part, the secret of successful grousepreserving. The grouse seems to have little preference as regards the nature of a given moor, provided its haunts be sufficiently free from intrusion, and present the wellknown characteristics of abundant heather and dry waste

land. It evidently prefers land of a medium description, between the barren stony wastes where ptarmigan may be sought for, and the marshy low tracks of moor, bog, and young plantations which seem to suit chiefly the tastes of black game. It must not be imagined, however, that grouse do not lend themselves to some extent to altered conditions

of existence which may be forced upon them. On the contrary, the labours of game preservers in introducing handreared birds have certainly been successful in retaining grouse in the neighbourhood of cultivated ground, and despite the presence of flocks of sheep and their belongings on the moors. It is difficult to specify the peculiarities which cause one moor to be held in more favourable regard than others by the birds, but there is no doubt that such is the case. The chief desiderata, it may be assumed, are that the formation of the ground serves to some extent to shelter the slopes principally frequented from heavy inclemencies of weather; that any rain falling be quickly carried off, leaving a quick drying surface; that the cover be thick; that there be frequent inequalities of surface and a good supply of food besides that from the heather. Grouse have no particular spots which they frequent as roosting places, but will roost in one particular spot or close to it for several nights, sometimes for a week or so in succession. They are, however, very uncertain birds, and shift their quarters apparently without reason or aim.

Curiously, the red grouse is monogamous, so strictly, indeed, that we believe the instances of departure from this rule are curiosities of zoology. This strikes us as a singular characteristic, for both black game and the now rare capercailzie

are polygamous. The birds pair in the early spring, or rather at the end of winter, and by the end of February all the mating is over. By the end of April laying is in full progress. Sometimes birds will pair as early as the first week in December, but these premature matings are apparently ended on the first severity of weather. The nest is made in any slight hollow beneath or in the centre of a tuft of heather, where no water can, or rather should, accumulate. The furnishing of the nest is very slightsome bits of moss, or ling, and bents scraped together from near at hand. In this apology for a nest the eggs are deposited, varying from four to thirteen or fourteen, but the average we should judge to be near seven or eight. As soon as the young are hatched, the hen alone completing the incubation, they are taken care of by both parents, the hen assuming immediate charge, while the cock watches assiduously to protect his progeny from the attacks of vermin. The brood remains with the old bird until the autumn, when the family is broken up, and the birds pursue their respective courses, although remaining to some extent in consort till the "packing" of winter begins, when the broods become finally spread.

The daily routine of the red grouse's existence has features of its own. It is decidedly an early bird, and takes its first meal betimes in the morning, resorting subsequently to those spots where the day is passed in basking and "scrapping about," after which, in the afternoon, it seems to turn its attention to feeding again, and goes to roost early. In an undisturbed state we never find the grouse flying at dusk, much less afterwards, nor can we catch them napping among

their haunts at sunrise. Their food consists, for the most part, of some of the natural vegetable products of the waste lands which they frequent, and comprises chiefly the following the tender portions of the ling or heath, commonly termed "heather;" of the heather proper (Erica cinerea), generally called "heath;" several kinds of sedge. and other grasses, willows, and various descriptions of mountain berries, among which may be mentioned, as the most common, the whortleberry, the cranberry, the crowberry, and the red bearberry; also the shoots and leaves of these according to the season. To enumerate all the plants upon which grouse feed would be difficult. During winter they often become, like many other birds, very short of food, and when the supply is too scant on the weatherbeaten moors, they have recourse to the fields and stubbles of farmers, and to outlying plantations. It has of late years become recognised as a necessity that grouse be fed with corn, &c., during severe weather, and seeing the numbers of birds which some moors have to support, we cannot but give the practice a hearty approval, both from a humane and practical point of view. But of this we shall have occasion to treat later on.

It will be seen that though a hill be wanting in heath or heather, it may still prove an attractive place for grouse to feed, owing to its producing other suitable food. This bird is one that alters its habits to a very inappreciable extent according to the season, and unlike its more sombre congener, will frequent precisely the same expanse of ground from one Midsummer day to another, unless ousted by sportsmen or other irresistible cause, and the mere shooting

of some members of a brood will not create any impulse to migration in the remainder.

Not much, perhaps, would be gained by going further into the natural history of this member of the Tetraonidæ. As was said before, a real insight into its mode of life and idiosyncrasies is only obtainable by personal observation in its moorland haunts.