# The Grouse in Health and in Disease/Chapter II

CHAPTER II
the life history of the grouse
By A. S. Leslie
No precise date can be given at which Grouse begin to pair, for this depends more upon the climatic conditions than upon anything else. In a mild winter Grouse will pair as early as December or January; but if, after Pairingthey are paired, the weather becomes rough and stormy they will again congregate in packs, even after the usual date of nesting has arrived.
The time at which they select their nesting ground (March and April) is also, to a limited extent, influenced by climatic conditions. On high moors, where the snow lies in late seasons till far into the spring, it sometimes Pairing sometimes postponed by snow. happens that during the whole winter, and even up to the month of April, there is hardly a bird upon the hill, the whole stock being congregated on the lower-lying moors where there is "black ground" on which food can be obtained. In such seasons it is interesting to observe the return of the stock to the higher parts as soon as the snow begins to melt. As a rule the birds do not pair upon the low ground, but congregate in packs upon the edge of the snow, waiting for an opportunity of returning to breed on their native hill. A good example of this was furnished in the spring of 1908 on a high-lying moor in Inverness-shire. During the preceding winter there had been a heavy fall of snow which lay for many months on the higher ranges, and drove the Grouse down in vast numbers to the lower levels. On the moor referred to there was not a Grouse to be seen until the snow began to melt about the end of April. But at the first sign of thaw the stock began to return, and as each patch of bare ground came into sight a pair of birds arrived as if guided by instinct and commenced to nest. This year the shooting season turned out to be a record one, for upwards of ​five thousand brace were killed upon an area of 20,000 acres, and many more might have been shot without unduly reducing the stock.
While heavy snow during the winter may do little harm though it lies till far into the spring, a loss of stock may result where the fall occurs after the birds Effect of snow on stock. have returned to their nesting ground on the higher ranges. This occurred on a moor in Ross-shire in the year 1909, when a correspondent of the Committee reports as follows: "A heavy snowfall on April 24th put all the birds down to 'black ground.' They never went back to nest, and consequently the high ground, i.e., over 500 ft., was a failure, and the low ground better than usual." Again, a correspondent in West Perthshire writes: — "In spring, when the breeding season is approaching a heavy snowstorm of some duration has on several occasions caused a most serious loss of stock, amounting to as much as half or more of the whole number of birds. After such a spring snowstorm and migration, large numbers of Grouse undoubtedly remain to breed on low and favourable moors within, say, ten or fifteen miles. These low moors are very heavily shot every year, but there is a constant migration of Grouse to them, both from overstocked moors, and from the high moors affected by snow." This is corroborated by a correspondent in the south of Scotland, who says: "I have an idea that if birds are forced to leave their usual ground (in spring), through deep untrodden snow, a good number may remain away and not return to their former ground."
The subject of migration is more fully dealt with in another chapter.
During the mating season the pugnacity of the cock Grouse is well known, and in captivity the cocks have to be kept separate at this period, or disaster Pugnacity of cocks.will certainly occur. Under natural conditions the fights seldom end fatally; but it is certain that the presence of a quarrelsome cock-bird in search of a mate seriously interferes with the pairing of the other birds in the vicinity. Observation in the field goes to prove that old cocks are more pugnacious than young ones, and as they are less valuable for breeding purposes the object of every moor-owner is to reduce the number of old cocks by every means in his power.
The nest, a slight hollow scratched in the ground and lined with a scanty layer of grass, heather, etc., is usually placed on the sunny side of a tuft of heather, and preference as regards its site seems to be given to an area on which the heather is moderately well grown rather than where it is ​rank. Birds will always nest in a place where they can see all round, if possible, hence their avoidance of long heather. Nesting
Dry ground is always preferred; birds will not nest on boggy or damp ground, and are more likely to leave their nests on account of wet than for any other reason.
On some moors where the heather has been very closely burnt or the stock is unusually large, the Grouse appear to be unable to find nesting ground exactly suited to their requirements, and on these occasions they will boldly depart from their usual habits and will nest in short heather, flat dead bracken, or even on a bare unsheltered piece of burnt ground, leaving the nest as open as that of the Lapwing. It is important to note that in all cases open sites devoid of all covering are preferred to really long overgrown heather.
The time of nesting varies according to the season and the latitude. As a rule, most of the eggs are laid by the latter end of April and the beginning of May; but a case has been reported of eggs being found as early as Time of hatching. March 28th, and the Rev. W. B. Daniel records that "on the 5th of March, 1794, the Gamekeeper of Mr Lister (now Lord Ribblesdale), of Gisburne Park, discovered on the Manor of Twitten, near Pendle Hill, a brood of Red Grouse seemingly about ten days old, which could fly about as many yards at a time. This was an occurrence never known to have happened before so early in the year." Macdonald states that the hen begins to lay at the end of March, while Macpherson, writing in the Fur and Feather Series, says that "In the Island of Skye April 24th is a decidedly early date for a full clutch of Grouse eggs" It is an interesting fact that, from the evidence obtained from many moors, of varying altitudes ranging from the south of Wales to the north of Sutherland, there is a difference of only two or three days in the dates when the earliest eggs are found; March 30th in Yorkshire and Perthshire, and April 1st on high moors in Inverness and Sutherland are dates frequently recorded for the first nest. The date at which the first clutch is completed varies by a full fortnight on high and low ground and on north ​country and south country moors. In Yorkshire by the end of April many birds have begun to sit, while in central Scotland from April 25th to May 20th would probably cover the dates by which the full clutches are complete on most moors. The intervals between the laying of each egg vary enormously in captivity, probably also in nature, depending upon the weather; for Intervals of laying. example, at the Committee's observation area in Surrey it was noted of laying that one hen took twenty-nine days to lay ten eggs — an average of one egg every three days; another laid only four eggs in twenty-six days, or an average of one egg every six and a half days. The clutch averages from seven to ten, and rarely reaches twelve.
Macdonald states that the hen lays eight to fourteen or sixteen eggs, while Macpherson gives seven and eight as the most usual number of eggs, and states that Number of eggs. "more than ten is quite exceptional." Seebohm, who speaks with authority on all questions of British oology, states that the number of eggs laid would seem " to vary with the propitiousness or otherwise of the season. In very wet and cold springs the smallest clutches contain four or five, and the largest eight or nine; whilst in very favourable seasons the small clutches are six or seven, and the larger ones from ten to twelve, or even fifteen and seventeen; but in the latter cases it is probable that the eggs may not all be the produce of one bird. In an average year most nests will contain seven or eight eggs. Birds which breed late on the high grounds do not seem to lay fewer eggs than those which breed early in the more sheltered situations." A correspondent of the Committee in Forfarshire has reported a case of two Grouse hens sitting side by side — each on six eggs in a double nest; and the field observer has seen two hens sitting on one nest with twelve eggs.
For the following descriptive notes on the eggs of the Red Grouse in his "Birds of Europe," Dresser states that he is indebted to Seebohm: "The ground colour The eggs.of the eggs of the Grouse is usually a pale olive, spotted and blotched all over with dark red-brown. The spots are frequently so confluent as almost entirely to conceal the ground colour. In fresh-laid eggs the brown is often very red, in some instances almost approaching crimson. It appears to darken as it thoroughly dries, and sometimes almost approaches black. When fresh laid the colour is not very fast, and before the eggs are hatched the beauty of the original colouring is generally very much lessened by large spots ​coming off altogether, no doubt from the friction of the feathers of the bird when sitting. If the weather is wet when the bird begins to sit this is much more the case. When the colour has once become thoroughly dry it will bear washing in water without injury." In his most recent work Mr Dresser adds: "When blown and kept for some time, the ground colour fades to buffy white, and the spots and blotches darken in some cases to blackest brown. Those in (Mr Dresser's) collection measure from 1‧60 by 1‧14 to 1‧82 by 1‧32 inches. Mr Jourdain gives the average measurement of thirty-six eggs as 45‧56 by 31‧8 mm., and the average weight of eight eggs as 1‧845 g."
There is no truth in the belief that disease will follow if the eggs are not well coloured. Very often the uncoloured part of the egg whitens at the same time as the coloured part fades or is washed off, thus making an egg of "bad colour."
It is interesting to note that a bird of five years old lays fewer eggs and of a smaller size than a bird of one or two years old.
The net yield of the nesting season greatly depends upon the weather in spring; frost before sitting, snow after hatching, heavy rain following a drought when the birds have nested in low-lying ground liable to Effect of bad weather on eggs and young submersion, are some of the principal dangers to which early broods are exposed. The eggs also may he lost by a long spell of wet weather, eggs and even up to the point of hatching. This is probably not a matter of common occurrence, but in the spring of 1906 the Committee's field observer saw nest after nest deserted owing to rain. The nests on the low ground fared worst; in some the eggs did not hatch at all, in others only one half, or even fewer, were productive.
The parent birds seem to defy the elements at all times, and during the period of incubation the hen will continue to sit upon her eggs apparently oblivious of the fact that a snowstorm is raging which has Nesting in snow driven every other living creature off the moor. During such a storm hens are completely covered with snow as they sit upon the nest, for in hard weather instinct teaches them not to desert the post of duty. Observation of the bird at these times is difficult, for even the most enthusiastic naturalist is not often tempted to explore the higher ranges of the ground in the face of a blinding blizzard. We must to some extent form our conclusions by observation ​of after-results, and certainly there is little doubt that the effect of a heavy snowfall, while the birds are sitting, does not appear to produce the number of unhatched clutches of weather-bleached eggs which might be expected. Sometimes, no doubt, matters reach the limit of endurance when, urged by the pangs of hunger, the hen is forced to wander away in search of food and grit, and on her return finds all trace of her nest buried beneath a smooth, white drift. Even in this case, all is not lost; the snow fortunately does not lie long in the months of April and May, and in due time she recovers her nest and resumes her domestic duties. It is recorded that in 1908, on a Midlothian moor, a heavy snowfall during laying-time covered the nests to a depth of 9 inches for a period of ten days; many eggs were lost, some even being laid on the top of the snow; in many cases the hen bird returned to her nest after the snow had gone and laid more eggs beside those which had been covered — some of these birds hatched out every egg. Other cases have been reported where the eggs were covered with snow for so long that their colouring matter had disappeared, and yet they produced a healthy brood.
From observations made upon Grouse in captivity it appears that during the period of incubation the hen will often leave her nest for several days at a time, for no apparent reason, and will return again and hatch out the whole clutch — this power of absenting herself without disaster to her eggs must under natural conditions stand her in good stead when the severity of the weatherEffects of wet. makes the task of incubation unendurable; but it is only in the earlier part of the sitting season that her absence is unattended with risk, for once circulation has commenced in the embryo chick the eggs must not be allowed to become cold. Only when the hen is forced to leave the nest on account of heavy rain is there a danger of her deserting the nest permanently — three days of incessant wet will suffice for this.
Another danger to which the eggs of Grouse are liable is that of being destroyed by frost while the hen bird is off the nest. This danger is greatest Effects of frost. during the period before the full clutch has been laid, for after incubation has commenced the hen will not readily leave her nest during frosty weather for any length of time. Before the hen commences to sit she will often cover up the eggs in the nest with twigs of heather, grass and bracken, and this must save many of them from the effects of frost.
The Committee has had an exceptionally good opportunity of studying the effects of frost upon the eggs in the spring of 1908, when an extremely severe ​frost was reported from every district of England, Scotland and Wales. For three days in the third week of April the thermometer registered from 10 to 27 degrees Fahrenheit. The Committee requested its local correspondents to make careful observations on the resulting damage, and the replies received are given in the form of an appendix, Several interesting facts were brought to light—in general it was stated that the effects of the frost had been disastrous: but when the evidence came to be analysed the proof seemed strangely incomplete, for very few reporters were able to state from personal observations that eggs laid before the frost had failed to hatch. On the other hand, several accurate observers reported that they had marked down eggs so frozen into the materials of the nest that it was not possible to lift them out or to separate them from each other, yet it was afterwards found that these eggs hatched out healthy chicks. On April 13th six Grouse eggs were found in a nest amongst heather when the temperature was 25 degrees of frost—and all six hatched out. On another occasion, when it happened that some Pheasant's eggs had been laid in a Grouse's nest, the Pheasant's eggs were the eggs which failed, while the Grouse's eggs were successfully hatched. Many correspondents went so far as to say that unless the frost was sufficiently severe to split the egg there was no danger of their fertility being affected, and of very many gamekeepers to whom the question was put very few could state that they had actually seen a Grouse's egg split by frost.
Actual splitting of the eggs by frost does occur, but is exceedingly rare when the nest is in its customary position in heather. When placed in the open probably the eggs are liable to suffer just as Plover's eggs did in 1908, and an extra hard frost will sometimes split them. Even very scanty heather-growth retains the warmer air, and so shelters the nest and eggs from frost and winds. Moreover, if sitting has not begun the eggs are generally more or less buried in the material of the nest, so much so that it is impossible to count them unless they are disturbed.
Enough has been said to emphasise the statement that the eggs of the Grouse are wonderfully tolerant of adverse weather conditions; the fact is not sufficiently well recognised, and because occasional losses occur there is a tendency among gamekeepers to put down every failure of stock to some sharp frost or heavy snowfall in the month of April or May. They often do not inquire whether as a matter of fact any eggs were laid at the date when the frost occurred, they ​seldom support their statement by pointing out nests deserted by the hen after being buried in the snow, they keep the plausible explanation ready for use if required, and if the stock after all proves to be up to the average, they feel secretly rather surprised, but say nothing about the adverse conditions in the breeding season, for the excuse may be required the following spring. Thus much valuable evidence is lost owing to the very natural desire of the gamekeeper to prove himself the innocent victim of circumstances.
Obviously, if the occasional snowstorms and moderate frosts of a normal April were really responsible for the damage so often attributed to them, it would follow that in a really inclement nesting season, such as occurred in 1908, the effects would have been disastrous throughout the length and breadth of the country. As a matter of fact, the bags in the autumn of that year, though unequal, were well up to, and in some places far above the average; and even where a shortage of birds was reported the failure could often be traced to other causes than the unfavourable weather-conditions in the spring.
While the evidence collected does not confirm the view that snow and frost in the nesting season are extensively destructive to the eggs of Grouse, there is Interruption of breeding by bad weather. some reason to believe that unfavourable weather, occurring immediately before the date of laying, has an injurious effect upon the breeding by power of the parent birds. In the spring of 1908, for example, it was observed that on many moors birds which had paired, and were about to nest, became packed again on the arrival of frost and snow, and postponed their breeding operations until some time after the return of favourable conditions. The result was that they nested several weeks later than they would otherwise have done, and not only were their broods late, but the number of eggs laid was smaller than usual — sometimes averaging only four and five in a nest. The resulting smallness of the coveys was often accounted for by the hypothesis that several eggs in each nest had been destroyed by the frost in April; but there was little direct evidence of this, and it seems equally reasonable to suppose that the power of egg production had been impaired by the enforced postponement of nesting. The data are insufficient to establish this theory, but the point is worthy of a passing mention.
It is certain that some of the eggs were lost owing to their having been dropped on the snow and not in a nest at all. After a certain stage of development the egg is laid wherever the bird happens to be. It is not uncommon to find eggs dropped in this accidental manner lying on the ground or on snow.
​During the nesting season the hen leaves her nest for a short time in the morning and evening to feed and drink, and her presence in any particular part of a moor maybe known by the large "docker" droppings peculiar to a sitting bird.
During the period of sitting the Grouse seems to be able to intermit its natural odour, and thus escape the notice of dogs and vermin. This point is noted by St John in "Wild Sports of the Highlands" when he states: Loss of scent while sitting. "It is a curious fact, but one which I have often observed, that dogs scent while frequently pass close to the nests of Grouse, Partridges and other game without scenting the hen bird as she sits on her eggs." Probably the cause of the loss of scent is that when the bird is sitting still the air does not get amongst the feathers and so the scent is retained. The same remark probably accounts for the fact that at midday, when the birds are resting, they are very difficult to find with dogs.
The young Grouse are hatched after an incubation of twenty-three to twenty-four days, and leave the nest soon after they are freed from the shell. They are anxiously guarded by the parents, the hen being more Hatching. attached to them than the cock, who, when they are disturbed, is the first to fly from danger, though it may be only for a short distance. The hen, on the other hand, will risk any danger rather than leave her brood — be it only a single chicken or two. Often, too, like the Partridge and many other birds, she will feign a broken wing and flutter over the heather, apparently in a terribly damaged condition, until she has lured the intruder away from her brood. This fluttering action of the old bird should always be taken as a warning that the brood is young, that the squatting chicks are probably invisible, and that the danger of treading on them is great. It is most inadvisable to allow people who have flushed a cock or hen to walk about to see the size of a brood.
It is at this stage that the weather conditions become important, for the young chicks are liable to many dangers. It is true that they do not suffer from the cold, drizzly, sunless weather which destroys so many coveys Weather conditions harmful to young Grouse. of young Partridges, they are too hardy for that; but heavy snow, hail, conditions or rain often takes its toll and leaves little trace behind beyond the fact that the coveys are found to be reduced in numbers when they come to the gun. Probably the half-grown chick runs more risk from weather ​than when it is newly hatched, for its size prevents it from being completely covered by the hen when cold weather or heavy rain sets in.
The period immediately following hatching, though so critical, is the period regarding which least is known. Few keepers like to disturb the ground at this time, and so the young bird's battle for life is fought unobserved, and only the closest and most patient observation would reveal the true conditions under which the chick's existence is passed.
The young Grouse, even although they may be squatting within a few feet of the observer, are very difficult to find; they seem to have the power of making themselves invisible at will, as they cunningly crouch by the side of a tuft of grass or heather, which often matches in colour the yellow, brown, and chestnut mottled down that covers their little bodies for the first few weeks. When at last a chick is discovered and lifted up in the hand its first "cheep" is the signal for the others to scuttle away out of their places of concealment, or, if they are upwards of a month old, to make their effort at escape by a short flight, after which they are apparently incapable of a second attempt.
Principal dangers to young Grouse. It is astonishing how little accurate knowledge we have of the principal dangers to which the young Grouse is exposed.
The practical gamekeeper admits that many dangers exist, and without weighing them too closely in the balance he does all he can to mitigate each of them. He knows, however, that in spite of his care there must be a certain percentage of losses from one cause or another, and it is with some anxiety that he proceeds to the moor towards the end of July to inspect the condition of the stock. The result is sometimes unexpected, often he finds the birds have safely survived the perils of youth, and that the moor is well stocked with unbroken coveys; at other times he is perplexed to discover that Unaccountable dissapearence of young birds. the well-filled nests and successful hatchings are represented by a few ragged broods of two or three birds, and a large number of barren pairs. He endeavours to account for the disappearance of the young birds, and in his search for a reason he eventually hits upon something which has some appearance of plausibility, and frequent repetition soon places theory in the realm of established fact.
Migration is one of the commonest theories, and is supported by the fact Migration. that few, if any, dead bodies are found on the ground. The migration doctrine presents some difficulties, for the Grouse in its earlier stages is not by nature a wanderer, and a brood is usually found, at all events ​up to the end of July, not very far from where it was hatched out. Then, again, it is difficult to explain how on a large moor the young birds have departed before they are capable of sustained flight, especially if none of the neighbouring moors have received any noticeable addition to their stock. Lastly, it is permissible to ask how is it that when the young birds emigrated to more congenial surroundings they omitted to take their parents with them? Each of these points presents a difficulty, and the combination of them renders the migration theory untenable as an explanation for the absence of birds at any time up to the beginning of August.
Another favourite theory is that all the young birds have been drowned, and if it so happens that there has been a severe thunderstorm in Drowning June the theory becomes a certainty — though not a single drowned chick may have been found on the moor.
There is no doubt that many young Grouse are destroyed by drowning, either as a result of being caught in a drain by a heavy shower, or by the flooding of low-lying ground. It is difficult to estimate the loss Sheep drains occasioned by drowning in sheep drains, owing to the extreme difficulty of detecting the small corpses in the swollen stream. One of the Committee's correspondents, a gamekeeper, who makes it a rule to inspect all the drains upon his ground several times during the nesting season, states that on one occasion only has he found a drowned chick in a drain. This evidence is, of course, only negative, and against it has to be reckoned the fact that many observers have spoken definitely as to the damage arising from this cause. On many moors the sheep drains have been scoured by floods into deep chasms, from which it would be difficult for the chick to emerge on the approach of danger, and any one who has seen a hill drain immediately after heavy rain, when it is running bank high in a miniature torrent, can picture the risk which might attend any attempt on the part of the mother bird to lead her brood over the obstacle. Much may be done to minimise this risk by forming little backwaters in the drains with shelving banks, by which the young Grouse may escape in time of danger. With regard to flooding, it is necessary to speak with more reserve. Flooding is a gradual process, and the instinct of self-preservation, which teaches the young Grouse to Flooding hide from his foes, will doubtless also teach him to retreat before the rising waters. In one case, however, flooding is a real menace, for if the ​nesting season is a dry one Grouse have been known to nest in very unsuitable places, such as the beds of burns and dried-up pools and water-courses — often with most disastrous results when the weather breaks.
But, if there has been no rain, the drowning theory must be discarded, and Drought its place is taken by the drought theory; in other words, the fine, dry, warm, sunny weather which is credited with producing a healthy stock in a good year is the cause of their wholesale destruction in a bad year.
Nor do we know exactly what proportion of Grouse meet their fate from Vermin. Vermin; that a certain number are killed by foxes, ravens, hoodie crows, stoats, weasels, and even gulls, may be admitted; but when we come to apportion the blame we again find ourselves without sufficient evidence to amount to proof. The subject of vermin is dealt with more fully in another part of the Report.
Occasionally it is found that old birds as well as young have disappeared, Disease and when this happens it is customary to ascribe the cause to "Grouse Disease" amongst the adult birds, for it is well known that if a parent bird dies from disease or any other cause there is little chance of her brood surviving.
At a very early stage of the Inquiry it became evident that the loss of young stock on a large scale had never hitherto been properly accounted for, and required further investigation by the Committee.
The Committee believe they can offer a solution of this problem. During their Inquiry into the causes of mortality in Grouse they discovered a certain unicellular intestinal parasite, one of the Protozoa, a Coccidium, known as Coccidiosis Eimeria avium, which in certain cases is most destructive to the young chick, but is rarely fatal to the adult bird; this Coccidium is fully described in another chapter of this Report. The discovery of the disease caused by this pathogenic organism and known as Coccidiosis justifies the view that when there has been extensive mortality amongst the young stock which cannot be accounted for in any other way, it is almost certain that the chicks have met their fate by this infantile complaint.
Coccidiosis as a disease of game birds and poultry is now being rapidly recognised in this country, and the disease is also being investigated in America.
Still there remains the difficulty that the dead bodies are not found in ​any quantity; it must be remembered, however, that the infant Grouse is a small object, and any one who has searched in vain in the heather for a full-grown bird which has fallen to his gun can realise the difficulty of finding a tiny chick upon a moor where the whole stock does not average more than a bird to several acres. Coccidiosis chiefly attacks the birds when they are very small; the chicks die in the heather, the little carcasses are rarely found, and in a short time they disappear altogether for, even if they have not been devoured by vermin or removed by heat, wet, flies, maggots, or burying beetles, the small bones do not make lasting skeletons, and would not be discovered even if the moors were searched.
In spite of difficulties the field observer and other members of the Committee's scientific staff have by diligent search been able to find a certain number of small dead chicks on the moors; in almost every case the cause of death has been found to be Coccidiosis. Many other cases of Coccidiosis have been received for examination from various parts of Scotland and Yorkshire, and others have been obtained from the Committee's observation area in Surrey.
Fortunately it is only in exceptional cases that we have to consider the question of a wholesale disappearance of the young stock from pathogenic causes. Under normal circumstances the Providence that watches over all Care of the moor in the interests of young Grouse. young things brings to maturity a large percentage of the birds that are hatched; but Providence may be assisted, and the methods by which it may be assisted are fully discussed in another part of this Report. Suffice to say that in the earlier stages of the life of the Grouse the state of the moor is of great importance to the welfare of the birds. If the heather has been well burnt in a systematic manner the chicks have access to shelter in time of danger, yet are not lost in a wilderness of rank growth should a shepherd's dog scatter the brood in all directions; vermin is kept down, and, most important of all, there is easy access to a plentiful supply of suitable food in the strips or patches of heather which are available in various stages of growth.
The place above all others where we may be sure of finding a brood of young chicks, if there are any on the ground, is amongst rushes and long grass in the more swampy parts of the moor; this is specially noticeable in very dry seasons. Whether the chicks seek these damp spots for the sake of shelter from the heat or in quest of insect life is not known.
​Flies, spiders, beetles, and greenish caterpillars about ¾-inch long, as well as slugs and chrysalides, have all been found in the crops of chicks. Fresh Food of young Grouse. Calluna heather shoots, moss capsules, and tender blackberry leaves just opened, if they are to be had, are also generally present; and as the young birds grow older heather becomes more and more their staple food.
In a chick of a few days old, where the food consisted of small caterpillars, there was no grit to be seen in the gizzard; and, in another, the muscles of Grit found in young Grouse. that organ, with its toughened lining, seemed sufficient to crush the soft blacberry shoots. But it is the rule to find even in the youngest chick's gizzard a certain small quantity of fine quartz-grit and sand.
When half-grown the crops of those examined contained a large percentage of heather, and the gizzards contained about half the amount of grit that is usually found in old birds, but in smaller fragments.
Water, as supplied by streams and pools, does not appear to be necessary in the earlier stages where there is plenty of young heather; insects, the Water. succulent juices of the young heather shoots, and dew seem to provide all the moisture necessary. Broods are often hatched out far from any stream or pool, and they can generally be found within a few yards of the same spot till they are able to fly. On this point, as it affects the hand-rearing of Grouse, a well-known moor-owner writes: "I have never noticed that the young Grouse, when half-grown or older, require more water than what they pick up in the grass in wet weather, and what is sprinkled on the grass or heather at meal times, in dry weather. Old Grouse go to drink two or three times a day at most; they seem to know how much is good for the ; whilst young Grouse, if allowed access to water, are apt, or almost certain, to drink too much, and scour. This, of course, refers to tame birds." Another of the Committee's correspondents (a gamekeeper on a large moor in central Perthshire) says: "Regarding water, I have known several broods fetched out 600 yards from the nearest water of any kind, in a dry season; and they continued to thrive without water for at least three weeks after hatching."
As the Grouse grows older, the parent birds relax their anxiety for the brood when disturbed, and, although they lie very close, the hen bird no longer flutters along the ground endeavouring to distract attention.
​Every keeper knows too well the danger that attends the needless disturbance of his beat at this time, especially in a high wind, which may carry the flushed birds hundreds of yards from their home. Instinct and the call of Disturbance of the moor undesirable the parents may guide them back; but it is better that they should be kept quiet. It has been noticed that when a young brood are desirable, once upon the wing, in anything like a strong breeze, they appear to be unable to alight with safety; at the end of the flight they dash headlong into the heather, or on to the ground, and frequently come to an untimely end.
With the arrival of August 12th the Grouse comes into the glare of publicity, and there is little relating to his life history between this date and the end of the shooting season that is not known to the average sportsman; Grouse in the shooting season. but even so there are variations in their habits in different localities which still remain a mystery, and it may be worth while to mention some of these.
While in the majority of cases the birds appear to be wild in proportion to their growth, this does not seem to be the only factor in the case, for in some districts on the west coast, notably in Skye, Grouse will sit close throughout the shooting season. It has been said that the reason for this is that in the districts in question birds of prey survive in larger numbers than elsewhere, and that the Grouse has not lost its instincts of self-preservation against the attack of its natural enemies. This may be true, but is not altogether convincing, for it is well known that to sit close is no protection against the Eagle, though it may be against the Falcon. The Grouse instinctively knows this, and the appearance of an Eagle, or even a Heron, is the signal for all those on the alert to fly in terror to some distant place of safety.
Grouse feed off and on throughout the day; but it is only in the evening that the crop retains the food which is then required for use during Feeding habits of Grouse. the night.
It is often stated that Grouse feed only in the evening, but the observations of the Committee make it quite clear that this is not the case. It may be observed in passing that at midday the Grouse appear to feed less, and towards evening far more than at any other time. Midday is given up to rest, and, in summer, to shelter from the heat of the sun, and the evening devoted to the complete filling of the crop with food for digestion during the night. Colquhoun in "The Moor and the Loch" refers to this habit as follows: "In sultry weather they lie quite still except at feeding time, and not ​having stirred perhaps for hours the dogs may come within a yard or two before winding them."
In the early part of the day and at dusk Grouse are found looking for grit, on the rough moor roads and tracks, or along the burn-sides, where every fresh spate washes down a new supply.
The attraction presented to the Grouse by a suitable supply of grit is most marked. Good grit is to the Grouse what raisins are to Pheasants, and salt to Grit Deer. They often fly long distances to obtain it, and in districts where it is scarce they will congregate in numbers along the railways and roads that traverse the moor, in order to avail themselves of the supply thus artificially introduced.
Towards midday Grouse are generally found on the "tops" and higher grounds, and especially amongst broken moss-hags; or, if the weather is very hot, they may be flushed from the burn-sides and shaded places; in very rough weather they do not scorn the shelter afforded by a ledge of rock or bank of peat, and may then be best approached down wind. The best shooting is often got late in the afternoon on the low ground, to which the Grouse have descended to feed before "jugging," with crops crammed with heather shoots.
When moving from one part of a moor to another Grouse usually fly low, and as their principal time for shifting their ground is in the early morning or at dusk they run a serious risk of death by collision with the wire sheep fences so common on many moors.
This danger can be to a great extent averted by having all wire fences carefully bushed" with bits of brushwood. Small branches of larch are best for this purpose, as they can be easily turned into the wires, and do not readily blow out — a fair-sized branch every 5 yards is sufficient. Spruce branches are also used. Telegraph wires are not so common on a moor as fences, and not nearly so dangerous, while the cost of protecting the birds from them by game-guards makes it hardly worth while to consider them.
The Grouse, like the Domestic Fowl, the Pheasant, and the Partridge, is a "dusting" bird, and wherever a peaty or sandy bank has a sunny exposure a "scrape," with a feather or two half embedded in the soil, is to be seen. The fine particles of impalpable dust, by getting into the breathing apertures of the troublesome insects which are found on the birds, afford the latter temporary ​relief. Grouse also like to sun themselves on a warm bank or slab of rock — often resting with one wing extended.
The practice of "becking" has been thus described in a note by Mr Alston in Dresser's "Birds of Europe": "Early on frosty mornings the cocks are fond of perching on a knowe or hillock and uttering their clear-ringing er-eck, "Becking." kek-kek! wuk, wuk, wuk. At such times they may often be seen to rise perpendicularly in the air to a height of several feet, and then drop again on the same spot." "Becking" is fully described by the Rev. H. A. Macpherson in the Fur and Feather Series, where it is pointed out that the practice is in the nature of an amorous demonstration by the cock Grouse with the object of attracting his mate," and it may be compared to the peculiar antics adopted by the Blackcock and Capercailzie from a similar motive. "Becking," however, is not confined to the breeding season, indeed it is more usual during the autumn and winter months than in the spring. Mr Macpherson describes in a most interesting chapter the manner in which Grouse may be shot by taking advantage of this peculiar habit.
Grouse, when fully grown, do not pass the night huddled together like Partridges, but "jug" singly amongst the heather, taking care not to be far apart. From the traces left in time of snow it is found that they Jugging usually lie about a foot or two apart, so that a pack of a hundred may be contained within an area of a dozen square yards.
In the words of a Highland gamekeeper: "Grouse glory in their 'hardiness'" and it is almost incredible how little they are affected by wet, cold, and snow. It may indeed be said that so far as the adult Grouse is concerned it Hardiness of Grouse. matters not what the weather is so long as his food supply is not affected. They will never desert high ground for low ground merely on account of a heavy fall of snow, provided that there is sufficient wind to keep the exposed ridges clear, and thus give access to the heather; and even if the whole Grouse in snow moor should be covered they will burrow in the soft snow to reach the heather underneath. It is quite common to come upon birds in holes a foot or two under the loose snow. It is only when the snow has become covered with a hard, icy crust that the Grouse begin to feel the pinch of hunger. On these occasions they may be seen in large packs following in the track of a herd of deer or a flock of sheep in order to take advantage of the broken surface. They ​have even been known to eat the old unburnt stick heather which on all other occasions they reject as unfit for food; but this is probably the last resource of the famine-stricken stock, and hardly justifies the practice of leaving a large amount of this unwholesome old heather as a food reserve in time of snow, for such a practice must greatly reduce the available supply of food at the critical period of early spring. A better practice is undoubtedly to burn all the more exposed ridges and knolls with careful discrimination, so that in whichever direction the snow may drift there is a good chance that some good feeding heather will be left bare.
It might be thought that where a heavy snowstorm occurs during the night there would be a risk of whole packs of Grouse being covered up and smothered by the drifts as the birds were jugging in a sheltered hollow. Sheep are often lost in large numbers by such misadventure, but Grouse never, for as they jug in the lee of a peat-hag or a moorland dyke they tread the snow under them as it falls, and are found next morning safely collected on the surface, though their fresh droppings several feet below show the level at which they began their night's repose.
It has been said that Grouse often avail themselves of the shelter of woods and plantations in time of snow; but the evidence on the subject is most contradictory. In some districts it has been found beneficial to plant trees as a shelter for Grouse; in other districts, especially in the north of Scotland, they never use woods for shelter.
It is generally believed that a hard winter with much snow is beneficial to the health of the stock in the following spring, and the reason commonly given is that the hard weather kills off the weaklings. There is no evidence to support this theory. Grouse are seldom found dead during the winter months, and when they are the cause can never be ascribed directly to the effects of weather. If the belief that snow is beneficial is well founded, some other reason must be sought; perhaps the fact that the weather has caused the stock to shift, and so introduced new blood where required, may have something to do with the improvement: more likely, however, the solution is found to be connected with the question of food supply. Ground which has been covered by snow for a period of several months provides better and more wholesome food than ground which has been heavily stocked, for when birds return in the spring they find the food supply still untouched by Grouse or Sheep, and the fact that it has been out of reach for so long has prevented it from being so heavily infected by the larvæ ​of Trichostrongylus as the lower moors which were crowded with Grouse throughout the winter. The melting of the snow may also have the effect of washing the Strongyle larvae out of the heather.
If the birds are well matured by August 12th they often begin to "pack" after the first few days' shooting, and will not then readily lie to dogs. Packing may at times take place so early as to make shooting over dogs an Packing. impossibility. On this account the poor results formerly obtained on most English moors led to the introduction of "driving." In Caithness and some other districts the Grouse, being more backward, do not pack except under exceptional conditions.
This custom of packing is worthy of study, for it may be found to have a direct bearing upon the questions of disease, migration, interbreeding, and the preservation of stock.
In the first place, it may be stated that it is the young birds rather than the old birds that tend to form into packs in the earlier months of autumn, though the older birds will follow suit as the winter advances. Consequently, when packing first begins, it is the older birds that suffer the greatest loss in a day's Grouse driving, for they come up to the line of butts in twos and threes, and are "mopped up" to a bird, whereas the larger packs of younger birds merely yield a percentage of their numbers to swell the bag. To this cause may perhaps be ascribed some of the beneficial results which attend the introduction of driving on many moors. Another important fact connected with packing is the tendency of the stock to separate into sexes — there are hen packs and cock packs, or at least each pack contains a large majority of one sex. It has been noted that certain hills in a range of moorland are frequented by hen packs, others by cock packs.
The normal time for packing is the autumn and winter months, and the more severe the weather the more marked is the tendency of the birds to form into large companies and flocks. Hens pack more readily than cocks; the old cock does not appear to be of a sociable disposition, and often throughout the winter he will remain in solitary state, and only join the pack temporarily during a period of unusual storm. This tendency is often taken advantage of by those moor-owners who regard the old cocks as a menace to the health of their stock, and on many well-managed moors a rigorous crusade is carried on against the old single birds that frequent the bare tops, while their younger relatives occupy the lower ridges.
​During the winter months the advent of mild weather will often break up the packs for a while, and many cases have been reported of birds being scattered over the moor in pairs even in the months of November, December and January; but with the return of wintry conditions their gregarious habits assert themselves even up to the commencement of the nesting season.
The reason why Grouse should pack in winter has often been discussed. The most favourite explanation is that they combine with a view to obtaining Reason for packing. food in time of scarcity. Another theory is that, like many other birds and animals, the natural instinct of the Grouse is to congregate in flocks, and that this instinct is only departed from to meet the requirements of the breeding season. It is probable that various motives induce the birds to congregate in packs. Some of these motives may be briefly mentioned, (a) To get on to the high bare tops out of the wet—it is observed that Grouse are always more packed after wet weather. (b) To go down to feed on the cornfields; Grouse are seldom found feeding singly on the stooks; this may be due to the natural timidity of the wild bird, which makes it fear to resort to the unwonted feeding-ground unless supported by numbers. The same rule applies with even greater force to the case of birds leaving their own ground and wandering far afield in search of food; such migrations never take place except in large packs, (c) Owing probably to the same cause. Grouse invariably tend to pack after they have been much disturbed, especially by driving, on moors which for some reason have not been shot over for a season; the birds do not pack until late in the year. (d) In dry weather small packs of two or three coveys are found at or near the springs even on August 12th.
Undoubtedly, the most common cause of packing is scarcity of food. It has already been remarked that during the winter months the feeding area on every moor is restricted to those parts where the heather is of such a character as to resist the effects of frost and cold; hence the birds tend to concentrate upon these food centres.
The habit of packing is probably indirectly connected with the question of disease. If we admit that the congestion of a large number of birds upon small areas of moor is conducive to the deposit in dangerous numbers of the larval worms which cause disease on the favourite feeding - grounds of the birds, then it follows that the pack formation is in itself a danger to the health of the stock. This view is supported by the fact that where packing is the exception rather than the rule, as in the west coast of Scotland, disease ​is of rare occurrence. It is obviously impracticable to induce the Grouse to change this dangerous practice of congregating in packs; but in another part of the Report suggestions are offered for minimising the risk of disease by distributing and increasing the areas to which the packs may resort for food.
In autumn, where a moor is near arable land, the birds will often come to feed on the stubbles and corn stooks; they sometimes come in hundreds, and from long distances. This is not, however, the universal rule, for in some districts Grouse feed very little upon the corn, and in some seasons they appear to frequent the arable land more than in others. It has often been observed that by improving the heather on a moor Grouse may be induced to feed less upon the stooks. The change is often accompanied by an improvement in the health of the stock, and this has given rise to the view that corn is an unwholesome diet for Grouse.
In very severe weather the Grouse leave the high grounds entirely, and remove in packs many miles to the lower moors where they can find "black ground," or to a hill plantation where they can pick up a bare sustenance Seasonal migration in the shape of various seeds. When they are very hard pressed, as in the winter of 1894, they even flock to the turnip fields, and instances of their alighting on thorn hedges to pick the haws are recorded in the Field of that year. In Argyllshire they have been known to feed on birch twigs during the winter — settling on the trees to reach the woody buds.
The subject of the migration of Grouse is one which has engaged the attention of many naturalists; but there has been a tendency among observers to note only the abnormal cases, and from them to deduce a general rule. One great obstacle in the way of accurate observation is the difficulty of identifying the original point of departure of the wandering packs. In spite of the confident statements of gamekeepers that they can tell by the size and plumage of a bird that he has come from a certain district many miles away, it is more than probable that the newcomer has always had his habitation within a few miles of the neighbouring march, or even that he has never left his home, but has disguised himself by a sudden moult. In some districts undoubtedly the birds shift annually in vast packs from the high ground to the lower moors, and return again in the spring to breed. On rare occasions migration takes place upon a much more serious scale, ​when the whole Grouse population of a district, driven by hunger, rises in huge packs and works its way southward in search of food; this never happens Wholesale migration. unless a heavy undrifted snowfall has been followed by a hard frost, whereby a whole district is covered with an impenetrable sheet of frozen snow, thus cutting off all access to the heather. Such wholesale migrations often result in a complete loss of the stock, for the birds appear to lose their bearings, and though they may sometimes find a haven on some distant moor, where weather conditions are more propitious, several cases have been recorded of the packs being seen on the low ground 20 or 30 miles from the nearest hill, or even flying out to sea, whence presumably they never return.
In the case of normal annual migrations many opportunities have Powers of flight of Grouse. occurred for observing the power of flight of the Grouse. The following passage may be quoted from Macpherson in the Fur and Feather Series:
"When snow and sleet have driven them down from the hills they will then fly long distances. It is not at all unusual for Red Grouse to cross the Solway Firth at a point where the estuary measures two miles in breadth, and I have known them fly longer distances. They often cross the valley of the Tees, flying about a mile from one hillside to another." And he quotes Millais, who says: "I have twice seen Grouse on the wing when they were crossing the 'Bring,' a wide channel which separates the islands of Hoy and Pomona, Orkneys. The fishermen told me this distance . . . was quite four miles across, and the birds must have come at least another mile on the Pomona side from the point where they left the moor." In Millais' "Game Birds" it is stated that Grouse have been observed flying from Thurso to Hoy, a distance of over 11 miles. The following instances are vouched for by the Committee's own correspondents. A gentleman in Banffshire, writing in January 1907, says: "Packs of Grouse are continually flying across the valley during stormy weather, some 5 or 6 miles between moors": while in Cumnock, in Ayrshire, there are "two ranges of hills divided by a valley about 2 miles wide, with a moss lying in between. In the pairing season Grouse often fly at a considerable height over the valley between the hills." Even during a Grouse drive a pack has been observed to leave the hill where it had been flushed, and not to rest until it had reached another moor 6 miles ​distant. Longer flights are more difiicult to authenticate; Harvie Brown states that "in the severe winter of 1878-1879, a pack of Grouse was seen crossing the Moray Firth in December, making for the Banff" coast, as we were informed at the time by Sheriff Mackenzie of Tain. Much snow was lying at the time in East Sutherland and Caithness"; and Macpherson (loc. cit.) says also that "The Rev. M. A. Mathew records that a solitary Red Grouse was shot by Mr C. Edwards on the Mendips near Wrington, Somerset, in September 1885, and this he suggests must have crossed over the Bristol Channel, migrating from Breconshire." Other records in "Birds of Essex," are quoted in Macpherson.
We are indebted to the same writer for the following information upon the general habits of migration among Grouse.
"Their principal time for shifting about is in the evening after feeding, and again after 'becking' in the morning. But they are particularly restless on many moors about the end of September and in October, especially the female birds, and the first strong gale brings many of them off the hilltops, looking for more sheltered and genial situations.
"Birds of both sexes will fly a long distance to a patch of black heather during a prevalence of severe frost and heavy snow, but the hens shift about in packs more irregularly than their male companions, and they are less partial to the high grounds, but seek the lower portions of the moor, and such as are most screened from the east winds. Grouse netters say that in fine open weather the birds fly very long distances when shifting about the hills."
Observations upon the wandering habits of individual Grouse have also been made where some peculiarity in the bird has made identification possible. An Ayrshire gamekeeper has told the Committee's field observer of a pure white Grouse which was seen and freely shot at on Glencairn and Upper Cree. It then disappeared, and was seen and shot at many times on a shooting 12 miles away. It was eventually killed by a gamekeeper 9 miles away from either of these moors, and now forms a stuffed specimen in a case in his cottage. All this happened in one season.
The question of the annual movements and migrations of Grouse are important as a guide to the best methods to be adopted for the regulation of ​stock. The fact that Grouse annually shift from place to place over a wide area forces one to the conclusion that co-operation is necessary rather than individual effort. For the same reason it is doubtful whether the benefit of introducing fresh blood (either in the form of eggs or of living birds) is confined to the moor on which the fresh blood is introduced. This remark would not, of course, apply to an isolated moor, or one in which for any reason the shifting habits of the birds are not fully developed.
Various opinions have been expressed as to the age which a Grouse can attain, and a few observations on the subject may be quoted. On a Yorkshire Age of Grouse moor a cock Grouse, which was recognisable owing to its having a broken leg which stuck out permanently at right angles, was known to have lived for nine years in a wild state. An Ayrshire gamekeeper, one of the Committee's correspondents, can vouch for a Blackcock living twelve years, and is of opinion that Grouse live as long. Another correspondent, a Forfarshire gamekeeper, is sure that many of the old cocks on the tops are ten years old, and if appearance goes for anything the black old cocks so often killed on the high tops of many moors must have reached a not less patriarchal age. In view of the many dangers to which they are exposed the wild Grouse seldom gets the chance of dying of old age, and the duration of its life depends more on the severity of the shooting and the numbers of vermin than upon the bird's own longevity.
Observations on Grouse in captivity tend to support the view that they can live to a considerable age. Unfortunately, in every case reported to the Committee where a tame Grouse has reached the age of ten or twelve years the bird has died an accidental death.
* ↑ See chap. xxiv.
* ↑ Macdonald in "Grouse Disease" makes the following statement: "The happiest condition in which a nest can be found is in growing heather of about a foot in length, and in the immediate proximity of short young heather." (Macdonald, "Grouse Disease," p. 23. London: W. H. Allen & Co., Ltd., 1883.) And in another place he writes: "Grouse never nest amongst old, rough heather, always in a little tuft at the side or among the bent." (Ibid, p. 26) Macpherson in the Fur and Feather Series, states that "It is a fallacy to suppose that Grouse like to nest in very old heather." (Fur and Feather Series, "The Grouse," p. 22. London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1894.)
* ↑ Daniel, "Rural Sports," vol. iii. p. 108. London: Longman, 1812
* ↑ "Grouse Disease," p. 99.
* ↑ Fur and Feather Series, "The Grouse," p. 21.
* ↑ Macdonald, "Grouse Disease," p. 99.
* ↑ Fur and Feather Series, "The Grouse," p. 22
* ↑ Seebohm, "British Birds," vol. ii. p. 430. London: R. H. Porter, 1885.
* ↑ Dresser, "Birds of Europe," vol vii. p. 170. London: published by the author 1871-1881.
* ↑ Dresser's "Eggs of the Birds of Europe," p. 623, Pl. lxvii., Fig 1. London: published for the author at the Office of the Royal Society of Birds, 3 Hanover Square, 1906-1910.
* ↑ Vide vol. ii. Appendix I.
* ↑ St John, "Wild Sports and Natural History of the Highlands," p. 29. London: John Murray, 1978.
* ↑ Vide vol. ii. Appendix G.
* ↑ Vide chap. xx. pp. 443 et seq.
* ↑ Vide chap. xi. pp. 235 et seq.
* ↑ Vide also vol. ii. Appendix G.
* ↑ Vide chaps. xvii., xviii., xx.
* ↑ Vide chap. iv. p. 73.
* ↑ Ibid., p. 95.
* ↑ Colquhoun, "The Moor and the Loch," p. 184. 6th Edition. Edinburgh: William Blackwood & Sons, 1884.
* ↑ "Birds of Europe," vol. vii. p. 168.
* ↑ Fur and Feather Series, "The Grouse," pp. 65–72
* ↑ Vide chap. xvii. p. 392.
* ↑ Vide chap. viii. pp. 170–180
* ↑ Fur and Feather Series, "The Grouse," p. 36
* ↑ Millais, "Game Birds and Shooting Sketches," p. 53. London: Henry Sotheran & Co., 1892.
* ↑ Millais, "Natural History of British Game Birds," p. 54. London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1909.
* ↑ Harvie Brown & Buckley's "Vertebrate Fauna of the Moray Basin" vol. ii. p. 152. Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1895.
* ↑ Fur and Feather Series, "The Grouse," p. 37.
* ↑ Ibid., p. 39
* ↑ Ibid., p. 77