Page:GrouseinHealthVol1.djvu/34

6 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 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 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