s C APERC AILLIE.
on the hill-side, which afTurilitl tlir lords liolli fooil and cover. Of late years mueli of tliis wood lias
been cut down, and it now seems that the Capereaillie, though still abundant, has much decreased
in numbers. Mr. Roderick Anderson, of Dunkeld, is of opinion that at the present time there are not
half the birds on the Athol estate* that there were twenty years ago. There is an entry in Mr. Harvie-
Brown's Imok on the L'apereaillie, stating that in 1311. this species became established at Logierait,
fourteen miles from Taymoutb, in Perthshire: this is the only locality in which I have as yet had an
opportunity of meeting with the Capereaillie, and at the time of my visit in the spring of 1873 tbero
must have been some hundreds still remaining in the immediate neighbourhood.
The following extract from 'The Capereaillie in Scotland' will show the nuinlicrs that have been
bagged in the Highlands in one day since the restoration of the species;—"The greatest number 1 have
heard of killed in one day was 3(! at Lady well plantation, Pituacree, near Dunkeld, in 1SII5. This is
part of the Athol ostites, upon which are at least 10,000 acres of suitable woods. At Ranif, in the east of
Perthshire, 25 were shot in one day in 1S77—area 2000 acres. At Dunkeld 23 were shot in one day."
A few charges have been brought against this species for persecuting Blaekgame, but the accusations
do not teem to be backed up by any evidence worth recording. Mr. Harvie-lirown, however, says
that he has many statements from correspondents bearing out the truth of the assertion. I give one
extract from page 120 of his work:—"The same correspondent adds that they drive away Blaekgame
'by driving off the old birds and killing the young'; and he states that he has seen battles between tho
species in ' clucking-scason.' He also saw a Caj sen-ail lie and a Greyhen with their broods coining in
contact, when a terrible battle ensued. 'The Capereaillie succeeded in driving away the Greyhen, and
then killed the most of her brood.' "
Under tho heading of "Damage to Porests" in Mr. Ilarvie-lirown's book I discovered that some
grave charges are brought against the Capereaillie; and as those assertions indicate that there was some
reason for the question I asked at the end of the second paragraph on the preceding page, it will not
be out of place to give a few extracts.
" Extensive damage done by Capcreaillies to woods and forests is another sad thorn in many
proprietors* sides. To hear some speak of the awful destruction going on might almost lead one to
suppose that in bygone days the evil deeds of thn species brought its own punishment; that, in fact, the
Capereaillie extcrminat.il the forest-growth over large areas of Scotland and that this extermiuatinn
exterminated them in turn. In many parts of the nrea at present inhabited by the birds, on this account
alone, they are shot down upon all occasions, in the endeavour to reduce their numbers; or, at all events,
no encouragement is given them to increase. Twenty years ago, when Capcreaillies appeared on nn
estate, the greatest care was taken to foster them. Now, it is usually different; and, where at all
plentiful, they are shot, both sexes indiscriminately; and in some places, as we have seen in a former
section, very heavy bags are often made. I have, however, sufficient faith in the robust character of
the species to prevent my becoming anxious, lest a second extermination should ever take place, if fair
means only be used to keep its numbers in cheek.
" I have in this connection endeavournl to collect independent testimony from the best sources ns
to the nature and amount of damage d Mr. Malcolm Dunn (who has specially studied, and who
read a paper on the subject before the Botanical Society of Edinburgh: see 'Zool.' 1879, p. 4338) writes
to me as follows:—' In reference to the damage done to plantations by both Capereaillie and Blaekgame,
the proof is too strong to admit of the slightest doubt. Where either exist in large numbers, in, or in
the neighborhood of, young plantations of larch nnd Scotch llr, they do a vast amount of injury to
the young trees, by eating the young buds, leaves, and shoots of the trees: and, in the case of the Scotch
lir especially, at a season of the year when there nre no insects of any kind upon them—1 here refer to
CAPE RC AILLIE.
beetles, caterpillars, or aphides; coccus or scale insects may lie upon the trees, hut not OB the wood or
leaves eaten by the Capereaillie. This is the opinion of all my correspondents who have paid any
attention lo the matter, corroborated by my own experience. Or the very many 'crops' of the
Capereaillie which I have dissected and carefully examined, none contained any traces of the bird
having fed upon insects. In the winter the crops arc usually entirely lilled with the leaves, buds, and
yuung shouts of the Seolch fir. The Contents of one 'crop' of a male bird, which I examined in
November 1873, were as follows:—203 points of shoots of Scotch fir, with the leading buds entire, some
of the shoots being fully 3 inches long; 11 pieces of young wood, 1] to 2", inches Ionic, having leaves
attached but no terminal buds; and ¿2 limit, moling in all 2GG shoots and buds, besides a lance
handful of single leaves, of the Scotch fir, which the birds had devoured at one meal. The whole were
quite fresh anil green, were to all appearance selected from a very healthy tree, and showed no trace
whatever uf ever having been attacked by the pine-beetle (Hi/titi'i/im jiiiirpcnlit) or any other inane! ;
and most certainly there were no other insects in the crop. The contents of the crop I presented to
the Edinburgh Botanical Society, nnd they- can now be seen in the Museum of the Society in the
Botanic Gardens. In another crop, which I examined in April 187*, I fuund the contents to lie
wholly the young shoots, leaves, and buds of larch. I counted the extraordinary number of U18 buds
alone in the ' crop,' besides the bits of shoots and leaves, which funned by far the luiTJhnt part of the
whole. There were hut a few bits (three) of silvery lichen amongst tho contents, but nothing else;
these pieces of lichen no riunbt were picked up along with the other contents of the crop, and do not
form a part of the regular food of the bird. These are given as fair samples of many crops I have
examined, received chielly from Perthshire, Mr. Brown having sent me ahuut a score in 137t. In
none of them did I ever meet with a pine-beetle, or any other insect that would lead me to suppose
that the bird preys upon insects, or had a preference for shoots which were infected by them. In fact,
I should nuiintain that the bird prefers clean, healthy, fresh food, aad has no taste for damaged or
decaying vegetation of any kiud. I have never examined the crop of a young bird taken out of the
nest; but 1 have analysed the crops of several birds of the same year in July nnd August, and failed
in every iuslauce to find any insects, so that, although I nra aware that it is said in books that they are
fond of insects, especially when young, I am unable to corroborate Ihc assertion. The nature and
habits of the birds do not in any way lead me even to suppose it feeds on insects; but in oilier parts
of the world—in Norway for instance—it may rood on different matter to what it does in Scotland. Since
I made my investigations aneiil the injury done by the Capereaillie, &c, lo forest trees, I have also
investigated the injury done by insects. The injury done by the pine beetle to the Scotch firs is in no
ways analogous. The beetle does its injury internally by eating the pith ot the shoots and the heart
of tho buds; the Capereaillie Mops' the shoots, buds, and leaves clean off, and the one. cannot by any
possibility ho mistaken for the other; besides the injury is done by the beetle in the middle of summer,
and the most serious injury is done by the bird in the winter, when the beetles are bylieruating in, or
on, dead wood on the ground. The beetle attacks almost any pine tree, sick or healthy, nuy size or any
age; only, as it climbs from the ground to the branches, small trail, say under 2o years of age, are
those commonly attacked. Capcreaillies, on the other hand, attack only healthy trees of any size or
nge, and will, in some instances, return to the same tree for days continuously, till it is completely
sfripped of its buds or gruwing points, and, of course, most seriously injuring it, and rendering it
perfectly useless for timber. If the bird is kept within due limits (iu numbers), the injury they do is
i nun a ferial lo the general welfare of our forests; but if they teeome very numerous, they will ecrlohily
play havoc with the pine and lurch plantations in their neighbourhood, especially young plantations.
Blaekgame at certain places arc just about as injurious to young pine and larch trees.' The above