TETRAONIim CAPERCAILLIE. 59
* Skandinavisk Fauna.’ Females arë either rarer, ér, from!
tÜeïr" similaritfyr;to the hens of botfrspeciès, they are ©Verj
looked ; they may, however,'hé'reéognized hy 'thé' shape of
the tail, which is perfectly square at the énd, 'whereas i l
the Capercaahie^hên'it is' rounded, and in’ thfe^Crey-heifl
ft', is slightly forked. The UaMèlfp^el >u,re bót believed ta
breed amongst themselves, says Mr. Lloyd, but the malei
resort to -the LeJs of tie Black-game and disperse the cocks!
and at th e 'ïé ib f the Capercaillie, 'they flit from tree to treëj
and disturb the ~lSpêfï, for which reasons they ar'e‘always "shfi
as s|>eeflily*:as péêsih^' by 'Scandinavian sportëmën. Bl
Scotland thèy have illëady made'’their appearance, and ifcii
probable thatthey feasted there 'tirhes êóntempöf
faneously with the CaperèaïlléT ~
' Full* descriptions and illustrftiéh"s;' of every way of shoot-|
ing and snaring the Capercaillie will be found in'Mr. Èïbyd’s
I Game '-Birds; | b u t -the -following deSc&iptiob*" of a tra||
used by the peasants in Norway is derived from Mr. Grant,
who also contributed the drawing from which the vignette at
the end is taken :—
Where the trees grow thickly on either side of a foot-path;,
two long pieces of wood are placed across it ||pne end of
these rests on the ground, the other being raised a foot and
a half, or somewhat more, from the surface* and supported
by a piece communicating with a triangular twig, placed
in the centre of the path, and so contrived that on being
slightly touched the whole fabric falls: a few stones are
usually placed upon the long pieces of -wood to increase the
rapidity of the drop, by the additional weight. Birds
running along the foot-path attempt to,.pass beneath the
barrier, strike the twig, and are killed by the fall of the
trap.