THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 DAVIS 
 
Z:^^^/^-^^^^ 
 
 
THE CAPEEOAILLIE IN SCOTLAND 
 
 WITH SOME ACCOUNT OP THE 
 
 EXTENSION OF ITS KANGE SINCE ITS 
 
 KESTOKATION AT TAYMOUTH 
 
 IN 1837 AND 1838. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2007 with funding from 
 ■ IVIicrosoft Corporation 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/capercaillieinscOOharvrich 
 
THE 
 
 OAPEECAILLIE IN SCOTLAND 
 
 By J. A. HAEVIE-BEOWN, F.Z.S. 
 
 MEMBER OF THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS UNION, 
 ETC. 
 
 And from the pine's high top brought down 
 The Giant Grous, while boastful he display'd 
 His breast of varying green, and crow'd and clapp'd 
 His glossy wings." 
 
 GiSBORNE : ' Walks iii a Forest. 
 
 EDINBUEGH: DAVID DOUGLAS 
 
 MDCCCLXXIX 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 UNlVEaSlTY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 DAVIS 
 
 iAll rights reserTed.] 
 
DuNiPACE House, SOth April 1879. 
 
 My dear Professor Newton, 
 
 As you first drew my. attention to the subject 
 treated of in the following pages, and while my inquiries were 
 proceeding, kindly assisted me by continued advice, I desire 
 to inscribe to you this little volume, and to remain yours very 
 truly and obliged, 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
 To A. Newton, Esq., MA., F.R.S., 
 
 Professor of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy 
 
 in the University of Cambridge. 
 
CONTENTS, 
 
 INTKODUCTION. 
 
 PAKT I. 
 
 Chapter I. — ^Derivation of the name " Capercaillie " 
 „ IL — Orthography .... 
 
 PAGE 
 
 1 
 
 PART n. 
 
 Chapter III. — Antiquity of the Species, as shown in 
 
 Bone-Caves . . . .13 
 „ IV. — History of the Species in Scotland prior to 
 
 Extinction, and causes of Extinction . 1 5 
 
 PART III. 
 
 Chapter V. — Restoration . . ,' . 37 
 
 PART IV. {With a Map.) 
 
 
 Chapter VL — Increase and Extension of Range , 
 
 55 
 
 {Copy of Author's Circular to face.) 
 
 
 „ VII.— In Perthshire . 
 
 57 
 
 „ VIIL— In Forfarshire . 
 
 71 
 
 „ IX.— In Fifeshire 
 
 76 
 
 „ X. — In Kinross-shire . 
 
 79 
 
 „ XI. — In ClackmannaTishire 
 
 81 
 
 ,, XII.— In Stirlingshire . 
 
 82 
 
VUl 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Increase and Extension of Range — Continued. 
 Chapter XIII. — In Outlying Counties : — 
 
 PAGE 
 
 
 Linlithgowshire 
 
 88 
 
 
 Mid-Lothian 
 
 89 
 
 
 Dumbartonshire 
 
 89 
 
 
 Argyleshire 
 
 90 
 
 
 Inverness-shire 
 
 93 
 
 
 Aberdeenshire 
 
 94 
 
 XIV.- 
 
 —In Kincardineshire 
 
 95 
 
 XV.- 
 
 —In Ross, Elgin, and Counties of the M 
 
 oray 
 
 
 Firth .... 
 
 • . 98 
 
 XVI.- 
 
 —In Sutherlandshire 
 
 99 
 
 XVII.- 
 
 -In the South of Scotland : — 
 
 
 
 Ayrshire . , . 
 
 . 101 
 
 
 Galloway and Wigton 
 
 . 102 
 
 
 Tianark 
 
 102 
 
 
 Kirkcudbright 
 
 102 
 
 
 Dumfries . 
 
 . 102 
 
 XVIII.- 
 
 —In Arran 
 
 PART V. 
 
 103 
 
 Chapter XIX. — Laws of Extension of Range . .107 
 
 „ XX. — A few Remarks on Hybridism . ^ . 115 
 „ XXI. — Increase of Capercaillies . . .118 
 
 „ XXII.— On the Decrease of Black Game . 120 
 
 „ XXIII. — Relations between Capercaillies and Phea- 
 sants . . . .127 
 
 PART VI. 
 
 Chapter XXIV. — Damage to Forests 
 „ XXV. — Damage to Grain 
 „ XXVI. — Conclusion 
 
 131 
 
 148 
 150 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 IX 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 1. Addition to note, page 4, Chap, i., on Derivation of * Caper- 
 
 caillie' 
 
 2. Addendum to Chap, iii., page 14 . 
 to Chap. iv. 
 
 to end of Chap, iv., page 33 
 to end of Chap, v., page 51 
 to Chap. xiii. Outlying Counties, Extension in 
 
 Inverness-shire, page 93 . 
 
 3. 
 
 Do. 
 
 4. 
 
 Do. 
 
 5. 
 
 Do. 
 
 6. 
 
 Do. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 153 
 153 
 154 
 154 
 154 
 
 155 
 
INTEODUCTION, 
 
 In the autumn of 1877, Professor Newton of Cambridge 
 intimated to me that he desired to have some account of the 
 increase and extension of range of the Capercaillie in Scot- 
 land. Although possessing a fairly accurate conception of 
 its general distribution, and the lines of its advance outwards 
 from Taymouth, where it was restored in 1837-8, I found 
 that I was wanting in the more minute details which it 
 would be necessary for me to possess before I could furnish 
 a suitable reply. Accordingly, I began inquiries; at first 
 simply with a view to furnishing Professor Newton with a 
 short summary for his new edition of Yarrell's "British Birds'.' 
 But information of such valuable, suggestive, and interesting 
 kind came to hand, that I soon conceived the project of 
 treating the subject more exhaustively. I reflected, more- 
 over, that, besides being of general interest to the naturalist 
 in this country, the subject might be made illustrative of a 
 great natural law, and of the causes and process of distribu- 
 tion, and the increase in population of a species. I found 
 also that while interesting to the naturalist and sportsman, it 
 might also develop questions of economic value to Scottish 
 or other landed proprietors, and be made to contain many 
 
XU- INTRODUCTION. 
 
 local references interesting to individuals who own Caper- 
 caillie-haunted woods and forests. 
 
 With this view, therefore, I caused to be printed a series 
 of queries touching the points I specially desired statistics 
 and information upon, and by the beginning of 1878, 1 was 
 engaged in sending out the circulars, receiving answers, and, 
 as far as possible, arranging the results. The final results 
 have far exceeded in interest my most sanguine expectations ; 
 though whether I have succeeded in conveying these results 
 successfully and practically to my readers in the following 
 pages it is for them to judge, not me. In the treatment of 
 the subject I cannot lay any claim to originality, nor am I 
 aware that any previously unknown facts are recorded. The 
 treatment has been forced upon me by the large accumulation 
 of data kindly put at my disposal by my many correspondents 
 in this connection. The general remarks are the outcome of 
 the statistics, and contain, I believe, little or nothing that is 
 not known or believed by some of the landed proprietors and 
 sportsmen in the area of the country inhabited by the species. 
 I have not attempted to give my authority for every state- 
 ment, where such a large amount of statistics came to hand. 
 Errors no doubt must have crept in in such a compilation, for 
 various reasons, but I believe that I have an authority for 
 every statistic recorded. 
 
 I desire in this place to thank those who have so liberally 
 assisted me. Had it not been for their interest in the subject, 
 their never-wearying and hearty co-operation, and their 
 courteous replies to my inquiries, it is needless to say this 
 Essay could not have laid claim to the minuteness of detail 
 which I trust it will be found to possess. Where all have 
 assisted so liberally it might seem invidious to particularise ; 
 
INTRODUCTION. Xlll 
 
 but I cannot neglect to record my special thanks to a few 
 who have apparently spared no trouble in assisting to gather 
 materials, often from comparatively large areas, thus saving 
 me an infinitude of time and labour, and a vast amount of 
 personal investigation. I am also indebted to many others 
 for assistance in the searches through old books in tracing the 
 early history of the species in Scotland, and to several Gaelic 
 scholars for assistance as regards the origin and etymology of 
 the word " Capercaillie." 
 
 To Sir Kobert Menzies, Bart., I am obliged for some 
 interesting notes of the earlier movements of the birds at 
 Taymouth, and for other information. Colonel Drummond 
 Hay of Seggieden ; Sir Thomas Moncrieffe, Bart. ; C. T. 
 C. Grant, Esq. of Kilgraston ; Dr. Macintosh of Murthly ; 
 Mr. E. Baton of Berth; and Mr. E. Anderson, Dunkeld, 
 have greatly assisted me in their various districts. James 
 Haldane, Esq. of Cloanden, A. Burn -Murdoch, Esq., and 
 J. Buchanan Hamilton, Esq. of Leny, have also collected 
 materials for me between Berth and Callander. J. J. Dal- 
 gleish, Esq. of West Grange, has assisted me in the south of 
 Berthshire; James Stirling, Esq. of Garden, and others, in 
 the south-west; Mr. Dayton of Lochearnhead Hotel, and 
 David Carnegie, Esq. of Stronvar, in the west and in Glen 
 Dochart. My friend, W. Horn, Esq., has collected statistics 
 from various parts of the Tay Valley, and also from other 
 counties. Besides the above there are many others, repre- 
 senting over 150 estates in Berthshire alone, from whom I 
 have received returned and filled circulars. To all I desire 
 to express my best thanks. 
 
 In Eorfarshire I am indebted to various correspondents. 
 Especially I should mention W. Scott-Elliott, Esq. of Eother- 
 
XIV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ingham and Tealing; W. Horn, Esq., for the Brechin and 
 Stracathro district ; and many others too numerous to men- 
 tion, representing some 20-30 estates in the county. 
 
 In Fifeshire my thanks are specially due to J. Purvis, 
 Esq. of Kinaldy, Charles Kinnear, Esq. of Kinloch, William 
 Baillie Skene, Esq. of Pitlour, J. J. Dalgleish, Esq. of West 
 Grange, J. Home, Esq. of Thomanean, Kobert TuUis, Esq., 
 and others. 
 
 In Kinross-shire I am obliged to David Syme, Esq., Sheriff 
 of Kinross, and to Messrs. Bethune, Henderson, and Bums 
 Begg, for very full particulars; also to Harry Young, Esq. 
 of Cleish. 
 
 In StirHngshire, James Stirling, Esq. of Garden, T. G. 
 Dundas, Esq. of Torwood, Sir James Gibson-Maitland, Bart, 
 of Sauchie, T. Bolton, Esq. of Carbrook, and others, represent- 
 ing all the more important localities in the county, have 
 assisted me. 
 
 In the south of Scotland I am indebted to several 
 correspondents, amongst whom I may mention the Eev. 
 James Porteous of Ballantrae. 
 
 In Arran I received a very fuU account of the restoration 
 there from Mr. George Croll 
 
 In Argyleshire, amongst others, I would mention the 
 Eev. Alexander Stewart of Nether Lochaber, for much interest- 
 ing matter. 
 
 In the north of Scotland my friend Thomas Mackenzie, 
 Esq., Sheriff of Dornoch, has materially assisted me in Suther- 
 landshire ; and the Eev. George Gordon of Bimie, and Captain 
 Dunbar Brander of Pitgaveny, in Elgin and Banff. 
 
 To the Factors, Foresters, Gamekeepers, and many others 
 who have sent me returns from single estates or localities, I 
 
INTRODUCTION. XV 
 
 desire to express my best thanks. It was upon these single 
 returns that I depended in great measure for assistance in 
 tracing out the steps of advance ; and from the letters of my 
 many obliging correspondents I often culled interesting 
 additional facts. 
 
 I may mention that I have distributed more than 450 
 circulars to parties situated in all parts of the area at present 
 occupied or visited by the species. By far the larger portion 
 of these have been returned with the answers filled in, more 
 or less fully, according to the amount of information my vari- 
 ous correspondents had to impart. 
 
 Finally, Eobert Warrep, Esq. of Moyview, SHgo, Colonel 
 Edward H. Cooper, of Markree Castle, Sligo, and A. G-. More, 
 Esq., Dublin, have rendered me valuable assistance, some of 
 the results of which will be found in the Appendix, as they 
 arrived somewhat too late for insertion in the text : and to 
 my friend Mr. Eobert Currie I am indebted for the careful 
 and beautiful execution of his subjects, in illustrating the 
 text, with the frontispiece, vignette, and other pieces. 
 
PAET I. 
 
 DERIVATION OF THE WORD " CAPERCAILLIE." 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 DERIVATION. 
 
 There can scarcely be any doubt that the word Capercaillie 
 or Capercailzie, with all the many variations in spelling/ 
 comes direct from the Gaelic. The opinions of authorities, 
 nevertheless, seem to differ in no small degree as to the 
 correct Gaelic origin of the word, and much confusion exists 
 as to the true meaning.^ 
 
 This paper would perhaps scarcely be considered complete 
 under its title if some notice of these different opinions were 
 not taken, but the present writer having no knowledge what- 
 ever of the Gaelic language, must be satisfied with simply 
 stating these views, without committing himself to any one 
 of them. 
 
 The Eev. Dr. T. Maclauchlan, in a letter to Eev. G. 
 MacArthur, 25th March 1876, holds the following views, 
 
 ^ See further on, p. 2. 
 
 ^ The old Scandinavian name of the Capercaillie, as I am informed by Dr. 
 Meves of Stockholm— /c^e Dr. T. W. Lindblad, editor of the ' Swedish Hunting 
 Journal' (Nija Yagore Forbundets Tidskrift ; Stockholm)— '* is thictdur (in 
 English spelling, chaidur), often with the appendix tupp, denoting the cock, 
 the he-bird. That, again, has a great many provincial and local variations, such 
 as tjdddr, tedur, ijdlur, tjuder, tjdddur, in Dalecarlia — Udder, sometimes in 
 Upland — and so on. In Vermland sometimes tjur-lian, denoting the rich 
 plumage or feather-garb of the cock. The Norwegian name is tiur. This 
 word is supposed to be an onomatopoetic word, imitating as far as possible the 
 peculiar * playing ' sound of the Capercaillie " {in lit.) 
 
 B 
 
2 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 and his reputation as a Gaelic scholar and voluminous 
 Gaelic author entitles these views to the highest considera- 
 tion : — 
 
 About the second part of the word Dr. Maclauchlan con- 
 siders there can be little room for doubt, and most Gaelic 
 scholars appear to agree in this ; but the first part of the 
 word, he acknowledges, is more difi&cult. He says — 
 " ' CabJiar,' pronounced ' Gavar,' means, according to our dic- 
 tionaries, a hawk or old bird. It is not at all unlikely that it 
 is the word spelled ' Caper.' There is a similar word used in 
 the name for a snipe, ' Gahhar-athar' thought by some to 
 mean the goat of the air, from its bleating note. But," Dr. 
 Maclauchlan continues, " it is a masculine noun, and ' gahhar' 
 a goat, is feminine. I therefore lean to the idea that both in 
 Cdbhar-athar and Gahhar-coille — the one being the hird of the 
 air, and the other the hird of the woods — the original term is 
 Gdbhar." Dr. Maclauchlan considers that " Gaber-coille " is 
 the orthography which comes nearest to the original. In a 
 later letter to Professor Newton — who at that time was pre- 
 paring an article on the Capercaillie for the Encyclopcedia 
 Britannica, and who has kindly put the above correspond- 
 ence at my disposal — Dr. Maclauchlan states that the word 
 Gahhar is not one in common use, and that " we are indebted 
 for its meaning to our dictionaries, except in so far as it may 
 enter into the formation of words like Gapercoille. The Latin 
 se7iex, so far as I apprehend, comes nearest to the meaning of 
 ' old ' in cabhar, ' not antiquus! There is a playful way of 
 applying such words to the formation of names in Gaelic. 
 For example : — Bodach is an old man, and Bodach-ruadh, the 
 red old man, is the rock-cod. Gailleach is an old woman, and 
 Gailleach-aidhche, the old woman of the night, is the owl. I 
 think the Cabhar in this case is similarly applied." 
 
 Professor Newton {Encyc. Brit, art. " Capercally ") says : — 
 " Cabhar, an old man, by metaphor an old hird, which is the 
 
DERIVATION. 3 
 
 acceptation of Dr. Maclauchlan's meaning = the old bird 
 of the wood, the Capercaillie." ^ 
 
 ^ On the other hand, not a few Gaelic scholars consider that Capercaillie 
 is derived from *' CapuU, a horse," see capel, capell, caples — Chaucer, line 
 170, 13-4 — vide Bayley's ^IHctionarium Britannicum' = cahallus — "or, more 
 correctly, a mare. Capull is a masculine noun, but at the present day is 
 limited in its application to a mare, and Coille, a woody This reading gives 
 '■'■ H(yrse of the woods." In Argyleshire and Lochaber the bird is stiU known 
 by the name Capullcoille. So also it is considered by several correspondents 
 who are good Gaelic scholars. Amongst others, the Rev. Alexander Stewart 
 of Nether Lochaber says : — "It is called 'Horse of the woods,' because of 
 its size, strength, and beauty, as compared with other wood birds" {in lit.) ; 
 and he further mentions that the name Capullcoille is found in Gaelic songs 
 of the beginning of this century. The Rev. Lachlan Shaw, in his ^History of 
 tJie Province of Moray ^ (1775), also assigns this derivation: "properly, in 
 Erse, Capal coile, i.e. The Wood Horse, being the chief fowl of the woods," 
 {op. cit. p. 207). In Stratheam, in the south of Perthshire, where native 
 Gaelic is now almost extinct, the name still lingers in this form. The first 
 author of a Gaelic dictionary — M 'Donald, an Argyle man — thus renders it, 
 and all subsequent authors of Gaelic dictionaries do so likewise. Mr. D. 
 Mackinnon, who has most kindly taken great trouble in this connection, 
 looked up all the Gaelic dictionaries accessible, and informs me that all, 
 without exception, give Capull coille. " None have caper, cabar, or cahTier.^"* 
 ..." The first Gaelic dictionary," Mr. Mackinnon informs me, "was written 
 by M 'Donald, an Argyle man, in 1741. Shaw, a native of Arran, prepared 
 the next dictionary, and published it in 1780. Two small dictionaries were 
 published in the latter part of the century by two Macfarlanes. In this 
 century our two standard dictionaries — Armstrong's, a Saxon domiciled in 
 Perth, and the Highland Society's, prepared by scholars from all parts of the 
 country — were published in 1825 and 1828 respectively. There followed 
 them M'Leod and Dewar's, two clergymen from difierent parts of the 
 country ; M 'Alpine's, an Islay man ; and M'Eachan's, a Roman Catholic 
 priest, who spent his life, or the greater part of it, in Braemar, The only 
 Irish dictionary I turned up has Capullcoille, quoted from Shaw. In the 
 Scoto-Irish Dictionary, given in Llhuyd's ' Archoeologia Britannica,' the word 
 does not appear. " 
 
 Besides the above opinion, we have other derivations given. Jamieson, in 
 his ^Dictionary of the Scottish Language' — Supplement, 1825, — has as follows: — 
 "Capercailye — yeane." A literary friend in the North of Scotland views 
 Capercailye as compounded of Gael. , Cabar, a branch, and Caolach, a cock. 
 [Jamieson quotes the Scotch translator of Boece — BeUenden — here : " Gaelic, 
 Caolach; C. B., Kelliog ; Corn., Kulliog ; Arm., Kiliog ; Irish, Kyleach, a 
 cock ; " by which another element of confusion is introduced. ] Cabar also 
 means an eminence, or the mountain, which may have led writers astray iiv 
 talking of the Capercaillie as specially "inhabiting mountains" (v. Burt, 
 Ray, and others). Jenyns gets out of the difficulty by saying " mountainous 
 
4 THE CAPEECAILLIE. 
 
 forests." (I presume he used "forests" in the usual sense, and not in that 
 of "a forest or chase.") 
 
 We are not yet done with combinations, as we have Capullcaolach, Horse- 
 cock ; and Yarrel, 'British Birds ^ {1st edition), seems inclined to entertain 
 this view, and finds parallels in "Horse-mackerell," "Horse-fly," (?) "Horse- 
 leech." Or in German, "Auerhan;" Dutch, "Ouerhan;" or the Latin, 
 "urugallus" (urus, a wild bull). Thus, again, Bull-finch, Bull-trout, etc., 
 but some of these names can be traced to other sources than pre-eminence in 
 size or strength ; at all events the origins of such compounds are not by any 
 means always clear enough to admit of generalisation. 
 
 There are other combinations, but the above -given — along with Dr. 
 Maclauchlan's— appear to be the most important. In order to obtain the 
 correct translations of Gaelic names, we must not, I believe, go to the Gaelic 
 scholar aZowe, but first to the shepherd or crofter, whose family has for genera- 
 tions lived upon the same land, and whose father or grandfather was very 
 likely the person who first applied the names, and which, being handed down 
 from father to son, would preserve their purity of pronunciation, intonation, 
 and significance, as well as, probably, a relation of the circumstances under 
 which they were so named. 
 
CHAPTEE 11. 
 
 OKTHOGRAPHY. 
 
 We now come to consider the Orthograpliy of the presently 
 accepted word — Ga'percaillie, Capercailzie^ or Gapercally — 
 with all the minor variations in the spelling of the terminal 
 half — caillie. We may accept it as coming from the Gaelic 
 coille} 
 
 1 Some of these variations are {a) Capercailye ; first used by Bellenden in 
 his translation of Hector Boetius in 1553. Bellenden has always been looked 
 upon as one of the best — if not the very best — authorities on the subject of 
 good old Scotch. He is followed, as late as 1808, by Dr. Jamieson in his 
 Scottish Dictionary, and also in the Supplement in 1825, with Capercalye and 
 Capercalyeane. (5) Capercailles. — This is used by John Graham Dalyell in 
 his edition (1813) of ' The Chronicles of Scotland,' compiled from the original 
 manuscripts, going back as far as 1436 — from which date the chroniclers 
 continued the accounts of the Latin author — Hector Boece — and his subsequent 
 translator ; and Mr. Dalyell is careful to "preserve the old spellings" used 
 in these manuscripts, which cannot be said to have been the case in preceding 
 editions. In the second edition, however (1749), we find the spelling Caper- 
 caillie. This last is also used by King James VI. in 1617 (see * Old Stat. Acct. 
 of Scotland,' xx. 473), and has been adopted by later writers, as Hewitson — 
 ^ Eggs of British Birds'* (1856), p. 277. (c) Capercaile {v. Foster, ' Synoptical 
 Cat. of Brit. Birds' (1817), p. 19. (d) Capercaly — Blaine, ' En^yc. Rural 
 Sports,' p. 82 ; and Capercallie. {e) Capercali — Lloyd's ' Game Birds of 
 Sweden.' (/) Capercally and CaperTcally — Newton, ^ Encyc. Brit.,' m.n\h 
 edition, quoting Pennant ; and A. G. More, ' Ibis ' (1865). I cannot find 
 Pennant's authority in the old law books for the use of this spelling, but old 
 scribes sometimes spell a proper name two or three difierent ways in the same 
 page, {g) Capercalze is first used by Bishop Leslie (Ed. of 1675, and also in 
 the earlier edition of 1578), and was again used in Scots Acts, James VI., 
 1621, XXX., with the variation, CaperJcailzeis ; and this is followed by other 
 
6 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 To begin at the beginning. — Some people assert that to 
 spell it with a z is the best Scotch, but I am of opinion that, 
 there being no y nor z in GaeKc, and the word being distinctly 
 of Gaelic origin, it is best to adhere in form as closely as 
 possible to that origin. But granting, in the meantime, the 
 admission of y or z, then I think if the z be used it ought to 
 be silent, as in many other Highland, or, I should say Scotch, 
 names taken originally from the Gaelic, such as Menzies, 
 Monzie, Colquhalzie (pronounced Co-why-lie), Eohalzion, 
 Dalrulzion, Dalziell (also still spelt Dalyell), and others, 
 mostly proper names.-^ Because, in old printing, a z was con- 
 stantly used instead of a y, in proof of which, in the old Scots 
 Acts of Parliament (see James VI., 1621, Act xxx.), the word 
 " years" is spelt "zeiris." In the self-same Act occur the words 
 " caperTcailzeis " and " quailzies" This originated doubtless in 
 a printer's error in reading the MS., or if not an error, then 
 because y and z in old type were generally used as the same 
 
 writers, with other slight variations — v. Sibbald, 'Scot. Tllust.,' p. 16. Forster, 
 {op. dt.) Blaine, (op. cit.) MacGillivray, Capercailzie, (h) Burt 'Letters 
 from N. of Scotland,' 1754, vol. ii. p. 173, uses Cobber-keli/, pointing to a 
 derivation from Cabar — as will be seen further on, or resulting from com- 
 plications of local Gaelic dialects. (^) Gapercaleg is used by Sir Robert 
 Gordon in his ' History of the Earldom of Sutherlatid,' (1630, published in 
 1813). {k) Sibbald, * Scot. Illust.,' {Tables 14, 18), Latinizes the word thus— 
 Capricalca, following no doubt an earlier author, Robert Edward, {'A Descrip- 
 tion of Angus,'' translated from the original Latin of Edward, minister of 
 Murroes : Dundee, printed by T. Colvill, 1793), the word in the original 
 being Capricalcis (ablative plural). For further notice of works quoted, see 
 further on, p. 13. A very full list of the names it has received, and of the 
 spellings used, wUl be found in the 'Penny Cyclopaedia,'' in a very good 
 article on the species, vol. vi., p. 260. Another variation — Capercayllie — is 
 found in a ' Treatise on the Game Laws of Scotland,' by A. Gregor, 1837, 
 p. 9. 
 
 ^ There are other words which possess the z unpronounced, such as the 
 law-terms assoilzie, spuilzie, tailzie, and others. Jamieson's Dictionxiry, 
 however, does not give the z in tailzie — but ' taile, tailye, an entail ; tailyie, 
 a piece of meat. ' The fact of Jamieson omitting the z and substituting y, 
 points to his knowledge that the z became inserted owing to the scarcity of 
 the letter y in former and older founts of type. For the derivation of Monzie, 
 see ' Old Stat. Acct. of Scotland,' vol. xv. (1795), p. 241. 
 
ORTHOGRAPHY. 7 
 
 letter ; or because, in default of y being sufficiently repre- 
 sented in the fount of type, the z was commonly used to 
 replace it, or vice versa. 
 
 I may even go so far as to say that it was probably in 
 this way that the z came to be introduced into all the above 
 proper names, and into many others besides. There being no 
 z in Gaelic, it has no right to appear in words of Gaelic 
 origin : originating in error, it cannot be considered as good 
 Scotch. Indeed, spelling the word with either a 3/ or a 2; is 
 perpetuating an error, arising from a misconception of a 
 Gaelic word by a Lowlander. Even Bellenden — good autho- 
 rity as he is justly considered as an author of Scotch writing 
 — cannot be followed in his spelling of this word, viz.. Caper- 
 cailye. In Gaelic the II is liquid, like the French lie; 
 and, as explained to me by a good Gaelic scholar — D. Mac- 
 kinnon, Esq., of Edinburgh — ^when pronounced slowly, the 
 sound might fairly be represented in Scotch by lyie. As 
 the Eev. Mr. Macfadyen has pointed out to me {in lit.) this 
 pronunciation can best be accomplished by dwelling on the 
 second I, and having the tip of the tongue " not touching the 
 roof or palate, close behind the teeth, but about an inch far- 
 ther back." This gives the ^/-sound in the Gaelic ; whence 
 the insertion in MS. by a Lowlander of the y ; whence, sub- 
 sequently, the substitution of a 2; by the old printers. Many 
 Highlanders at the present day pronounce the last half of 
 the word as in the French word " caille " — a quail ; and one 
 individual, when saying it, added — " without the ' eh! which 
 some give it." Mr. Macfadyen's name, as he himself shows 
 me, is another good illustration of the insertion of the y and 
 z. He says, " I spell it ' Macfadyen' but others ' Macfad- 
 zean ; ' but in old registers it is without the y or z, thus — 
 ' Macfadeanl no doubt the original and correct spelling." 
 Even the name Mackenzie in the old Gaelic name has no 
 z. It was MoAiConnich — nn, like II, being liquid and pro- 
 
8 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 longed — Connich being the Gaelic name of Kenneth, and 
 Mackenzie, as now used, being really the son of Kenneth. 
 
 But since the above was written, Professor Newton of 
 Cambridge has called my attention to the fact Ihat y and z 
 were used, the one for the other, long before the days of 
 printing ; " and old English MSS. have," he goes on to say, "a 
 mysterious letter ^ or q, about the pronunciation of which 
 some of the best old English scholars are in doubt ; for in 
 some words it is modernised into gh, if I remember right, fre- 
 quently into y consonant, and less commonly into z" 
 
 Though this may appear at first to nullify my remarks on 
 the interchange of y and z, still I think it cannot do away 
 with them altogether, nor can it alter materially the fact that 
 there being no y nor z in Gaelic, these letters should not occur 
 in Gapercaillie, unless, as Professor Newton suggests, as a ter- 
 minal letter, thus — Ca;percally or Ca;perkally (plural, ies), for 
 the English method. 
 
 A good illustration of the MS. use of the letter z is cnizt, 
 knight. In the Bannatyne MS., written in 1568 — as I am 
 informed by Mr. J. B. Murdoch, Glasgow — there are many z 
 characters, which, on the authority of Mr. Thomas Dickson, 
 Curator of the Eegister House, Edinburgh, ought to be ren- 
 dered as y. In the same MS. y is used invariably for th. 
 " Therefore," Mr. Murdoch adds, " I think the z had to be 
 used for y where y was intended." According to some of 
 the best authorities on old English MS., however, the use of 
 z seems to be variously and differently applied from the use 
 of it in Scotch MS., — ^both as y, gh, or z, or s, according to its 
 position in the words. In French the use is for z alone. In 
 some words in old English MS. it stood also for g, {vide 
 Morris and Skeat — " Specimens of Early English." New and 
 revised edition. Part II. Oxford, 1872). 
 
 Oapercally or Caperhally may perhaps be looked upon as 
 the correct English mode of spelling the word, if we take 
 
ORTHOGRAPHY. 9 
 
 Pennant as the first educated person who wrote it down. On 
 this point Professor Newton writes (m lit), " Pennant, who 
 seems to have been the first British (as opposed to Scottish 
 or Irish only) naturalist who mentions it as a bird of this 
 country, says that it was called ' in the old law books Caper- 
 hally!" ... I have hitherto in vain searched for this reading. 
 " I suppose," continues Professor Newton, " he intended the 
 second a to be sounded broad ;" and if so, then, doubtless, 
 the spelling will be the most correct EngKsh mode. We 
 have seen, however, that Bellenden, as a good Scotch writer, 
 spells it Capercailye. We have seen why the y should be 
 dismissed. We find it dismissed by another excellent Scot- 
 tish writer a little later, who compiles " from original manu- 
 scripts," and is an authority upon Scottish writing ; and he 
 writes " Capercailles" which is again changed by King James 
 VI. into " Capercaillies" which I think should be accepted as 
 the most correct Scotch way of spelling it, and approaching, 
 moreover, nearest to the Gaelic pronunciation, as already 
 explained. 
 
PAKT 11. 
 
 PEE-HISTORIC EEMAINS, 
 
 AND ACCOUNT OF THE SPECIES IN SCOTLAND 
 
 PEIOE TO ITS EXTINCTION. 
 
CHAPTEE III. 
 
 ANTIQUITY OF THE SPECIES, AS SHOWN IN BONE CAVES. 
 
 Of the antiquity of the Capercaillie we have evidence 
 amongst the kitchen-middens of Denmark, where, as has 
 been shown by Mr. Lubbock {^Nat. Hist. Beview' Oct. 1861, 
 and Jan. 1862), and by Professor Newton (' On the Zoology 
 of Ancient Europe! 1862, p. 10), some bones of this species 
 were identified. It is shown also that these kitchen-middens 
 must be of great age, as the present old beech-groves of 
 Denmark must have been preceded by an epoch of oak 
 forest, "extending over several generations of trees," and 
 that this oak-epoch was preceded by the era of pine, which 
 alone could have supported the Capercaillie. The discovery 
 of these Capercaillie remains created almost as much interest 
 as that of the bones of the Great Auk {Alca impennis) in the 
 same kitchen-middens. 
 
 Eemains were also found in the caves of Aquitaine 
 ('Un^yc. Brit!, 9th ed., vol. v. p. 53) ; {'Reliquice Aquitanicce '). 
 Professor Newton has quoted for me the passage in full : — 
 "The Capercaillie is rare in the caves. I first recognised 
 its remains in the station of Sal^ve (near the shore of the 
 Lake of Geneva), and at Verezzi (in Liguria). Afterwards I 
 found this species at Bruniguel and Lacombe-Tayac ; but it 
 is represented there by only a small number of bones." 
 
 The fact is not to be passed by without remark that there 
 
14 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 appears to be no trace whatever of remains of Capercaillies 
 in Scottish kitchen-middens, nor amongst any pre-historic re- 
 mains. Birds' bones are comparatively rare in these ash-pits, 
 and this may be accounted for by their having been destroyed 
 by dogs. Still, some birds' remains are found occasionally ; 
 and possibly, if attention be especially directed to them, some 
 pre-historic trace of the Capercaillie may yet be found in 
 Scotland or Ireland. 
 
CHAPTEE IV. 
 
 HISTOKY OF THE SPECIES IN SCOTLAND PRICE TO EXTINCTION ; 
 AND CAUSES OF EXTINCTION. 
 
 Of the occurrence of the Capercaillie in earlier historic times, 
 and prior to the extinction of the species in Scotland, there 
 is not much to relate which has not before been quoted by- 
 authors ; but it may be desirable to place on record in a 
 connected — and, as far as possible, a chronological — form, 
 the more important notices. 
 
 1526. Hector Boetius first makes mention of the species 
 {'Hist Scotorum. Scot. Begn. Descript.\ fol. xii. 47 ; and Bellen- 
 den's Translation, 1553).^ To preserve the continuity of 
 our account, I give it here in full. (It has been quoted 
 before often. See MacGillivray ; 'Hist of Brit Birds!) 
 
 " Avium raptu viventium. Aquilse sunt, Falcones, Acci- 
 pitres, et id genus aKse. Caeterum Aquatilium tam varius 
 ingensque est numerus, ut pro miraculo notari haud ridiculum 
 est. Sed medii inter eas qusedam generis praeter csetera re- 
 periuntur aliis regionibus incognita. Unum magnitudine 
 corvum paulo superans Auercalze, i. silvestris equi apelati, 
 solius pinus arboris extremis flageUis victitantes." He then 
 treats of Eed Grouse and Black Game, with scarcely so much 
 
 ^ A later edition is * * Scotorum Historise a prima gentis origine cum aliaram 
 et rerum et gentium illustratione non vulgari, Libri xix. Accessit huic edi- 
 tione continuatio, per Joannem Ferrerium. Fol., Paris, 1574." 
 
16 THE CAPEECAILLIE. 
 
 accuracy in his description, though MacGillivray's criticism 
 is not quite correct either {op. cit. p. 143, lines 3, 4, and 5, from 
 foot of page). 
 
 1528-29. In ' The Chronicles of Scotland ' ^ it is mentioned 
 that King James V. " returned to Edinburgh," and the next 
 summer (i.e. 1529) went to "Atholl to the huntis" (vol. ii. pp. 
 343-4). " The Earl of Atholl . . . maid great and gorgeous 
 provisioun for him in all thingis pertaining to ane prince . . . 
 . . . with fleshis, beiff and mutton, lamb, veill, and vennison, 
 goose, gryse, capon, cunning, cran, swan, pairtrick, plever, 
 duik, drake, brissel, cock,^ and paunies, black-cock, and muir- 
 foull, capercailles," etc. (op. cit. p. 345). 
 
 1578. Bishop Lesly ('Besc. Beg. Bcotice ' — which is dedicated 
 to Pope Gregory XIII. — 'Kal. Januar.' 1578) fixes a locality 
 for the Capercaillie. The following is quoted for me by 
 Professor Newton from the edition of 1675, Boma,^. 24:^ 
 
 " In Eossia quoque Louquhabria (i.e. Lochaber) atque aliis 
 montanis locis non desunt abietes, in quibus avis qusedam 
 rarissima Capercalze, id est Sylvester equus vulgo dictu, 
 frequens sedit corvo iUa quidem minor, quse palatum edenti- 
 cum, sapore longe gratissimo delinit. Yictitat ex solis abietis 
 extremis flagellis : Alia avis est etiam in his regionibus 
 numerosa, superiore minor hirsutis pedibus palpebris rubri- 
 cantibus nostri gallum tesquorum dicunt." 
 
 ^ ^' The Chronicles of Scotland, by Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie, Edin- 
 burgh, 1814, by John Graham DalyelL" This is the best edition, as it was 
 compiled direct from the old manuscripts, and retains the old spellings. In 
 Dalyell's edition it is said to be a quotation from a later manuscript, and it is 
 added ''This passage bears strong evidence of interpolation." Mr. Thomas 
 Dickson, Superintendent, Search Department, Register House, informs me 
 that he "does not think it is mentioned" — i.e. the Capercaillie — "in the 
 household books of James V., in which most of the viands then in use are 
 mentioned." Extracts from this record are published by the Bannatyne Club, 
 called " Excerpia e libris Domicilii JacoH V." 
 
 2 " Brissel, cock " (sic), probably for "brissel- cock," or coq de hroussailes, 
 as suggested in lit. by Prof. Newton. 
 
 ^ The edition of 1578 has the above at p. 25. 
 
HISTORY OF THE SPECIES IN SCOTLAND. 17 
 
 1617. In a letter written by King James VI. to the Earl 
 of Tullibardine, ancestor of the Duke of Athole, in 1617, 
 " Capercaillies " are mentioned. As the passage is interesting, 
 we give it in full : — " James, Eight trustie and right well- 
 beloved cosen and counsellor, We greet thee well. Albeit our 
 knowledge of your dutiful affection to the good of our service 
 and your countrie's credite doeth sufficientlie persuade us 
 that you will earnestlie endeavour yourself to express the 
 same be all means in your power; yet there being some 
 things in that behalf requisite, which seem notwithstanding 
 of so meane moment as in that regaird, both you and others 
 might neglect the same, if our love and care of that our native 
 kingdom made Us not the more to trie their nature and 
 necessity, and accordingly to give order for preparation of 
 every thing that may in any sort import the honour and 
 credite thereof. Which consideration, and the known com- 
 moditie yee have to provide, Capercallies and termigantis, have 
 moved us very earnestlie to request you to employ both your 
 oune paines and the travelles of your friendis for provision of 
 each kind of the saidis foules, to be now and then sent to us 
 be way of present, be means of our deputy-tresaurer ; and so 
 as the first sent thereof may meet us on the 19 th of April at 
 Durham, and the rest as we shall happen to meet and ran- 
 counter them in other places on our way from thence to 
 Berwick. The raritie of these foules will both make their 
 estimation the more pretious, and confirm the good opinion 
 conceaved of the good cheare to be had there. For which 
 respectis, not doubting but that yee will so much the more 
 earnestlie endeavour yourself to give us good satisfaction 
 anent the premises, as yee will do us acceptable service. We 
 bid you farewell.— At Whitehall the 14th Marche 1617." 
 (* Old Stat. Acct. of Scotland' xx. 473. See also under Parish 
 of Dowally, farther on, p. 25.) 
 
 C 
 
18 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 1618. In Taylor's ' Visit to the Brea of Marr,' in 1618,^ 
 there occurs the following passage (p. 135) : — 
 
 " Thus with extreme traveU, ascending and descending, 
 mounting and alighting, I came straight to this place where 
 I would be, in the Brea of Marr, which is a large county . . . 
 
 " My good Lord of Marr having put me into that shape, I 
 rode with him from his house, where I saw the mines of an 
 old castle, called the Castle of Kindroghit. ... It was the 
 last house I saw in those parts ; for I was the space of twelve 
 dayes after, before I saw either house, cornefield, or habitation 
 for any creature but deere, wilde horses, wolves, and such 
 Like creatures. . . . 
 
 " Thus the first day wee traveld eight miles, where there 
 were small cottages built on purpose to lodge in, which they 
 call Lonquhards. I thanke my good Lord Erskin, hee com- 
 manded that I should alwayes be lodged in his lodging, the 
 kitchen being alwayes on the side of a banke, many kettles 
 and pots boyling, and many spits turning and winding, with 
 great variety of cheere : as venison bak't, sodden, rost, and 
 stu'de, beefe, mutton, goates, kid, hares, fresh salmon, pidgeon, 
 hens, capons, chickens, partridge, moorecoots, heathcocks, 
 caperkellies, and termagants. . . . 
 
 " All these, and more than these, we had continually in 
 superfluous abundance, caught by faulcons, fowlers, . . . 
 to victuale our campe, which conseisteth of fourteen or fifteen 
 hundred men and horses. ... 
 
 1 "All the Workes of John Taylor, the Water-Poet, Seeing Siody and 
 three in Number, Collected into One Volume by the Author : With Sundry 
 new additions, corrected, revised, and n^wly imprinted, 1630. At London, 
 prints by J. B. for James Boler, at the figure of the Marigold in PauVs 
 Churchyard, 1630. Folio.'" At page 122 it is mentioned he left London 
 * * The yeere of grace, accounted (as I weene) 
 One thousand, twice three hundred and eighteen, 
 And, to relate all things in order duly, 
 'Twas Tuesday last, the foureteenthe day of July." 
 I am indebted to Professor Kewton for kindly transcribing this passage and 
 title for me at length. 
 
HISTORY OF THE SPECIES IN SCOTLAND. 19 
 
 " Thus having spent certaine dayes in hunting in the 
 Brea of Marr, wee went to the next county, called Bagenoch, 
 belonging to the Earle of Engie. . . ." 
 
 1621. The species is mentioned in ' The Old Acts of the 
 Scottish Parliament! notably in the reign of James VI., a.d. 
 1621 (Act. XXX.), where provision was made against the buy- 
 ing and selling of " wyld fouUes," amongst which were in- 
 cluded : — " termigantis, quailzeis, cajperhailzeis, etc.," under a 
 penalty of a hundred pounds.^ 
 
 1630. Sir Eobert Gordon {'History of the Earldom of 
 Sutherland, up to the year 1630,' — not published, however, 
 until 1818), mentions the species as at that time inhabiting 
 the county. The passage containing the record is as fol- 
 lows : — 
 
 " All these forrests and schases are verie profitable for 
 feiding of bestiall, and delectable for hunting. They are full 
 of reid deir and roes, woulffs, foxes, wyld catts, brocks, skuyr- 
 rells, whitrets, weasels, otters, martrixes, hares, and fumarts. 
 In these forrests, and in all this province, ther is great store 
 of partridges, pluivers, capercalegs, blackwaks, murefowls, 
 heth-hens, swanes, bewters, turtle-doves, herons, dowes, 
 steares or stirlings, lairigigh or knag (which is a foull lyk 
 vnto a paroket or parret, which maks place for her nest with 
 her beck, in the oak trie), duke, draig, widgeon, teale, wild- 
 gouse, ringouse, routs, whaips, shot-whaips, woodcok, larked 
 sparrowes, snyps, blackburds or osills, meweis, thrushes, ann 
 all other kinds of wild foule and birds, which ar to be had is, 
 any pairt of this kingdome." 
 
 This passage has been quoted frequently before — see the 
 * New Stat. Ace. of the County ; ' also * Proc, Nat. Hist. Soc. of 
 Glasgow! January 3, 1871 ; Separate- Revised, 1874, p. 69. 
 
 1651. In ' The Black Booh of Taymouth ' (Bannatyne Club 
 Puhns., 1855), pp. 433-34, occurs the following passage, which 
 
 1 Also in Act 1600, c. 23 {fide Irvine, * Game Laws of Scotland,' p. 5). ^ 
 
20 THE CAPERCAILLTE. 
 
 is partly quoted in Irvine's ' A Treatise on the Game Laios of 
 Scotland,' pp. 59-60 : — " To the Eight Worshipful!, his much 
 honoured freind the Laird of Glenorquhy, thes : — Much hon- 
 oured Sir, Immediatlie after the receat of your letter on 
 Saturday, I went and shew your Capercailzie to the king in 
 his bedchamber, who accepted it weel as a raretie, for he had 
 never seen any of them before." Signed " Jo. Dickson. 
 Perth, the 3. of Februar. 1651." 
 
 1678. In a small pamphlet entitled: — 'A Description of 
 Angus, translated from the original Latin of Bdbert Edward, 
 Minister of Murroes — Dundee. Dundee : printed hy T. Colvill 
 — 1793,' ^ a passage occurs at p. 17, as foUows : — " Angus is 
 well stored with tame fowl and the larger kinds of birds, as 
 hens of Brazil, peacocks, geese, and ducks. Pigeon-houses 
 are frequent. The mountains and heaths abound with par- 
 tridge, grouse,^ and plover, etc. etc." To this the translator 
 adds the io^owing footnote : — "*The word in the original, 
 here rendered 'grouse' — or moor-fowl — is Capricalcis (Ab- 
 lative plural). The translator could not find this word in 
 any dictionary to which he had access." The translator also 
 takes notice in the same footnote, that the last one that was 
 seen was about thirty years ago in Strathspey, and adds : — 
 " It is still an inhabitant of Sweden and Norway, and also of 
 some parts of Wales." Here there is probably again some 
 confusion ; and as regards Wales, true grouse are no doubt 
 intended. 
 
 1684. Sibbald, in 'Scotia Illustrata' 1684, includes the 
 " Capercalze " in his treatment of the subject : — ' De ani- 
 
 1 In the Preface, or, as it is styled, "Advertisement," it is stated : — 
 " The following description of Angus was originally WTitten in Latin, by Robert 
 Edward, minister of Murroes, and published in the year 1678, along with a 
 pretty large map of the county, executed by the same hand. " The only copy 
 of the original was found — it goes on to say — about ten or twelve years ago, 
 at the House of Panmure among some loose papers, etc. Dr. J. A. Smith, of 
 Edinburgh, to whom I am indebted for the above extracts, informs me that 
 the pamphlet is in the Signet Library, Edinburgh. 
 
HISTORY OF THE SPECIES IN SCOTLAND. 21 
 
 malibiis Scotice,' p. 16 ; and in Tables 14 and 18, figures 
 male and female, ' Capricalea.' 
 
 1754. Burt (' Letters from the North of Scotland' 1754, 
 vol. ii. p. 169), says : — " Of the eatable part of the feathered 
 kind peculiar to the mountains, is : — First, the Cobber-kely, 
 which is sometimes called a wild turkey, but not like it 
 otherwise than in size. This is very seldom to be met with, 
 being an inhabitant of very high and unfrequented hills, and 
 is therefore esteemed a great rarity for the table." This 
 record brings us down close upon itiS«e:^tinction in Scotland. 
 Jamieson, in his later edition of Burt'S ' Letters,' adds a foot- 
 note : — " The Capercaillie, capulcoillie, avercailye, became 
 extinct in Great Britain about this time, or shortly after," 
 i.e. about the date of Burt's letter xxi. (1754?)— Edin. 1818, 
 p. 71. 
 
 1775. In ' A History of the Province of Moray ' (1775), 
 by Eev. Lachlan Shaw, 2d edition, 1827, p. 207, occurs a 
 somewhat full notice of the Capercaillie, as follows : — " The 
 harmless wild fowls are the swan, Caperkylie (called also Cock 
 of the Wood) ; in Latin, Capricalea, as if he infested the 
 goats ; but properly, in Erse, Capal-coil — i.e., the Wood Horse, 
 being the chief fowl in the woods. He resembles, and is of 
 the size, of a turkey-cock, of a dark grey, and red about the 
 eyes ; he lodges in bushy fir trees, and is very shy ; but the 
 hen, which is much less in size, lays her eggs in the heather, 
 where they are destroyed by foxes and wild cats, and thereby 
 the Caperkylie is become rare. His flesh is tender and de- 
 licious, though somewhat of a resinous fir taste." 
 
 1769. Pennant, in his ' Tour in Scotland,' 1769, has an 
 interesting passage regarding its occurrence prior to extinction 
 in Inverness, which has been often quoted. He appears only 
 to have seen one specimen, which " was killed in the woods 
 of Mr. Chisholm, to the north \in err. for west. — J. A. H. B.] 
 of Inverness." 
 
22 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 Mr. Halting (' Hand Book of British Birds,' p. 38) says : — 
 " One of the last native birds killed was shot at Chisholme 
 Park, Inverness, and is believed to be in the Museum at 
 Newcastle-upon-Tyne;" but it would have been better had 
 the grounds for this belief been stated. Later, Professor 
 Newton (' Encyc. Brit' 9th ed., art. ' Capercally') says : — " No 
 British specimen known to exist in any museum" — i.e., no 
 specimen of the indigenous stock (p. 54). In reply to in- 
 quiries for further particulars. Professor Newton referred me 
 to Fox's ' Synopsis of the Newcastle Museum! p. 78. On re- 
 ferring to the passage, I find that Fox was " unable to make 
 out if the present specimen [i.e., the male specimen in the 
 museum. — J. A. H. B.] be really of British capture." Pro- 
 fessor Newton, commenting on this specimen, writes to me: — 
 " All that seems certain is, that the specimen at Newcastle 
 was once Tunstall's, and that Tunstall, who was aware of the 
 increasing rarity of the species in Scotland, does not say that 
 he had a Scottish example; while he mentions one in his 
 possession from Siberia, and also that he had had it from 
 Denmark. This last, by the way, was most likely of Swedish 
 or Norwegian origin, for the bird has been extinct in Den- 
 mark so long, that Steenstrup's discovery of its bones in a 
 kitchen -midden was looked upon with almost as much in- 
 terest as his finding the Garefowl's remains there" {vide 
 antea, p. 13). Professor Newton further remarks (m lit): — 
 *' Fox, I believe, is mistaken in considering the female Wood 
 Grouse in the British Museum to be a British specimen from 
 Bulloch's collection (I. c). It is entered in the B. M. catalogue 
 as from Montagu's collection. Now, Montagu never mentions 
 a Scottish specimen; and as in 1789 — when the species was 
 almost or quite extinct in Scotland — he was only beginning 
 a provincial collection, it is most unlikely that he could have 
 supplied himself with one. In Bullock's sale catalogue there 
 is no evidence of his having a Scotch specimen, and he 
 
HISTORY OP THE SPECIES IN SCOTLAND. 23 
 
 would know how much the value of his pair would have been 
 enhanced had he been able to say they — or one of them — 
 were Scotch. As it was, they sold for only £7, which, as 
 prices went at that sale, was very moderate." 
 
 1776. Pennant, in his 'British Zoology'^ (4th ed., 4to, 
 London, '1776, vol. i. p. 223), says: — "This species is found 
 in no other part of Great Britain than the Highlands of 
 Scotland north of Inverness, and is very rare even in these 
 parts. It is there known (p. 224) by the names of Caper- 
 calze, Auer-calze, and in the old law-books Caperkally." And 
 in 'The Caledonian Zoology! in Lightfoot's 'Flora Scotica' 
 (1777), p. 22, Pennant further states that it is "found in the 
 forests north of Loch Ness, but rarely. Once frequent in 
 most of the Highland fir- woods." 
 
 1783. Latham (;Synops: 11,^.1 ZO) has as follows:— "The 
 last bird of this kind found in Scotland was in the Chicholm's 
 {sic) great forest of Strathglass ; and I am well informed that 
 the nest was placed in a Scotch pine." In the text, however, 
 he states that the eggs are laid on the ground.^ 
 
 'The Old Stat. Acct. of Scotland* has the parallel passage 
 (vol. XX. 1798, p. 307):—" The Caper-coille, or WHd Turkey, 
 was seen in Glenmoriston, and in the neighbouring district of 
 Strathglass, about forty years ago; and it is not known that 
 this bird has appeared since, or that it now exists in Britain." 
 
 ^ There appears to be no third edition of Pennant's 'British Zoology,' for, as 
 I am informed, the first came out in 1766 (folio); the second was begun in 
 1768 (8ro) ; and in 1776 there were two issues, one in 4to and the other in 
 Svo; and both bear the words ''Fourth Edition" on their title-pages. 
 
 ^ That Latham's statement regarding the site of the nest may have been 
 quite correct, is rendered possible by the following, which I extract from ' The 
 Journal of Forestry' for October 1878, p. 443 : — 
 
 "Capercailzie's Nest in a Pine Tree. — In a wood adjoining Falkland House, 
 on the Estate of Falkland, and at the northern base of the East Lomond Hill 
 in Fifeshire, a Capercailzie has actually tenanted the old nest of a falcon in a 
 pine tree, a coosiderable distance from the ground. The Capercailzie has laid 
 ten egg's, and the process of incubation has advanced successfully in this aevial 
 retreat." — " Ornis,'' in ' Laiul and JFat^r.' 
 
24 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 1785. In Martyn's 'Dictionary of Natural History,' 1785, 
 it is said : — " The Cock of the Mountains is a native of various 
 parts of Europe, and particularly of Ireland and Wales ; but 
 he is never seen in England except through mere accident." 
 At another place he says : — " Capercalze — a provincial name 
 for the Cock of the Wood." He describes the bird fairly 
 well, " of the size of a peacock ; appears to be of the pheasant 
 kind!" 
 
 1802. Montagu (^Dictionary of British Birds; 1802) did 
 not appear to have been aware of its extinction in Scotland 
 at the time he wrote, but quotes the above passage of Latham's 
 regarding the nest found "placed in a Scotch pine." In his 
 supplement, however (1813), he says: — "This bird, we be- 
 lieve, is now extinct in the British dominions." 
 
 The Capercaillie continued in Strathspey until the year 
 1745. The last seen in Scotland was in the woods of Strath- 
 glass, about thirty-two years ago (Rev. J. Grant in ' Old Stat. 
 Acct of Scotland ' — parish of Kirkmichael, Banffshire, vol, xii. 
 p. 451). This would put the date of extinction about 1762. 
 The above account is very generally accepted and quoted by 
 later writers (see Fleming, 'Brit. Animals! p. 46; Gray, 'Birds 
 of West of Scotland! p. 229, and others). Sir Wm. Jardine 
 (' Nat. Library : Orn.,' vol. iv., 1834) puts the probable date 
 later — between 1774 and 1784, — but we may accept the 
 earlier record as being most probably correct. Professor 
 Newton (* Encyc. Brit.,' 9th edition, article ' Birds,' p. 736, part 
 xii.) places the extinction in Ireland at about 1760, and in 
 Scotland " not much later," after comparing the accounts of 
 Boece (1526), Bishop Lesly (1578), Pennant (1769), and all 
 previous authorities which he had access to {op. cit., art. 
 ' Capercally! vol. v. p. 53). 
 
 ' The Old Statistical Account of Scotland ' — published be- 
 tween 1791 and 1799 — contains other notices of the bird. 
 Thus : — " The Caperkaily, or king of the wood, said to be a 
 
HISTORY OF THE SPECIES IN SCOTLAND. 25 
 
 species of wild turkey, was formerly a native of this parish 
 (Kiltarlity), and bred in the woods of Strathglass. One of 
 these birds was killed about fifty or sixty years ago in the 
 churchyard of Kiltarlity " (see ' Stat. Acct. of the Parish '). 
 The Capercaillie appears also to have inhabited the parish of 
 Dowally, Perthshire (op. cit.) See also the letter written by 
 James VI. in 1617 to the earl of Tullibardine, before men- 
 tioned {v. p. 17). Nearly all of the above records have 
 already been compared and referred to by various authors ; 
 and Mr. Eobert Gray (' Birds of West of Scotland ') says : — 
 " All records agreeing in the fact of the bird being extremely 
 rare between the years 1745 and 1760, when it apparently 
 became extinct." In ' The New Statistical Account ' of Perth- 
 shire (1841), it is mentioned as pre-existing in the parish of 
 Fortingal (p. 543). 
 
 Yarrell {'Brit. Birds,' 1st edition) says — "There is even 
 reason to believe that it (i.e., the hybrid) formerly existed in 
 Scotland, contemporary with the Capercaillie. Mr. G. T. 
 Fox in his ' Synopsis of the Contents of the Neivcastle Museum^ 
 published in 1827, quotes the Tunstall MS. at p. 78, in the 
 following words : — " I know some old Scotch gentlemen, who 
 say they remember, when young, there were in Scotland, both 
 the Cock of the Wood and also the hybrid ; and at p. 245, 
 Mr. Fox has given a figure of this last-named bird, from a 
 specimen in the Newcastle Museum . . ." But it is not said 
 that this particular specimen was from Scotland. (Compare 
 remarks under Harttag — Newton, antea, p. 22.) 
 
 Eyton (^ Barer British Birds' 1836, p. 30, footnote) men- 
 tions T. urugallus and T. medius, Meyer, as "formerly in- 
 habitants of the British Isles, but are now extinct." 
 
 The hybrid is noticed as a native of Scotland by Brisson, 
 under the name of ' Ze coq de bruy&e piqvAte' and, as we are 
 informed by Fleming i^Brit. An.,' p. 46). "A Scottish gentle- 
 man told Dr. Tunstall, who informed Dr. Latham, that it 
 existed in our woods." 
 
26 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 Mr. A. G. More {'lUs; 1865, p. 426), while briefly allud- 
 ing to the statements of Pennant and the 'Historia Scotorum! 
 adds : — that the Eev. George Gordon told him that it also at 
 one time inhabited the county of Elgin : also that Mr. Shearer 
 "marked it as extinct in Caithness," implying thereby its 
 former occurrence in that county. 
 
 As we have seen, the final extinction of the species may 
 be considered to have taken place about the year 1760. 
 There are, however, several other records of a considerably 
 later date, which are at least worthy of notice. The latest I find 
 on record are two given in Graves's 'British Ornithology! vol. i. 
 By this account we find that " one was killed by a gentleman, 
 of the name of Henderson, near Fort-William, about six years 
 ago, and sent to Dundee . . . The other specimen was shot 
 by Captain Stanton near Borrowstownness, two winters ago : 
 they are both males. Some few are said to be yet remaining 
 in the pine forests of Scotland, and also in the mountainous 
 parts of Ireland." Now, the date of Graves's second edition 
 was 1821, and Mr. J. H. Gurney junior informs me that he 
 has a note to the effect that his first edition was published in 
 1817. The plate of the Capercaillie bears date of 1813 {'Scot. 
 Nat! vol. i. p. 82). If we take the date of 1813, when he 
 might have been expected to get his information, the Fort- 
 William bird would be killed about 1807, and the Bo'ness 
 bird in 1811. 
 
 With regard to the Fort- William bird, the Eev. A. Stew- 
 art (" Nether Lochaber," of the Inverness Courier) writes to 
 me as follows : — 
 
 " The Mr. Henderson who killed the Capercaillie in the 
 Camus-na-gaul woods, opposite to Fort- William, in or about 
 the year 1807, was factor for MacLean of Ardgour, and 
 tenant of the farm of Kiel, near Corran Ferry. At Ardgour 
 House, about twenty years ago, the gardener was an old man 
 of the name of Harry Kennedy. This Harry Kennedy was 
 
HISTORY OF THE SPECIES IN SCOTLAND. 27 
 
 a man of superior intelligence, a naturalist and botanist of 
 much and very exact knowledge in all that concerned these, 
 his favourite studies. It was this old man Kennedy who 
 first told me about the shooting of the Capercaillie by Mr. 
 Henderson in 1807. Kennedy was then (1807) old enough 
 to remember the circumstances perfectly. I am pretty sure 
 that he said he saw and examined the bird after Henderson 
 had brought it to Ardgour House, to show it as a curiosity to 
 Colonel MacLean, the Laird." 
 
 We cannot look upon this male bird as a remnant of the 
 original stock, but probably as a wandered bird from some 
 later attempt at restoration, notwithstanding the mention of 
 the Capercaillie in old Gaelic songs of the beginning of the 
 century, which Eev. A. Stewart has quoted for me as follows, 
 though there does appear to be traditionary evidence of its 
 having lingered in that part of the Highlands, and, as Mr. 
 Stewart says, that it was at least not an unknown bird in 
 1794. I give Mr. Stewart's communication in full : — 
 
 " In the year 1794, on the anniversary of the birthday 
 of CampbeU, Laird of Lochnell, near Oban, he gave a feast 
 and ball to his tenantry and dependants. Present amongst 
 others on the occasion was James Shaw, better known to 
 Gaelic scholars as Bard Loch-nan-Ealer (the Lochnell bard). 
 In the course of the evening, the bard having been called 
 upon for a toast, repeated instead an extempore poem in 
 laudation of his friend and patron the Laird of Lochnell, with 
 which poem the Laird was so much pleased that he made 
 Shaw a present of Five Guineas on the spot. The concluding 
 line of one of the stanzas of this poem is this : — 
 
 ' Bu tu Gapullcoille na guibhsaich.' 
 
 and the literal translation of the stanza is as foUows : — 
 
 * Thou art the eagle amongst birds, 
 Thou art the oak-tree not given to bending,. 
 
28 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 Thou art the salmon of silver-clear streams, 
 Thou art the Capercaillie of the fir-woods.' " 
 
 It only lived, I believe, in the memory of the bard. The tra- 
 dition of its former existence was indirectly perpetuated in 
 his poem. 
 
 There is good reason for believing that the Bo'ness record 
 is so far genuine, and indeed that a bird, as recorded by 
 Graves, was procured there ; but from the situation of Bo'ness, 
 upon the shore of the Firth of Forth, and its being a sea-port 
 town, carrying on a trade in deals and timber with Norwegian 
 ports, the probability exists that the male bird shot there may 
 have escaped from, or been let loose by, sailors. Accordingly, 
 this record, as well as the Fort-William one, must be received 
 with caution as regards their real value, and all the more so 
 that such a long interval exists between these and all pre- 
 vious records. Fleming, moreover, writing in 1828 (' British 
 Animals' p. 46), after mentioning the occurrence of the last 
 birds in Strathglass (1860) and Strathspey (1845), says : — 
 " Eecent attempts have been made to recruit our forests \i.e., 
 with Capercaillies. — J. A. H. B.] from Norway, where the 
 species is still common;" which attempts failing, and the 
 cocks wandering, would be almost sufficient to account for 
 these stray occurrences. At all events, in the absence of 
 distinct data, it is safer to accept the date of 1760 as that of 
 the extinction of the original stock in Scotland. 
 
 ' The Traveller's Guide, or a Topographical Description of 
 Scotland! — Edinburgh, 1798 — still speaks of the 'Caper- 
 ceiizie ' as existing at that date in Scotland (p. 4), but, as 
 already seen, this is extremely unlikely. 
 
 Sir Eobert Menzies informs me he " has always under- 
 stood " that the last killed in his district — i.e., along Loch 
 Eannochside — was shot at Camagouran, by Gregor Macgregor, 
 gamekeeper to the Laird of Struan, about the beginning of 
 this, or the end of last, century ; but in absence of further 
 
HISTORY OF THE SPECIES IN SCOTLAND. 29 
 
 proof, I should be inclined to consider this an escaped bird 
 from some one of the localities where the earlier attempts at 
 reintroduction were made, as recorded- by Fleming i^ Brit. 
 Animals' 1828). Mr. Charles Buxton, editor of the 'Memoirs 
 of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, Bart.,' writing in 1852 (fifth 
 edition, p. 332), states that the last bird " was shot about a 
 hundred years ago in Perthshire," but this is probably an 
 error (though possibly enough he may have had a record of a 
 bird killed in Perthshire at that time^), and the record really 
 most likely applies to the birds last seen in Strathspey or 
 Strathglass. 
 
 There is no other evidence of a satisfactory nature that I 
 can discover of the occurrence of the Capercaillie in Suther- 
 land beyond Sir Eobert Gordon's work already quoted ; but 
 Captain Houstoun, of Kintradwell, Brora, writes to me 
 that one, Donald Sutherland (or Donald Mhor), used to men- 
 tion the Capercaillie as having belonged to this county ; but 
 Donald Mhor, who died about twelve years ago, at the age of 
 ninety — as the Eev. Dr. James M. Joass informs me — may 
 have spoken from traditionary evidence, or of his father having 
 seen it ; or he may even have been quoting from Sir Eobert 
 Gordon's work.^ 
 
 1 Mr. Buxton may also have had in view the statements of its occurrence 
 at Dowally in the * Old Stat. AccL' {loc. cit), or that of its former occurrence in 
 Fortingall Parish, given in the ^ New Stat. Acct. of Perthshire ' {loc. cit., p. 543), 
 where it is stated that "we had at one time the Capercailzie (caper-coille), or 
 great cock of the wood." 
 
 2 The oldest pine trees in Sutherland are at Invercassley, on the opposite 
 side of the river Cassley from Rosehall, and are now very few in number, as I 
 am informed by my friend Mr. Thomas Mackenzie. "The Rosehall wood 
 comes next, and dates from 1806. The Balblair wood, situated between Dor- 
 noch and Golspie, was planted about 1809 — the same year that the small 
 plantations of pine-woods about Kilcolmkill, in Strathbrora and Kintradwell, 
 on the coast, were also put down in. These are the only standing woods in 
 the county that have any pretensions to antiquity, the fir-woods on the Skibo 
 estate being comparatively recent. " Mr. Mackenzie comes to the conclusion 
 that there is not a standing pine tree in Sutherland which is a hundred years 
 old. 
 
30 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 In Denovan's sale catalogue (1818) several passages occur, 
 which have been kindly quoted for me by Professor Newton 
 and Mr. J. H. Gumey jun., but I consider that these should 
 be received with extra caution, or indeed be rejected altogether. 
 As Professor Newton suggests, in those days there were tricks 
 of the trade as weU as now. I quote these passages for what 
 they are worth : — 
 
 " Lot 651. Hybrid grouse. The rarest of the grouse tribe ; 
 was shot in Scotland ; very fine ; Edinburgh Museum.^ 
 
 " Lot 652. Wood grouse ; Highlands of Scotland. A hand- 
 some glazed case, including both sexes of these truly rare 
 birds, in the finest possible condition." 
 
 To cap the above : — " Lot 832. Wolf, a noble animal, in 
 large glazed case. The last wolf killed in Scotland by Sir E. 
 Cameron." 
 
 1837. In a ' Treatise on the Game Laws of Scotland,^ by 
 Alexr. Grigor, Edin. 1837, p. 9, " Capercayllies " are mentioned 
 amongst pre-existing game birds. He did not, however, 
 appear to be aware of their restoration. 
 
 IRELAND. 
 
 1357-87. Giraldus Cambrensis in his ' Topograpliia Hiher- 
 niae * (lib. ii. p. 47), says : — " Pavones silvestres hie abundant." 
 It remains uncertain if he alluded to the " Capercaillie " or not. 
 We find again, however, that Ranulphus Higden, the monk of 
 Chester, who died about 1360 {v. Harting on ' TheExtinct British 
 
 ^ In answer to inquiries as to whether any specimen at present exists in 
 the Edinburgh Museum of a hybrid grouse or Capercaillie from Scotland that 
 could have been referred to in the above lot, Mr. John Gibson assures me there 
 is not. The oldest Capercaillie in the collection is a Norwegian one, pur- 
 chased in 1814 by Dr. Jamieson for £4 : 4s. Mr. Gibson considers that had 
 there been a British example in the collection at that time, r,uch a piece of 
 extravagance would not have been perpetrated. 
 
HISTORY OF THE SPECIES IN IRELAND. 31 
 
 Wolf; ' Pop. Sc. Review; 1878, p. 397), in his ' Polychronicon; 
 again makes mention of " pekokes " (pavonibus), which were 
 probably Capercaillies {v. Translation, by John Trevisa, a.d. 
 1357-1387), quoted fully with remarks by Harting {pp. cit) 
 
 1676. Willughby (F.) (' Ornithologiae Libri, etc.; recognovit 
 Joannes Baius. London : 1676 '), mentions it as known in the 
 country under the names " Cock of the Mountain or of the 
 Wood," and " Urugallus fcemina;' as "The Hen of the Wood 
 or Mountain," pp. 123, 124, and figs, on plate xxx. 
 
 1678. Eay, John (; Ornithology,' etc., p. 173), says : — "This 
 bird is found on high mountains beyond seas, and, as we are 
 told, in Ireland (where they call it ' Cock of the Wood '), but 
 nowhere in England." 
 
 1684. O'Flaherty (" West, or H.-Iar Connaught") mentions 
 the species under the name " Cocks of the Wood." 
 
 1772. J. Eutty (; Nat. Hist, of the County of Dublin; 1772. 
 vol. i. p. 302, footnote) says : — " UrugaUus major, Gesneri : 
 Tetras urugallus, Linnaei — ' The Cock of the Wood,' British 
 Zoology. One of these was seen in the county of Leitrim 
 about the year 1710. But they have entirely disappeared of 
 late, by reason of the destruction of our woods." 
 
 1760. Pennant also states that about 1760 a few were to 
 be found about Thomastown in Tipperary, and Professor 
 Newton (pp. cit) informs us that no later evidence is forth- 
 coming, and adds : — " Thus it would seem that the species was 
 exterminated at nearly the same time both in Ireland and 
 Scotland." 
 
 Mr. Scoular, after quoting Giraldus and Act 11th Anne, 
 adds that it " remained in the County of Cork till so late as 
 1750," on the authority of Mr. T. Whitla.^ (' J(yf^rn. Geol. Soc, 
 Ihiblin; I. p. 227.) 
 
 1 Other references to the species in Ireland will be found in the Irish 
 Statutes, 11 Anne, ch. 7, which prohibits shooting of them for seven years. — 
 Smith, ''History of Cork,' 1749. The "Wild Turkey" of Act George III. 
 27, may or may not apply to Capercaillies, but the Rev. Dubourdieu's ' ' "Wild 
 
32 THE CAPERCAILLTE. 
 
 An additional notice will be found in an able article ' On 
 the Total and Partial Extermination of Animals' by James 
 Fennel, in Eennie's ' The Field Naturalist; 1834, p. 194. This 
 author says, that at that time the Wood Grouse or Cock of the 
 Wood had been extinct in Ireland for nearly seventy years, 
 and in Scotland for fifty years. 
 
 Mr. A. G. More of Dublin, who has been making inquiries 
 in my behalf for some time past, regarding Capercaillies in 
 Ireland, writes to me that he has not been able to obtain, any 
 additional information to the above in that country. 
 
 On the causes of the extinction of the species in Scotland 
 I can say little. We can now, I believe, only speculate upon 
 what changes of condition and what surrounding causes could 
 have extirpated them. What appears to me to be the most 
 likely factors were as follows : — The probable destruction of 
 great forest tracts by fire,^ the cutting down of the same by 
 man as late as the days of Cromwell, and the wasting away 
 of the forests from natural causes, by the conversion of dry 
 forests into bogs and morasses, and, resulting from this, the 
 decrease of, and changes in, the food of the species. Mr. Col- 
 quhoun (' Ferae Naturae of the British Isles! P- 41-42) is of 
 this opinion, but adds as a factor, the increased population. 
 If we accept the above as the most probable causes, and come 
 
 Turkies" were undoubtedly " of the true breed " of Turkey from the Ameri- 
 can stock. For all the above references, see Thompson's ^ Birds of Ireland,^ 
 vol. ii. p. 31, from which I have quoted freely. 
 
 1 Evidence of the destruction of great tracts of forest country are frequently 
 to be met with in early history. Thus, to get rid of wolves, a large pine 
 forest extending "from the western braes of Lochaber to the Black Water and 
 mosses of Rannoch was burned to expel the wolves," and another "In the 
 neighbourhood of Loch Sloi, a tract of woods, nearly twenty miles in extent, 
 was consumed for the same purpose " {v. Nctes to James Hay Allen's poem 
 * The Last Deer of Beann Doran,' London, 1822). Sir Walter Scott also, in 
 his Essay * On Planting Waste Lands' {^Miscellaneous Prose Works,' vol. 
 xxi. p. 9), and other historians, afford evidence of a natural wasting away and 
 decay of old forests, as well as their destruction by enemies, " thereby to re- 
 move a most important part of the national defence " {op. cit., p. 10). 
 
CAUSES OF EXTINCTION. 33 
 
 to examine into the details of the testimony, we find that it 
 was not until the beginning of the 18th century that any large 
 extent of young wood was planted/ nor until the end of the 
 18th century that arboriculture became general in Scotland. 
 The latter would appear to have been too late to afford fresh 
 sustenance to the indigenous Capercaillies, but it yielded an 
 abundant supply by the date of the Eestoration of the species 
 in 1837-38, for the re-introduced birds. Eutty, as has been 
 seen {antea, p. 31), accounts for their extirpation in Ireland 
 " of late, by reason of the destruction of our woods." Smith • 
 (^History of Cork! 1749) does so likewise. 
 
 ^ "It would seem that in Scotland, among the first who planted trees in 
 large masses for profitable use was Thomas, Earl of Haddington. He began 
 to plant extensively at his seat, Tynninghame, in East Lothian, in 1705. . . 
 . . . A large amount of planting had been undertaken and performed be«- 
 twixt the years 1777 and 1817. ... In the latter part of the last century, 
 and in the beginning of the present one, the chief planters in Scotland were 
 the Duke of Athole, Lord Breadalbane, and Sir J. Grant of Strathspey. . . 
 . . The plantations of any one of those just named far overbalanced those 
 of any other private proprietor perhaps in Britain" {v. ^ The Forester,'' by 
 James Brown, 4th edition, p. 3, et seq. Edinburgh, 1871). Thus, coincident 
 with the Restoration, it wiU be seen that there was abundant supply of young 
 thriving wood at Taymouth. In ' The Beauties of Scotland,' Edinburgh, 1805 
 (vol. i. p. 431), 1707, is given as the year in which planting was commenced 
 at Tynninghame. A pretty full account of the operations is here given. 
 
 D 
 
PART m. 
 
 EESTOBATION. 
 
CHAPTEE V. 
 
 EESTOKATION. 
 
 As has abeady been observed, Fleming, writing in 1828 
 (' ^*Y. -4 mmaZs'), mentions that "recent attempts have been 
 made to recruit our forests from Norway, where the species 
 is still common." -^ It is probable that Fleming here alluded 
 to the attempt made at Mar Lodge; as the previous year 
 (1827), or the beginning of 1828, was the date of the first 
 importation of these birds to Mar Lodge from Sweden 
 (vide ' Edinr. New Phil. Journal,' July 1832). The account 
 given {op. cit.) is very fuU and interesting, and I make no 
 apology, therefore, for quoting it, as it will also serve to pre- 
 serve the continuity of our account of the species in Scotland. 
 Mr. Wilson writes as follows : — 
 
 " I was wading down the Dee one fine afternoon, a little 
 below Mar Lodge, and with a lighter pannier than usual, 
 when I heard the cry of a bird to which I was unaccustomed, 
 and my bad success in that day's angling induced me the 
 more readily to diverge from the ' pure element of waters ' to 
 ascertain what this might be. I made my way through the 
 
 ^ In 1829 some of the members of the Highland Society of Scotland pro- 
 posed that the Society's attention should be directed towards the Kestoration 
 of the species, and mention is made of attempts having been made, "but," 
 says the writer, " it is a difficult matter to alter the relations which naturally 
 subsist between the wild animals of a country and the state of its population 
 and surface." — * Prize Essays and Transactions of the Highland Soc. of Scot. ,' 
 New Series, vol. i. p. 5 (1829). 
 
38 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 overhanging wood for a hundred yards, and soon after reach- 
 ing the road, which runs parallel with the river on its right 
 side, I observed a wooden palisade or enclosure on the slop- 
 ing bank above me. On reaching it, I found it so closely 
 boarded up that I had for a time some .difficulty in descrying 
 any inmates, but my eye soon fell upon a magnificent bird, 
 which at first, from its bold and almost fierce expression of 
 countenance, I took rather for some great bird of prey than for 
 a Capercailzie. A few seconds, however, satisfied me that it 
 was what I had never before seen, a fine living example of 
 that noble bird. I now sought the company of Mr. Donald 
 Mackenzie, Lord Fyfe's gamekeeper, the occupant of the 
 neighbouring cottage. He unlocked the door of the fortress, 
 and introduced me to a more familiar acquaintance with its 
 feathered inhabitants. These I found to consist of two fine 
 Capercailzie cocks and one hen ; and the latter, I was de- 
 lighted to perceive, accompanied by a thriving family of 
 young birds, active and beautiful. 
 
 " The first importation of these Capercailzies arrived from 
 Sweden about the end of the year 1827, or early in January 
 
 1828. It consisted of a cock and hen, but the hen unfortu- 
 nately died after reaching Montrose Bay. As the male bird 
 alone arrived at Braemar, the experiment was judiciously 
 tried of putting a common barn-door fowl into his apartment 
 during the spring and summer of 1828. The result was that 
 she laid several eggs, which were placed under other hens, 
 but from these eggs only a single bird was hatched, and when 
 it was first observed, it was found lying dead. It was, how- 
 ever, an evident mule or hybrid, and showed such unequivocal 
 marks of the Capercailzie character as could not be mistaken. 
 
 " The second importation likewise consisted of a cock and 
 hen, and arrived safely in this country in January or February 
 
 1829. The female began to lay in the ensuing April, and 
 laying, in general, an egg every alternate day, she eventually 
 
RESTORATION. 39 
 
 deposited about a couple of dozen. She showed, however, 
 so strong a disposition to break and eat them, that she re- 
 quired to be narrowly watched at the time of laying, for the 
 purpose of having them removed, for otherwise she would 
 have destroyed the whole. In fact, she did succeed in break- 
 ing most of them, but eight were obtained uninjured. These 
 were set under a common hen, but only one bird was hatched, 
 and it died soon after. In the spring of 1830 the hen Caper- 
 cailzie laid eight eggs. Of these she broke only one, and 
 settling in a motherly manner on the other seven, she sat 
 steadily for five weeks. On examining the eggs, however, 
 they were all foimd to be addle. 
 
 " In the early part of 1831 three apartments were ingeni- 
 ously formed adjoining one another. The hen was placed 
 in the central chamber, between which and the enclosure on 
 either side, each of which contained a male, there was an easy 
 communication, so contrived, however, that the female could 
 have access to both the males, whilst they, from their greater 
 size, could neither approach each other nor disturb the female 
 as long as she chose to remain in her own apartment. In 
 May and June of that year she laid twelve eggs, seven of 
 which were set under a common hen. Of these four were 
 hatched in an apparently healthy state, one was addle, and 
 the other two contained dead birds. Of those left with the 
 Capercailzie hen she broke one, and sat upon the other four, 
 of which two were hatched, and the other two were found to 
 contain dead birds. Of the two hatched one soon died. 
 Both the barn-door hen and the female Capercailzie sat 
 twenty-nine days from the time the laying was completed 
 till the young were hatched; and Mr. Cumming calls my 
 attention to the fact that there were birds in all the eggs of 
 this year's laying except one. 
 
 " My visit to Braemar took place about the first week of 
 last August. I think all the five young were then alive, and 
 
40 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 although only a few weeks old, they were by that time larger 
 than the largest moor-game. I had no opportunity of hand- 
 ling them, or of examining them very minutely, but the 
 general view which I had of them at the distance of a few 
 feet did not enable me to distinguish the difference between 
 the young males and females. They seemed precisely the 
 same at that time, both in size and plumage, although I doubt 
 not the male markings must have soon shown themselves on 
 the young cocks. The single surviving bird of those hatched 
 by the mother died of an accident, after living in a very 
 healthy state for several weeks. Two of those hatched by 
 the common hen died of some disease, the nature of which is 
 not known, after lingering for a considerable time. It follows 
 that there are only two young birds remaining. These are 
 both females, and when I last heard of them, some months 
 ago, were in a thriving condition. 
 
 " The whole progeny were fed at first, and for some time, 
 with young ants — that is, with those whitish grain-shaped 
 bodies, which are the larvae and chrysalids in their cocoons, of 
 these industrious creatures, though commonly called ants' 
 eggs. At that period they were also occasionally supplied 
 with some tender grass, cut very short. As soon as they had 
 acquired some strength they began to eat oats and pot barley, 
 together with grass and the various kinds of moss. They 
 are now fed like the three old birds, chiefly on grain and 
 heather tops, with the young shoots and other tender portions 
 of the Scotch fir. I am informed that the distinction between 
 the sexes had become very obvious before the death of the 
 young males. The plumage of the latter was much darker, 
 their general dimensions were greater, their bills larger and 
 more hooked. These characters became very apparent during 
 November and December. 
 
 " The old males have never yet had access to the young 
 birds, so that it has not been ascertained whether they enter- 
 
RESTORATION. 41 
 
 tain any natural regard for their offspring or would manifest 
 any enmity towards them. From the continued wildness of 
 the old birds, especially the males, it was found difficult to 
 weigh them without incurring the risk of injuring their 
 plumage. However, the male which arrived in 1829, and 
 which then appeared to be a bird of the previous year, was 
 lately weighed, and was found to be eleven pounds nine ounces 
 avoirdupois. Judging from appearances, it is believed that 
 the weight of the old hen would not much exceed one-half. 
 There is, indeed, a striking disparity in the dimensions of the 
 sexes in this species. 
 
 " The intention is, as soon as some healthy broods have 
 been reared in confinement, to liberate a few in the old pine 
 woods of Braemar, and thus eventually to stock with the 
 finest of feathered game the noblest of Scottish forests." 
 
 Eegarding the above-mentioned attempt to restore the 
 species, it may not be out of place to make a few remarks. 
 Since the above was first penned by Mr. Wilson, we know 
 that the attempt ended in failure and complete annihilation 
 of the birds, old and young. But subsequent attempts 
 have — as will be seen farther on — resulted in their complete 
 Eestoration, and the experience thus obtained goes far to 
 prove that the causes of failure in the Mar Lodge attempt 
 were probably as follows : — . 
 
 1st. The imported birds were too few in number, and the 
 proportion of males and females not balanced as in nature, 
 where the females of nearly all polygamous species exceed 
 the males in population, and where, accordingly, one male is 
 sufficient to serve a number of females. 
 
 2d. The confinement was probably against the complete 
 health of the young birds, and, indeed, also of the old birds. 
 Experience tells us that not one of the attempts made at 
 Eestoration, in which the birds have been too long confined 
 has succeeded. 
 
42 THE CAPERCAILLTE. 
 
 3d. The food would appear to have been not altogether 
 suitable, if we accept Mr. Lloyd's directions for feeding Caper- 
 caillies in confinement (' Game Birds and Wild Fowl of 
 Sweden ') ; and the general treatment in minor matters was 
 probably deficient, from want of experience. The disease 
 mentioned above by Mr. Wilson, of which one of the young 
 birds died, and the deaths of the other young birds, were prob- 
 ably caused by some slight hitch in the general management 
 of food and shelter. Even the wild birds, when young, are 
 stated to be subject to 'gapes,' by more than one of my 
 correspondents. Further, birds reared under domestic hens 
 have never succeeded well; and we now know that the 
 best way to treat the eggs is to place them out in the woods 
 under wild grey hens, and to turn out the birds themselves to 
 breed in a state of nature, after the woods have become par- 
 tially stocked by the eggs hatched out under grey hens.-^ 
 
 It was a considerable time after the above attempt that 
 any one earnestly took up the idea of re-introducing the species. 
 " Years ago," writes Mr. Lloyd {op. city p. 34), " I volunteered 
 my services to more than one influential proprietor in Scot- 
 land. . . . For a long time no one would move in the matter, 
 but at length, in the autumn of 1836, the late Sir Thomas 
 Fowell Buxton, then recently returned from Taymouth Castle 
 . . . took up the affair in good earnest." ..." Influenced by 
 the desire, in which I am sure you will concur," — so writes Sir 
 Thomas to Mr. Lloyd, — " to introduce these noble birds into 
 Scotland, coupled with that of making Lord Breadalbane some 
 return for his recent kindness to me,^ I request you to procure 
 for his lordship, at whatever cost, the requisite number." Sir 
 Thomas also placed at Mr. Lloyd's disposal his head game- 
 
 ^ A further short account of the Capercaillies at Mar Lodge is given by 
 Dick- Lauder in his * Account of the Great Floods of August 1829,' p. 358. 
 
 2 Vide ' Memoirs of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, Bart^' fifth edition, 
 edited by his son Charles Buxton, Esq., B.A. London, 1852. Chap, xxiv 
 p. 332. 
 
RESTORATION. 43 
 
 keeper, "Larry" Banvill; "which," as Mr. Lloyd remarks, 
 " was no slight sacrifice for a Norfolk game-preserver." 
 
 CapercaiUies were reintroduced at Taymouth in the 
 autumn of 1837 and spring of 1838. In aU, according to 
 some accounts, forty-eight birds were obtaiued in Sweden, 
 through the instrumentality of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, of 
 Northrepps HaU and Cromer Hall, in Norfolk, and the 
 energy of Mr. Lloyd, the weU-known Swedish sportsman and 
 naturalist, materially assisted by Mr. Lawrance Banvill, Sir 
 Thomas FoweU Buxton's head gamekeeper in Norfolk, who 
 went twice over to Sweden and brought over the birds to 
 Taymouth, and by Mr. James Guthrie, head gamekeeper at 
 Taymouth, who carefully tended the old, and successfully 
 reared the young, birds. 
 
 According to a letter from Mr. Edward Buxton, published 
 in Blaine's ' Encyc. of Bural Sports' (p. 814), a previous 
 attempt to rear the birds had been made in Norfolk by Sir 
 Thomas. A hen bred there, but aU the young ones died. 
 Several hens and a cock had been kept at Cromer Hall, where 
 Sir Fowell was then living. This must have been about the 
 year 1823, a few years previous to the publication of Mr. 
 Lloyd's first large work — ' The Field Sports of the North of 
 Europe ' {q. v., vol. i. p. 264).-^ Mr. J. H. Gurney informs me 
 that there is a hen bird stuffed in the Norfolk Museum, which 
 belonged to Sir FoweU Buxton, and which was doubtless one 
 of these birds, or one of those brought over later by Larry. 
 
 Mr. Henry Stevenson of Norwich gives me a further note 
 from his journals, taken down by him from Larry's own oral 
 communication, in the year 1857, to the effect that " a pair 
 were turned off at Sir Fowell's place at Beeston, but soon 
 died — he believes choked in some way. . . . Beeston, Cromer, 
 and Northrepps, are all adjoiniug parishes, or within a mile 
 or two of each other," so that it is not perhaps of great im- 
 
 1 Vide also Loudon's 'Mag. of Hat. Hist.,' vol. iii. p. 157. 
 
44 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 portance to ascertain the fact exactly at which of the three 
 places they were turned off. We may, however, accept 
 " turned off at Beeston " as most likely correct. 
 
 Mr. Gurney also tells me that a journal left by Mr. 
 Lawrance Banvill was destroyed by his son. It doubtless 
 contained full notes upon Capercaillies, and it is to be regretted 
 that it was not preserved. 
 
 In Blaine's ' Encyc. Rural Sports ' (1838), however, will be 
 found a very fuU account of " Larry's " journey, in his own 
 words, which is weU worth perusal, but is too long for 
 quotation in this place. A short abstract will, however, pre- 
 serve the continuity of our account. 
 
 By " Larry's " own journal it would appear that he left 
 home on the 1st April 1837, and made the Swedish coast on 
 the l7th April, and on the 20th reached Mr. Lloyd's house 
 at Yenersborg. There he remained, collecting and attending 
 to the birds, which were kept in large coops, five feet by three 
 and a half feet, or thereby. Besides Capercaillies a few 
 blackcock were procured, as well as a few eggs of both species. 
 These birds were often brought in from a considerable distance, 
 the natives having been instructed by Mr. Lloyd how to 
 capture the birds without hurting them. Larry then details the 
 troubles he encountered in finally preparing the birds and 
 their coops for the voyage down the river to Gottenburg; 
 but finally, on the 8th June, the birds were safely got on 
 board, and Larry took — ^what he then believed, was — the last 
 look of the Swedish coast on Saturday the 10th June. 
 
 On the 19th June Larry and the birds (in aU thirty-six 
 birds, being 7 black game and 29 Capercaillies, of which latter 
 there were 13 cocks and 16 hens) landed at HuU. On the 
 21st he sailed for Dundee, where he arrived with all the birds 
 weU on the 23d. He left Dundee on the 24th, and appears 
 to have reached Taymouth the same evening — a long journey, 
 part of which was effected with a horse and cart. The birds 
 
RESTORATION. 45 
 
 were all well on the 25tli, having reached Taymouth Castle 
 in safety. Larry remained a short time at Taymouth, and 
 got home again to Norfolk by the 20th July. Mr. E. Buxton, 
 in his further account of the birds, sent to the proprietors of 
 * The Encyclopcedia of Rural Sjports,' (continued, p. 816), gives 
 an account of the successful hatching out of two broods in the 
 woods, and the arrival of 16 more hens at Taymouth in the 
 summer of 1838, Larry had again been over in Sweden 
 assisting, as before, in their safe transmittal. In September 
 1839 Mr. James Guthrie, the head gamekeeper at Taymouth, 
 wrote : — " With regard to the Capercaillies, I think we shall 
 have between 60 and 70 young." Mr. E. Buxton also 
 mentions the fact that already two strayed birds had been 
 shot in the north of Scotland, and one hen had been offered 
 for sale in a poulterer's shop in Princes Street, Edinburgh. 
 I would recommend, however, to those interested in further 
 particulars, to read the excellent account of the restoration in 
 Blaine's work, of which the above is an extract. 
 
 Mr. Lloyd informs us that there were 20 birds in the 
 second lot sent off from Sweden. The balance, I believe, 
 were sent to Cromer Hall, but I have been unable exactly to 
 trace what became of them, unless, as Mr. D. Brown, lately 
 naturalist in Perth, informs me, they were taken not to 
 Cromer, but to Northrepps, where young were reared ; but all 
 died, owing, Mr. Brown writes, to the want of proper food. 
 
 It would appear at all events, that, in all, 13 cocks and 29 
 hens arrived in safety at Taymouth in 1837 and 1838. Some 
 accounts give 48 birds ; and Knox, in his ' Game Birds and 
 Wild Fowl; p. 221, says, " 54 adult CapercaiUies in 1838-39 " 
 {fide 'Zooi: ix. p. 3018-9). 
 
 In September 1838 Sir Fowell saw eighteen of the birds 
 at Tajonouth in good health, and ten more had been turned 
 down on the estate. The birds were carried out at night in 
 large baskets, and placed about amongst the woods, principally 
 
46 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 around the castle ; the lids were lifted, and the birds found 
 their way out of their own accord. The actual rearing by- 
 hand was not so successful, but in 1841 favourable reports 
 were received of the successful hatching of eggs under grey 
 hens, principally in the woods of Drummond Hill. They 
 soon became firmly established, and about the year 1862 or 
 1863 the Marquis of Breadalbane estimated their numbers 
 on the estates at over 1000 birds, while the head gamekeeper, 
 James Guthrie, who tended the birds with the greatest 
 possible care, estimated them to reach over 2000. It is 
 greatly owing to the intelligent care bestowed upon them by 
 Mr. Lawrance Banvill and Mr. James Guthrie that this 
 perfect success had been attained. To Sir Thomas Fowell 
 Buxton and to Mr. Lloyd thanks are in the first instance due, 
 but Messrs. Banvill and Guthrie, the Irish and Scotch 
 keepers, must not be forgotten for the active practical part 
 they took in the matter.^ 
 
 About the same time that they were introduced at Tay- 
 mouth five hens and a cock were brought to Dunkeld House 
 for the then Duchess Dowager of Athole, but shortly after- 
 wards the cock bird killed himself, and the hens were sent 
 up to Taymouth.^ In 1843 a successful introduction was 
 effected in Arran from birds sent from Taymouth; supplemented 
 
 1 Mr. Guthrie's "only delight or pleasure was to look after the 'beasties 
 and birdies, puir things,' for which he had a great affection; but woe betide 
 the vermin. The affection and humanity was of a different kind for the ' dirty 
 vermin.' I have seen him hang a wounded crow to die over a caged hen with 
 a brood of young pheasants, caressing the one, while to the other he was 
 absolutely cruel ; justifying the latter acts by the assertion that the one was 
 'vermin,' the others 'puir bonnie creaturs.' He came from Arbroath, when 
 quite young, to Taymouth, and I believe the shooting interest in Perthshire 
 owes his memory and zeal a debt, for he ' haated ' hawks, foxes, eagles, most 
 sincerely, and spent three nights a week for years on the hUl." I am 
 indebted for the above 'memory' of an old friend, to one who knew him 
 intimately, and who accompanied him in many of his long tramps o'er heath 
 and hill and tangled knowe. 
 
 2 Another account says, "three birds in 1838." Yarrell — * Brit. Birds.' 
 First Edition. 
 
RESTORATION. 47 
 
 by a fresh relay of birds direct from Sweden (see details 
 under Arran) in 1846. Concerning an alleged independent 
 restoration of the species at Murthly by Sir William Stewart, 
 Bart., about 1844, I have good reason for stating that there is 
 no actual foundation for the report, the birds arriving there 
 as early as 1842, and coming of their own accord from the 
 Athole woods. Mr. Malcolm Dunn, who has given me so 
 much assistance under another heading {infra, p. 131), informs 
 me that he is not responsible for the statement to the effect 
 that they were there re-introduced, as stated in the ' Zoolo- 
 gist; 1875, p. 4338. 
 
 Mr. John Colquhoun informs me that he inspected the 
 " colony of nests " at Taymouth. " The nests were close to- 
 gether, like rooks', and were thus. more easily protected." In 
 the fine autumn mornings he has often watched them feeding 
 or disporting in full view of the windows of the house ; and in 
 spring, and again in autunrn, this can be seen still in the 
 quiet secluded parts of the forest, or even in more public 
 parts of the estates. 
 
 For further details of the rearing of the birds see Yarrell's 
 ' History of Brit. Birds '—first edition — and Knox's ' Game 
 Birds and Wild Fowl; p. 221. 
 
 In 1845 David Carnegie, Esq., of Stronvar, brought over 
 two cocks and four hens, and kept them in confinement for 
 some years, hoping to get eggs to place in grey hens' nests. 
 The hens died in two or three years, and the cocks were let 
 loose. The latter were found not long after, both dead. It 
 was believed they had fought and killed each other. They 
 had been enemies when in confinement, only separated by 
 an open wooden partition (D. Carnegie, Esq. in lit.) 
 
 At Taymouth, and aU along the Tay valley, as far as Dun- 
 keld, Capercaillies, after becoming fairly established, increased 
 in numbers rapidly for a number of years. The whole district 
 was in everyway admirably adapted to their habits, the Duke of 
 
48 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 Athole and Lord Breadalbane having, as we have seen {antea, 
 p. 33), planted considerable areas of their estates, in the latter 
 part of the last century and in the beginning of the present 
 one, with larch, Scots fir, and spruce, thus forming for the 
 restored birds, the perfection of cover and food.^ 
 
 Of late much of this wood has been cut down, and sheep- 
 grazing has taken the place of forest growth. Consequently 
 the birds find their domain restricted, and are more subject 
 to disturbance. Mr. Anderson says : — " Within the last six or 
 seven years they have been decidedly on the decrease, al- 
 though still very abundant." All my correspondents agree in 
 this, and one goes so far as to say that he " believes there are 
 not half the birds upon the Athole estates that there were 
 twenty years ago." I have statistics showing a similar de- 
 crease in other localities. At present the birds are not much 
 shot nor disturbed on the Breadalbane and Athole estates. 
 
 Very shortly after their introduction at Taymouth they 
 appeared at Craig-y-barns, near Dunkeld — viz. in 1840 — and 
 a female was shot in 1843. They were then preserved up to 
 1848, but had become firmly established there long prior to 
 that date. 
 
 In 1842 Prince Albert shot one at Taymouth as part of 
 the game obtained when there with Her Majesty.^ Mr. 
 Charles Buxton, in his ' Memoirs of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton , 
 Bart' (p. 333, footnote), claims to have shot, along with his 
 brother, '' the first of these birds that had been killed in Scot- 
 land for a hundred years." As has been related by Blaine, 
 however, two were said to have been shot in the north of 
 
 ^ To Mr. Roderick Anderson of Dunkeld, amongst many others, I am in- 
 debted for a very succinct and admirable account of the reintroduction of the 
 species ; to Mr. Dayton of Loch Earn Head Hotel also, for other notes and 
 hints connected with the subject, and others having had personal acquaintance 
 with Mr. James Guthrie and Mr. Banvill, and who well remember the first 
 appearance of the birds at Taymouth. 
 
 2 Vide ' Her Majesty's Journal.' 
 
RESTORATION. 49 
 
 Scotland in 1839 ; wandered birds from Taymouth, probably, 
 and one was offered for sale in Edinburgh. 
 
 In 1843, as I am informed by Sir Eobert Menzies, " a 
 large number of the birds," to use his own words, " came across 
 the river to the Eock of Dull, on my property, where they 
 bred very well, and were taken good care of for a number of 
 years, as I did not allow them to be shot. The Eock of Dull 
 is a large wood of old Scotch fir. It is well exposed, facing 
 the south, and with plenty of water. The original plantation 
 is about 300 acres, and there is as much again more recently 
 planted close to it. With the exception of Drummond HiU, 
 the woods at Taymouth face the north, and I presume that 
 this was the reason why the birds, when turned out, came to 
 my side of the valley, which was right opposite. At first they 
 increased rapidly, having bred well the very first season ; but 
 I never got them to increase beyond what they were as to 
 numbers in the second or third year. They are very wander- 
 ing birds, and very soon I heard of their being at Tullimet, 
 Dunkeld, and Blair Athole; and thence they shortly after 
 moved on to the plantations in Strathord, Strathearn, and the 
 upper woods in the Carse of Gowrie. It is noteworthy that 
 this migration was always to the lower plantations, and I 
 have made several unsuccessful attempts to turn them out 
 again in Eannoch, which is higher wood. There, there is a 
 quantity of the indigenous Scotch fir, the remains of the for- 
 mer Caledonian forest; and where I expected they would have 
 done well and been well satisfied with their quarters, they 
 remained a year or two and then disappeared, and, I think, 
 migrated southward, preferring other places to Eannoch. I 
 have also sent eggs on several occasions across the Gram- 
 pians to Inverness-shire and to Beaufort Castle, but I think 
 they have not succeeded as yet in introducing them there. I 
 preserve the Capercaillie, as I do not think they do harm 
 either to the grouse or black game ; in fact, they frequent 
 
 E 
 
50 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 large well-grown Scotch fir plantations, where these are not 
 usually found." 
 
 In Arran they were separately introduced — partly from 
 birds direct from Sweden, and partly by birds from Taymouth. 
 Notwithstanding the mixture of fresh blood thus acquired, 
 and the corresponding rapid increase of the species there, 
 Arran, from its isolated position, cannot be held as an appre- 
 ciable centre for any large extent of country. (For full parti- 
 culars of this introduction, vide under "Arran," p. 103.) 
 
 I am obliged to Mr. Muirhead, of Edinburgh, for the 
 following statistics, which may perhaps be considered to repre- 
 sent the steady increase of the species since that time. He 
 informs me that he received for sale in 1855 not more than 
 10 brace of Scottish birds ; in 1865, from 15 to 20 brace ; in 
 1875, from 20 to 25 brace during the season ; in 1876, fully 
 30 brace ; but in 1877-78 scarcely any. " This wet season," 
 he adds, "partridges, grouse, and pheasants have turned out 
 a very small crop, in fact, the shortest supply on record." 
 Many Scottish sportsmen can bear out this latter remark of 
 Mr. Muirhead's. In 1852 Mr. John Plant received a hybrid 
 from Mr. Muirhead, shot .near Breadalbane (' ZooL! 1852, 
 p. 8710). 
 
 In England also attempts have been made to introduce 
 the species. Lord Eavensworth gives an account of his endea- 
 vours to establish them at his seat at Eslington in Northum- 
 berland, between 1872 and 1877, in the ' Nat. Hist. Trans, of 
 Northumherland and Durham ' for 1877. At the latter date 
 there were three males and two females in good health. In 
 the south of Yorkshire, around Hebden Bridge, in the sum- 
 mer of 1877, six strong chicks were hatched out under the 
 care of a Scottish gamekeeper, from eggs procured from the 
 Highlands {vide 'Newcastle Chronicle! January 1877).^ 
 
 ^ Mr. David Fyffe, gamekeeper at Lindertis, Forfar, sent seven young 
 birds to the Duke of Newcastle. One cock grew to the size of a moderately 
 large turkey ; but through time they all died. 
 
RESTORATION. 51 
 
 At an earlier date (1842) an attempt was made at Tap- 
 low Court, Buckingham (Thompson, 'Birds of Ireland,' ii. 
 p. 33) ; and several birds were sent to the Earl of Derby at 
 Knowsley in the same year {pp. cit.) The Zoological Society 
 of London had a pair, but they did not long survive (' Penny 
 Gyclopcedia' vol. vi. p. 260). By the following extract from 
 the 'Auction Catalogue (corrected) of the Menagerie and 
 Aviary at Knowsley! August 1851, p. 37, — copy in Library 
 Zool. Soc, London, — it would appear that there were four birds 
 at Knowsley at the time of the sale, October 1851 : — 
 
 ,^. .^ . .* ( 2 Capercaillie, male and female. 
 
 (Divided mto V ^ ^^^_ ^^^ ^ _ 
 
 two lots.) ) 
 
 The birds at Eslington all died off. The remaining male 
 became too mischievous to be kept with safety, and had to be 
 destroyed before the late lord's death. 
 
 Mr. Webb did not — as stated in ' Tlie Field ' of January 2, 
 1875 — turn out any Capercaillies at Newstead Abbey, Not- 
 tingham, and the hybrid reported {op, cit.) was a cross between 
 a blackcock and a pheasant, not between a Capercaillie and 
 black game {' Field,' January 23, 1875). 
 
 In Ireland, Lord Bantry attempted to introduce them at 
 Glengariff. Three brace of birds were sent over by Mr. Lloyd, 
 as related in Thompson's 'Birds of Ireland,' vol. ii. p. 31. 
 {Vide Appendix.) 
 
PAET IV. 
 
 INCREASE AND EXTENSION OF RANGE. 
 
 {mth a Map.) 
 
COPY OF CIECULAR. 
 
 In re Capercaillie — Queries. In re Capercaillie — Answers. 
 
 Name of Estate Name of Estate. 
 
 County Comity. 
 
 1st. Do they occur on above estate ? . 1st. 
 
 %. 
 
 -2 
 
 2d. If so, are they resident or occa- 2d. *S 
 
 sional ? ^ 
 
 3d. "Were they introduced, or did they 3d. -^ 
 
 arrive of their own accord ? 
 
 4th. If introduced, when ? — give year 4th. 
 
 or (failing that), approximate 
 date 
 
 5th. If introduced, where from and how 5th. 
 
 — by eggs or by birds ? . . "^ W 
 
 6th. If arrived of own accord, when ? . gth. ^'^ 
 
 7th. And where "probably from ? . . 7th. ^ 1 
 
 8th. When did they become fairly esta- sth. 
 
 -u . 
 
 P-. 
 
 blished on above estate ? . . o Ph 
 
 -M fH 
 
 9th. Are they "common," "abundant," 9th. | :§ 
 
 or " rare "?.... * "fe ^ 
 
 10th. How many have you seen in a day, 10th. 
 
 or seen shot in a day ; and when ^ '^ 
 
 was it you saw this ? . . . o "' 
 
 11th. Give approximate extent of woods 11th. 
 
 suitable for their habits — pine or 
 fir — ^upon the above estate ; in >» 
 
 acres or square miles ... 5 
 
 o 
 
 12th. Are they preserved ? . . . 12th. ^ 
 
 13th. Are they increasing ? . . , 23th 
 
 14th. Are Black Game decreasing since \l\\\ 
 
 their arrival, or otherwise ? 
 
 15th. The names of adjoining estates 15th. "^ 
 
 where they occur, with any par- tg- 
 
 ticulars you can furnish — in the 
 above order .... 
 
 Sign Name and Address. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 INCREASE AND EXTENSION OF RANGE. 
 
 In the following sketch of the increase and extension of range 
 of the Capercaillie in Scotland under each county, I have given 
 the distances in direct lines from Taymouth of each locality 
 or group of localities mentioned. The actual lines of advance, 
 however, must not always be understood to have followed 
 these direct radii, because, as shall be further explained, the 
 natural courses of the waves of distribution — if I may so term 
 their acts of progress — follow, for the most part, the trend of 
 the valleys up or down stream, or the wooded slopes of the 
 hills, seldom reaching across hare hills of any altitude. The 
 accompanying Map will, it is believed, greatly assist in indi- 
 cating the lines of advance, and should be consulted whilst 
 reading the text. Owing to the small scale of the map the 
 names of many localities are necessarily omitted, but most of 
 these places will be found upon Black's maps of Scotland, 
 and, I believe, almost all upon the Ordnance Survey sheets, 
 so far as published. 
 
 Explanation of the Map. — The map is on the scale of 
 one inch to ten miles. 
 
 The map shows that portion of Scotland which may be 
 said to contain the area at present occupied by the Caper- 
 caillie, excepting the Island of Arran — which may be con- 
 sidered as the seat of a separate introduction — and certain 
 
56 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 other outlying localities in the North, South, and West of 
 Scotland, which I have treated of as fully as my materials 
 admit of in the text, but which I have not thought it neces- 
 sary to include in the map. 
 
 This area comprises Perthshire — the head-quarters of the 
 species — Forfar, Fife, Kinross, Clackmannan, Stirling, and 
 Dumbarton; and also the neighbouring portions of Argyle, 
 Inverness, Aberdeen, and Kincardine, in the west and north ; 
 and the Lothians and south shore of the Firth of Forth in the 
 south. 
 
 Those portions coloured an uniform shade of red show the 
 localities where I have ascertained that the species is perma- 
 nently established, or where the birds are at present resident. 
 Those other portions, dotted red, show the localities where the 
 species occurs occasionally, breeds sporadically, or only visits 
 at certain seasons. 
 
 Taymouth, the centke of restokation, is marked thus, 
 
 • The concentric rings show the distances from the centre, 
 on the scale of 1 inch to 10 miles, the scale of the map. 
 
 The dates of arrival of the species at the various localities 
 are printed in black over the coloured portions. Where a 
 capital E precedes the date, JEstablishment is recorded.^ 
 
 Other localities where successful introductions have been 
 effected — i.e. where Establishment has resulted — are also 
 marked so, © ; but in the text Taymouth is always spoken of 
 as the centre, whence all distances are measured. 
 
 Localities where unsuccessful introductions have been 
 made are indicated by a cross, thus X . 
 
 ^ While many of the dates given are exact, and have been in the first 
 instance carefully recorded, many others must be accepted only as approxi- 
 mate. I found it impossible in many cases to obtain exact statistics lof 
 Arrival or Establishment, and many of the returns I have received contained 
 no dates whatever. Such, I think, can hardly be looked for in all cases, but 
 
 1 believe by far the larger number of the dates and statistics given can be relied 
 upon for all practical purposes. 
 
h 
 
~ " « L*(ohe«nih< 
 
 ^SMoy.ji«. sir— ^^ «°"i, ^^l-vi^^/V ^^ . vVP^ "■ 
 
 «3tffi.«^W>' -^ -^'«™3g^V-*^ ,>fc5.5y 1/ ll \ i r Bill //-. 
 
 ^teruc/uTtCii'-i 
 
 
 iHctel' 
 
 
 
 fberfoil SsBtJs^^^A. 
 
 '.not 
 
 "(jiemnaUti/v 
 
 '■"r^&. iG |3^ x>^ ^^\'*4i^OVi\(M-\ 
 
 ^»o^^^^ 
 
 
 
 KafjrtKaiUfJ 
 
 
 fori. "^ 
 
 )?/« 
 
 OH'/inp^ JJf(t^ 
 
 GUnSta 
 
 
 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 PERTHSHIRE. 
 
 Perthshire continues to be the head-quarters of the species, 
 and is not likely to lose its position in this respect for a long 
 time to come, although Forfarshire is pressing hard to emu- 
 late it. 
 
 All the minute statistics I have been able to gather I 
 have thought worthy of record, because there is no saying 
 what changes of circumstance may affect the future census of 
 the CapercaOlie population, or what difficulties may arise at 
 a later date, if the statistics of its earlier history since its 
 restoration come to be desired. 
 
 I will now proceed to arrange, as best I can, the statistics, 
 starting from Taymouth as the centre, and following the birds 
 as they advance outward in steady " waves of distribution." 
 
 1837 and 1838. Date of Eestoration at Tajnnouth, marked 
 O on map. 
 
 1840. Eeached the neighbourhood of Dunkeld, one having 
 been seen at Craig-y-barns (15 miles from © ), and a female 
 at Langridge wood, near Scone (23 miles from O ). Now — 
 1877-78 — resident, and again increasing, though a decrease 
 took place on the Athole estates for some years — preserved. 
 This is part of a district on the Athole estates, stated roundly 
 as containing 10,000 acres of suitable woods. 
 
 1841. The CapercaiUie at this time had become fully 
 
58 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 established at Taymouth. At present (1878) said not to be 
 so abundant as twenty years ago. Mark in this connection 
 the migratory movement related by Sir Eobert Menzies 
 {antea^ p. 49). 
 
 1842. Arrived at Murthly, down the Tay valley (23 miles 
 from O J or 30 miles following the river). Were much more 
 numerous here 15-20 years ago than they are at present, but 
 are again on the increase now. They have 3000 acres of 
 wood to thrive in. 
 
 1843.^ One, a female, shot at Craig-y-bams (ut sup.) 
 
 1844. Became established at Logierait (14 miles from©). 
 
 1845. Became established at Murthly (ut sup.) An at- 
 tempt was made to introduce them at Stronvar in Balqui- 
 hidder. Mr. David Carnegie brought over two cocks and four 
 hens, and kept them for some years in confinement. (See 
 under account of Eestoration.) Stronvar is 24 miles in a direct 
 line from Q , or thereabouts. A male bird was caught alive at 
 Blair Castle (13 miles O ), and was sent back to Taymouth. 
 Became established between Dunkeld and Logierait. Supposed 
 to be at Ochtertyre as early as this ; but it appears doubtful, as 
 on Fowlis Wester, adjoining, we have no account of them before 
 1852. The difference of dates of arrival may, however, be ac- 
 counted for by difference in age of plantations on the estates. 
 
 1847. According to the proprietor's information, first seen 
 at Faskally, at the junction of the Tummell and Garry, in 
 1847. Another account gives 1857 (q. v.) as date of first ap- 
 pearance in the Tummell valley, but judging from other evi- 
 dence, and the continuity of the woods between Faskally and 
 Dunkeld, as well as the comparatively short distance from 
 the centre, (viz. 12 miles, or 18 miles by river), the earlier date 
 must be accepted. From that it reached up the Tummel 
 
 1 Birds sent from Taymouth to Arran. See also under "Arran," and 
 a7itea, under " Eestoration," Arrived at various localities between Dunkeld 
 and Logierait, where they are now resident and abundant. 
 
EXTENSION IN PERTHSHIRE. 59 
 
 valley to Bonskeid, Bohally, and Dunalastair, which are 
 respectively 12 miles, 10 miles, and 8 miles from O . 
 
 Also appeared at Lyndoch, near Strathord (18 miles from 
 O •) Now — 1877 — abundant. Area about 1000 acres. 
 
 Established at Glenalmond (14 miles from Q ), having 
 bred regularly since in the " Small Glen," but almost always 
 leaving for the more extensive and suitable woods on the 
 south, or right, bank of the river Almond — one of the few 
 instances in which we find the southern bank preferred. 
 The exposure, however, lies weU to the sun. Preserved. 
 Perhaps 30 to 40 birds on the estate, taking aU the season 
 through. 
 
 1846. Is reported to have reached Gask on north, or left, 
 bank of river Earn as early as this date ; but see under 1858. 
 Gask is 21 miles from Q . 
 
 [Birds were sent to Arran direct from Sweden. Eestoration 
 in Arran partly by Taymouth birds (1843), and partly by 
 Swedish birds. (See under headings " Arran " and " Eestora- 
 tion.") ] 
 
 1848. This is probably nearer the correct date of the first 
 bird shot at West Dron on the Elcho estates, though 1844 has 
 been assigned — a female. It was shot by Mr. Eobert Wood, 
 who had it stuffed, and it is now in Lord Elcho's possession at 
 Gosford. This must still be considered an early arrival, Tay- 
 mouth being 28 miles distant, and the next earliest arrival in 
 the district dating 1853. At present the birds are only occa- 
 sional in the district, owing to the nature of the coverts. 
 
 1849. Arrived at Keillor Forest, near Methven (21 miles 
 from O ). 17 birds have been shot here in one day at Keillor 
 Wood, and were on this occasion all codes. (Auct. Mr. David 
 Brown, naturalist, late of Perth, who saw them killed.) 
 
 1850. Arrived at Banff in the east of the county (27 miles 
 from O). Area 2000 acres. Increasing very much now 
 —1877. 25 have been shot in a day. 
 
60 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 Appeared, but rarely, as early as this at St. Martins, near 
 Perth (24 miles from © ). For establishment, see 1860. 
 
 Arrived at Gorthie, Crieff district (16 miles from © ) from 
 Taymouth direction. Established 1856. First shot was a 
 hybrid. After that they increased. Woods at that time about 
 25 years of age, and are now composed of spruce, Scotch fir, 
 and larch ; about 400 acres in extent. Of late years Caper- 
 caillies have decreased, owing to thinning of the woods to a 
 considerable extent. Black game have now — 1878 — entirely 
 disappeared, and it is believed that they have been extirpated 
 by the Capercaillies.'^ I am indebted to Mr. Frank Norgate, 
 of Norwich, for obtaining for me the return from this locality, 
 and to G. E. Mercer, Esq., for kindly filling in the circular. 
 
 1852. Hybrids were obtained at Logiealmond in Glen 
 Almond (14 miles from© ), as related in the ' ZooV 1860, p. 
 7325, and birds arrived, or were first shot, at Fowlis Wester 
 and at Monzie (18 miles and 14 miles from© ). In 1859 12 
 were shot one day at Fowlis Wester. Not supposed to be in- 
 creasing now at Fowlis Wester. Woods very extensive, join- 
 ing with Abercairney, Tulchan, Balgowan, Gorthy, Cairnies, 
 Keillor, Methven, and Glenahnond. On Monzie about 500 
 acres of wood. Arrived also at Balgowan — adjoining pro- 
 perty — about 450 acres of Scots fir (see 1857 for establish- 
 ment, and 1864 for increase). Also at Kinfauns, Carse of 
 Gowrie (27 miles from©), where there are miles of pine 
 woods adjoining. Now abundant. 
 
 1853. Are reported as being present at Strathallan as 
 early as 1853 (21 miles from© ). But see under 1857. 
 
 Became established at Woodhill, Strathardle (19 miles 
 from © ). 200 acres of wood. 
 
 Arrived in the Bridge of Earn district, at Kilgraston, Bal- 
 manno, Dron, Dumbarney, Glenearn, Pitkeathly, and part of 
 Ochil Hills (25-28 miles from©). At these localities, it is, 
 
 1 But see remarks under "Decrease of Black Game," p. 120. 
 
EXTENSION IN PERTHSHIRE. 61 
 
 however, for the most part sporadical — or occasionally breed- 
 ing, but leaving again. The pine growth is not extensive, and 
 is for the most part mixed with hard wood. 
 
 Arrived and became established at Dupplin Castle, north 
 side of Earn Eiver (22 miles from©). 16 were killed here 
 one day in 1877. This property contains about 1800 acres of 
 pine wood. Preserved and increasing. 
 
 1854. The first appearance at TulliaUan was a hybrid, and 
 none were seen afterwards till the introduction took place in 
 1856 (^. v) (38 miles from O). Not established here until 
 1864 (^. v) 
 
 Arrived at Ardoch, Braco, near Auchterarder. (23 miles 
 from O )• 150 acres of suitable wood. Now common and 
 preserved. 
 
 1856. Became established about 1856 at Ardoch (ut sup.) 
 Introduced at TulliaUan, but only hens (four in number) 
 
 reared, resulting in hybrids. Not fairly introduced and estab- 
 lished tiU 1864 (q. V.) 
 
 First seen at Lanrick, Blairdrummond, and Gartencaber, 
 near Doune. (27j miles from Q ). Not established till 1860 
 
 Arrived at Condie, in Ochil HUls, on the march of Kin- 
 ross (30 miles from © ). Probably from Invermay and Dup- 
 pKn. Eesident now — 1877 ; not preserved ; not increasing. 
 
 1857. Another account gives arrival at FaskaUy in 1857; 
 but see under 1847. 
 
 First seen at Ballathie, near StobhaU (23 miles from © ). 
 Here the suitable acreage is isolated and limited, or an earlier 
 arrival might have been looked for. 
 
 Arrived at Ashmore and Pearsey, east of the county, in 
 Strathardle (21-4 miles from © ), or earlier ? Vide also under 
 1867. 
 
 First seen at Drummond Castle— ?;. ' Brummond Castle 
 Game Book ' (17 miles from © ). Now abundant (see 1870). 
 
62 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 Arrived at Blackpark, in Glenalmond (? miles from © ), 
 coming from the north. 
 
 Became estabKshed at Balgowan, in the Methven and 
 Glenalmond district, which property marches with Gorthy, 
 Cairnies, and other properties, where there are great tracts 
 of forest. For arrival, see under 1852 {antea, p. 60). For in- 
 crease, see under 1864. (Balgowan is 19 miles from© ). 
 
 Is positively stated to have arrived for the first time at 
 StrathaUan, coming from the forests to the north (19 miles 
 from © ). 2000 acres of Scots fir on Tullibardine Moor. 
 Preserved. They increased rapidly until the number reached 
 the limit the woods were able to support. Also became 
 established the same season (185*7). See, however, under 
 1853. 
 
 1858. Up to this time they were strictly preserved on the 
 Athole properties, and scarcely any ever shot. 
 
 Arrived, and became established at Methven (20 miles 
 from © ), from the direction of Bimam, and down ' the Tay 
 valley by Strathord and Lyndoch. 300 acres fir. Not pre- 
 served, not increasing. 
 
 Arrived at Inchmartine, in the Carse of Gowrie (25-8 miles 
 from © ). Probably from St. Martins, across the wooded 
 Sidlaw HiUs. The properties adjoin. 
 
 Said to have arrived at Strathord only this year (21 miles 
 from © ), but probably earlier, as record is indefinite. Com- 
 pare Lyndoch under 1847. 
 
 Arrived at Trinity Gask, between Dupplin and Strath- 
 aUan, on north or left bank of river Earn, on the authority of 
 Sir Thomas Moncrieffe, Bart., though one correspondent places 
 it at 1846, speaking from memory, and another at 1863 ; but 
 I take this date, as Sir Thomas Moncrieffe adds that his in- 
 formation is from memoranda in his possession. (20 miles 
 from © ), probably from Lyndoch direction. 
 
 The first obtained at Loyal House, near Alyth, in the east 
 
EXTENSION IN PEETHSHIRE. 63 
 
 of the county (28 miles from © ), by Major J. W. Wedderburn, 
 was a hybrid (see * Proc. Boyal Fhyl. Soc.,' vol. ii. p. 44). See 
 also under heading " Hybrids," farther on, p. 115. 
 
 1859. Established at Trinity Gask {ut sujp) Area of 
 wood on Trinity Gask 360 acres. Not increasing. 
 
 As many as twelve were shot in one day at Wester Fowlis 
 this season (20 miles from © ). 
 
 About this time birds were on Abercairney, but I have no 
 fixed date of arrival for this property. (See under 1861 and 
 1862.) 
 
 1860. Became established at Lanrick, Blairdrummond, and 
 Gartincaber (see for arrival, 1856). Probably they reached 
 this from the Drummond Castle direction. Hens, as usual, 
 were seen first, but the remains of a cock were found also in 
 1856. Had it survived, probably an earlier establishment 
 would have taken place. See " General Distribution," infra, 
 p. 113. 
 
 Became established at Banff (27 J miles from©). See 
 1850. 
 
 Arrived at Elindrogan, in Glen Brerachan, near Dunkeld 
 (only 19 miles from © ). A late date, but the direction of 
 their advance would not probably be across the hills from 
 Dunkeld, but up the valley from Ashmore and Pearsey, in 
 Strathardle. 
 
 Became established on St. Martins, and were plentiful by 
 that time (see 1850). On this and estates adjoining — viz. 
 Dunsinnan, Scone, Stobhall, etc., there are large tracts of 
 wood. On St. Martins two woods, of 1000 and 2000 acres, 
 are in part shared with Dunsinnan and Lord Mansfield's. 
 They are now as abundant as black game used to be, which 
 Mr. Macdonald Macdonald, of St. Martins, writes they have 
 now quite driven out. Black game are now " entirely gone " 
 from the estate. St. Martins also joins with Inchmartin 
 estate in the Carse of Gowrie, across the wooded Sidlaw Hills. 
 
64 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 A hybrid was obtained in Perthshire, and a nest of nine 
 eggs found at Logiealmond (' Zool.' 1860, p. 7235). 
 
 1861. First seen at Kinnoul, as far as I can gather {v. 
 ' Scot. Nat.; vol. i. p. 114). (25 miles from Q ). 
 
 First bird shot at Abercairney, near Crieff, on the 8th 
 November, " but numbers were on the estate two or three 
 years previously, but were not shot at." (James Eobertson, 
 keeper, Abercairney.) 
 
 1862. About this time very abundant at Taymouth. Esti- 
 mated at 1000 birds by Lord Breadalbane, and over 2000 by 
 James Guthrie, the keeper, but I have no doubt they reached 
 a maximum before this. 
 
 1862. First shot at Gleneagles, near Auchterarder (25 
 miles from © ). The wood here is small, and mostly mixed 
 hard wood. Had Gleneagles been well planted with pine it 
 would have formed a natural avenue of advance into Glen- 
 devon, and across the Ochils into Kinross and West Fife. 
 
 First shot at Stobhall (23 miles from Q ). ' Drummond 
 Castle Game Booh; First seen at Moncrieffe — a female, 
 October 27. (Memorandum by Sir Thomas Moncrieffe.) 
 
 Established about this date on Abercairney, near Crieff 
 (19 miles from Q ). Now as many as 12 seen in a day. Pre- 
 served ; increasing slowly. 
 
 1862. About this date, "16 years ago," one was shot on 
 Glengyle Hill (?), near Loch Katrine (28 miles from Q ). This 
 date is a long way in advance of others in the neighbourhood, 
 and I fancy there must be some mistake. 
 
 1863. For Gask, see 1858. 
 
 Said to be becoming scarcer at Murthly. Were much 
 more numerous 15-20 years ago than now. One reason 
 assigned is, that the late Mr. Condie killed them down for a 
 few years in Eohalzion woods opposite. They are now again 
 increasing. 
 
 Established at Moncrieffe (26 J miles from © ). Now 50 
 
EXTENSION IN PERTHSHIRE. 65 
 
 or 60 seen in a day. Preserved. 500 acres and upwards. 
 Not increasing. Sir Thomas Moncrieffe notices that a number 
 migrate every year. 
 
 See Abercairney, Criefif district, under 1861 and 1862 ; 
 and map. 
 
 1864. EstabKshed at TuUiallan, an introduction by eggs, 
 procured by Lord Balfour of Burleigh from Freeland. For 
 account of introduction, see under Chap. xx. p. 116. Now 
 very abundant at Fowlis Wester. 
 
 Bred at Aberuthven wood, south side of river Earn, east 
 of Auchterarder — an isolated clump of about 60 acres of fir 
 (24 miles from © ), and continued to do so sporadically, until 
 1869 or so, when they left altogether, the wood probably 
 becoming too old. In 1861, I shot in this wood, and.it was 
 then of pretty old growth. 
 
 First seen at Kippenross (27j miles from Q ). Woods on 
 Sheriffmuir pretty extensive. 
 
 Arrived at Bahnyle, in Strathardle, and at Black Craig, 
 Strathardle, "probably from Athole" (?) (21 and 20 miles 
 from O respectively). About 40 acres of wood on Balmyle 
 estate and 100 on Black Craig. Not abundant; preserved; 
 increasing. 
 
 Arrived at Glentarchy and Ayton, in the Bridge of Earn 
 district (30 miles from ©). See 1856, where arrival is 
 recorded at Condie, in the Ochils, still farther to the south. 
 Discrepancy may be accounted for in the later growth of 
 wood at Glentarchy. 
 
 At Balgowan the keeper saw 100 birds in one place at one 
 time in 1864 (see 1852 and 1857), and 13 have been shot in 
 one day. 
 
 1865. First seen at Braes of Doune — Lord Moray's pro- 
 perty (26 miles from ©). Apparently a discrepancy, but 
 various causes must be taken into consideration. They appear 
 to have arrived at Lanrick and Gartencaber, coming from 
 
 F 
 
66 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 Ardoch and Drummond Castle, before populating Braes of 
 Doune. But even now (1877) they are only uncertain in the 
 woods there, and on Argaty adjoining. The woods are some- 
 what isolated, and not very extensive. 
 
 Appeared at Luib, Glendochart (25 miles from Q ). 
 
 First seen at Pitcairlie, Fife march (33 miles from Q ). 
 See under Fife, 1865. 
 
 Established at Monzie, Crieff district (15 miles from Q ) ; 
 Ferntower (15 miles from Q ) ; Ochtertyre (15 miles from Q ). 
 These are now quite parts of the stronghold of the species in 
 the south of Perth. 
 
 Established at Dalnaglar, Glen Shee, east of county (25 
 miles from Q ). For full notes on this locality, see under 
 " Deci^ease of Black Game," etc. 
 
 Established at TuUiallan. See under "Hybrids" and 
 " Eestoration." 
 
 Arrived on Kincardine estate between this date and 1860, 
 probably from Strathallan or Drummond Castle. Kincardine, 
 near Auchterarder (24 miles from Q ). 
 
 1866. First seen at Aldie, near Crook of Devon, march of 
 county Kinross (32 miles from O ), and established same year. 
 Not preserved formerly, but present tenant does preserve. At 
 present rare, but likely to increase. 
 
 Established at Glentarchy and Ay ton (see- 1864). Not 
 likely to become numerous. Glentarchy is really in Fife, 
 q. V. under 1866. 
 
 First seen at Invermay (26 miles from Q ), near Dunning. 
 Occasional at present (1877). Common in autumn; eight 
 seen in a day. About 200 acres mixed wood. Increasing, 
 but do not breed here. 
 
 1867. First shot at Airthrey, near Stirling, south of county 
 (31 miles from © ). Five seen at Bridge of Allan, Christmas 
 1877. 
 
 [Said to be estabKshed only in 1867, at Ashmore and 
 
EXTENSION IN PEI^THSHIRE. 67 
 
 Persey, east of county, but the other record is best authenti- 
 cated. See under 1857.] 
 
 Very abundant at Ochtertyre (see 1865). 
 
 1868. A female first seen at Cardross (32 miles from O ), 
 S.W. of county (see under 1870). 
 
 Arrived at Garvock from Gask or Dupplin. Garvock is 
 near Dunning (27 miles from Q ). 
 
 1869. Abundant at Dunsinnan, to the N.E. of Perth 
 (27 miles from © ). I saw at least thirty there one day when 
 shooting in December. I have not received dates of arrival 
 or establishment at this locality. 
 
 1870. First male seen at Cardross, near Lake of Menteith 
 (see 1868 and 1871). 
 
 Abundant at Drummond Castle, Earn valley, near Crieff. 
 This is now a great stronghold of the birds in the south of 
 the county (17 miles from Q); strictly preserved now; in- 
 creasing very much still. The adjoining estates are Strowan, 
 Ardoch, Strathallan, Abercairney, etc., upon all of which 
 there are considerable areas of suitable and continuous woods. 
 Torlum ^ Hill, the highest in Scotland which is wooded to the 
 summit (by last survey 1291 feet), is on the march between 
 the Drummond estates and Strowan, and is considered to be 
 more thickly populated by Capercaillies than any other 
 localities in the Crieff- Comrie district. 
 
 1871. Established at Cardross. (This is a good illustra- 
 tion of the succession and arrival of female and male, and 
 establishment — see farther on, p. 113.) 
 
 Arrived at Stronvar, Balquhidder. (For attempt at 
 introduction see 1845). Only occasional at present, and rare 
 (only 24 miles from Q , but across hills, in a direct line). 
 
 ^ Torlum, from Gaelic Tor-lorn, or The hare hill. *'This appearance is 
 now changed, it having been planted in the end of the last century ; but draw- 
 ings which exist of Drummond Castle show that the name was truly descrip- 
 tive {vide Robertson's ' Gaelic Topography of Scotland, and what it proves,' 
 1869, p. 457). 
 
68 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 Probably advanced from Comrie and Crieff along Lochearn- 
 side, or possibly from the Doune district, or possibly from 
 Glen Dochart. The Doune district route is the least likely. 
 
 1872. Arrived at Leny, near Callander (25 miles from © ). 
 Probably from Lanrick and Doune (see 1874). 
 
 Arrived and bred at Ashintully, 15 miles north of Blair- 
 gowrie (14 miles from © ). 
 
 1873. Only occasional at Balquhidder still (24 miles from 
 © ). Near Stronvar. Up to present time (1878) only occasional. 
 
 1874. Twenty-three shot one day at Dunkeld in 1874 
 (see 1843-4). 
 
 Established at Leny. Ten to twelve birds on estate now 
 (see 1877). In Glenartney, behind the hill from Leny, 
 there are no Capercaillies. It is probable, therefore, they 
 advanced to Leny via Doune and Lanrick. 
 
 1876. First shot in Dearry woods, 5 miles from Lochearn- 
 head (about 15 miles from © , across the hiUs). 
 
 Very abundant at Moncrieffe ; thirty seen in a day (see 
 1863). 
 
 A young retriever dog caught a young chick at Leny at 
 the end of July. This is the first positive evidence of their 
 having bred here. 
 
 1877. First seen at Kippendavie, near Stirling (28 miles 
 from © ) ; woods scattered. 
 
 First seen at Evelick, Carse of Gowrie (24 miles from © ). 
 
 First seen at ArdvorKch, south side of Loch Earn (18 miles 
 from © ). Patch of isolated larch wood of considerable age. 
 
 First seen at Loch Kennord, between Tay and Strath- 
 braan district. Probably came up the vaUey from Strath- 
 braan, having reached round from Taymouth almost in a 
 circle ; or possibly, as wood was planted higher up the slope 
 of the hiU on the north side of the Tay, or grew to a greater 
 height, the birds may only at this late date have attained an 
 altitude sufficient to permit them to see the wooded banks of 
 
EXTENSION IN PERTHSHIRE. 69 
 
 Loch Kennord, at the back of the lower hills which are on the 
 south side of the Tay. While all the way down the river 
 from Dull, on the north bank, to Pitnacree, near Dunkeld, 
 the birds occur, it is somewhat strange how almost unknown 
 they are across the river at any locality below Taymouth ; 
 the want of wood, however, sufficiently accounting for it. 
 Increase in the growth of the trees at Loch Kennord also, of 
 course, may have been the cause of attracting them. I think 
 there can be little doubt that the bird's power of vision is 
 great, and that this is a powerful factor in their distribution. 
 They are often seen plunging from the wooded heights of 
 Moncrieffe Hill, and making for the woods which lie scattered 
 over the eastern spur of the Ochils, and which are situated 
 upon the properties of Invermay, Condie, Kilgraston, and the 
 neighbourhood of the Bridge of Earn — a distance of four or five 
 miles at one flight. Though never occurring on Seggieden 
 property, they are established close to it on Kinnoul, and 
 Colonel Drummond Hay has often seen them passing high 
 overhead, making for the wooded slopes of Evelick in the 
 Carse of Gowrie. 
 
 1877. Had reached Tyndrum, at head of Glendochart, only 
 27 miles from © , but locality far removed from suitable woods 
 (see remarks farther on, under " General Eemarks," p. 105). 
 
 1878. At the present time Capercaillie are abundant at 
 Dall, on Lochrannochside, as I am informed by Mr. George 
 Galbraith, Skye, who knows the district well between that 
 and Faskally, along the Tummel valley. He writes {in lit) : — 
 " At Dall they seem to be more numerous than in any other 
 place — [i.e. on the Tummel above Faskally. — J. A. H. B.] The 
 Black Wood of Eannoch seems to suit them. I have seldom 
 or ever gone trout-fishing on Eannoch without seeing several." 
 
 They are resident. Two males were first observed in the 
 Black Wood, and lived for two or three years in celibacy. A 
 female was then introduced by the late Struan Eobertson, 
 
70 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 Esq., and tnese three birds were the ancestors of all the 
 Capercaillie now in the Black Wood, as I am informed by 
 another correspondent resident on the spot. 
 
 1878. At Glen Queich (about 5 miles from ©), it has 
 again been observed. Here there is only a small bit of 
 young plantation and a few scattered large trees. 
 
 Beyond Perthshire limits, the CapercaiUie had reached 
 Forfarshire in 1859, and farthest in that county at Stracathro, 
 near Brechin, in 1865 (54 miles from O ). 
 
 In Fife it was first seen in 1863, and reached farthest in 
 that county in 1875, at Kinaldy (50 miles from ©). 
 
 In west of Fife about 1871, but these birds probably 
 came from the separate Q at Tulliallan, and reached Pitreavie 
 in 1877, near Dunfermline (43 miles from Q ). 
 
 In Stirlingshire first appearance was in 1856, probably a 
 strayed bird from Tulliallan, — a female shot on an open common 
 at Stenhousemuir, near Larbert (38 miles from Q ). The next 
 was about 1866, at Garden, near Kippen (35 miles from Q ). 
 Thus it is seen they arrived here before they arrived at 
 Cardross (1868). But this is accounted for by the fact that 
 Garden woods, which are frequented by them, stand on a 
 height, and are visible from Doune, whence, doubtless, they 
 came, whilst Cardross woods lie in a hollow, with rising 
 ground intervening. They reached their farthest in Stirling- 
 shire, at Dougalstone, Milngavie, near Glasgow (45 miles from 
 O ), in 1877, where they bred for the first time. 
 
 In outlying counties, — they reached Linlithgow in 1872 ; 
 Edinburgh in 1876 and 1877, the latter being probably one 
 of two birds seen shortly before at Pitreavie in Fife (vide 
 map). Towards Loch Lomond, an occasional bird had been 
 got as early as 1867, and one in 1878, at Eoss Priory. In 
 Argyleshire at the Black Mount (an unsuccessful introduction). 
 
 For particulars of advance, I refer readers to separate 
 accounts of the counties. We now proceed to Forfarshire. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 EXTENSION IN FORFAESHIRE. 
 
 This county ranks next to Perthshire in its Capercaillie 
 population, and, notwithstanding that the proprietors look 
 upon the Capercaillie as rather a mischievous bird, it has 
 succeeded in gaining good foot-hold. They are not, however, 
 preserved in Forfar to the same extent as in Perthshire, and 
 on several estates they are killed at all opportunities. I still 
 require, I believe, further data from the northern parts of 
 Forfar, especially Glens Clova, Prosen, Upper Isla, and North 
 Esk."^ Avenues of advance into Aberdeenshire may occur in 
 Glens Clova and North Esk, but on this head I will speak later. 
 1856. The earliest appearance of the birds in Forfarshire 
 appears to have been in 1856. Arrived at Lindertis, near 
 Kirriemuir (about 35 miles from O ). Eesident. In 1868 
 six brace were shot one day. There are 800 acres of Scots 
 fir and blaeberry. " The cover in which we mostly find 
 them is about 45 years of age." They do not increase here, 
 being too much disturbed ; and being close to some of Lord 
 Airlie's large wooded hills, the birds go there, where they are 
 not disturbed. " There are about the same number as on 
 arrival." [This points to an emigration of a large body of 
 
 1 The farthest north they go in Forfarshire is to Shelgreen and Benscreavie 
 woods, about ten miles north of Kirriemuir. At Glenhead, twelve miles north 
 of Alyth, they have also appeared, but orders have been given to shoot them 
 down ** on account of their destructiveness to black game." 
 
72 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 the birds at once.] Black game are now decreasing, " but not 
 on account of Capercaillies." 
 
 1859. A male bird was shot on the 5th January 1859 in the 
 united covers on the four estates of Aucharroch, Ascreavie, 
 Kinchine, and Airlie, on which the wood is about two miles 
 long by three-quarter mile wide, and consists of spruce, pine, 
 and larch. "The birds shift, accordingly, as they are dis- 
 turbed." Probably arrived here from Bamfif by Alyth, in 
 Perthshire. " Hens are most numerous." Auct. Mr. Thomas 
 Phillips, twenty years gamekeeper at Ascreavie (32 miles to 
 34 miles from Q ). 
 
 1860. I have one record of the bird in Forfarshire as early 
 as 1860, but this must have been a thoroughly strayed bird, 
 to reach as far as Easter Ogle (43 miles from Q ), in Glen Esk. 
 
 A probable establishment took place at Airlie and 
 Ascreavie, as establishment is found to take place usually 
 immediately after the arrival of the male bird (see 1856 and 
 1859). 
 
 1862. The birds do not appear to have become established 
 in south of Forfarshire before 1862, when they arrived and 
 became resident at Fotheringham and Tealing (the properties 
 of W. Scott Elliott, Esq.) The direction of their advance 
 was probably from the N.E. spurs of the low- wooded range of 
 the Sidlaw hills, and from the flatter country lying between 
 these hills and the rivers Tay and Isla, as we find dates of 
 arrival and establishment in the adjoining parts of Perthshire, 
 as well as suitable country favouring this line. Fotheringham 
 and Tealing are respectively 38 miles and 39 miles from 
 Taymouth ; and there are about 2500 acres of suitable 
 wood upon the two estates. 
 
 The same year an impulse was given by a successful 
 introduction at Cortachy by birds, where of late 16 have 
 been seen in a day, and 8 shot. Not preserved. Increasing. 
 Black game decreasing. 
 
EXTENSION IN FORFARSHIRE. 73 
 
 1863. In this year two male birds were shot at Kinnordy, 
 and since then they have been resident, having plenty of 
 scope to iQcrease their numbers in large fir and larch woods, 
 of between 400 and 500 acres in extent. These birds probably 
 arrived from the direction of the Bamff estate on the borders 
 of Perth, or it is also possible that they came northward from 
 the Sidlaw hills, as we find them also at Glamis in 1863, 
 though not established there till 1865 or 1866. The former 
 advance, we think, is the more probable of the two, as 
 correspondents agree that the first place visited by the birds 
 in this part of Forfar was on Lord Airlie's grounds, close to 
 the county march. I do not, unfortunately, hold an exact 
 date for their arrival at AirHe Castle, but I have a return from 
 the united estates of Airlie, Ascreavie, Aucharroch, and 
 Kinchine, which is sufficiently exact. 
 
 1864. Occasional birds appeared at Kincaldrum, probably 
 wandered from Airlie Castle or Kinnordy. The woods are 
 about 100 acres in extent, but the birds have never become 
 resident. 
 
 1865. Arrived at Team; becoming established in 1868 
 (g'.v.) (44 miles from Q ). The area of wood is not great, 
 only some 40 acres, but this appears to be sufficient to hold 
 them. 
 
 It was in this year also that Capercaillie reached Stracathro, 
 the farthest point in Forfar, in the Brechin district. This is 
 still the only locality in the immediate viciaity of Stracathro 
 where they are resident and breediag, though stragglers are 
 shot on most of the adjoining estates. In 1877 there were 
 3 or 4 broods, and my friend Mr. W. Horn saw 7 or 8 birds 
 in one day's cover-shooting, though the proprietors do not 
 protect, but try to keep their numbers from increasing. Stra- 
 cathro is 54 miles from © , and the direction of their advance 
 to this point is almost in a straight line from Dunkeld. At 
 Dalnaglar, a point in Glen Shee almost upon the Forfar and 
 
74 THE CAPEROAILLIE. 
 
 Perth march, they also arrived in 1865 ; and this illustrates 
 remarkably well, amongst many other statistics, the preference 
 for following valleys, and their objection to crossing moun- 
 tains, Dalnaglar being only 25 miles from © in a straight 
 line. 
 
 1866. Arrived about this date, or a year or two earlier, at 
 Auchterhouse, a locality considerably nearer to the Sidlaw 
 hiUs than Tealing or Fotheringham. My local topographical 
 knowledge of this part of the country is not sufficient to allow 
 me to offer a reason for this apparent discrepancy, unless it 
 be found in the fact of the then age of the timber on the 
 different estates, which was ready for cutting in 1877 on 
 Auchterhouse. A large quantity was cut in 1877, and a con- 
 sequent decrease in the numbers of CapercaiUies is looked for. 
 If all old wood about 1866, and Tealing had younger wood, 
 the birds might pass over to the latter. 
 
 Became established at Easter Ogle, where it is said to have 
 appeared as early as 1860, and is now common, as many as 
 20 to 24 having been shot in a day, although the acreage of 
 wood is only from 100 to 150 on Easter Ogle and Deuchar, 
 principally pine and larch. They are preserved, but are not 
 now increasing. 
 
 1868. Became established at Fearn, where they are not 
 numerous, the acreage being small (see 1865). 
 
 Arrived about 1868 at Glen Ogle, or possibly a little 
 earlier, where they are not now increasing. Mr. James Eobbie, 
 head-keeper, has observed their tendency to migrate. 
 
 Arrived at Panmure (45 miles from Q ), where, however, 
 it is stiU only occasional, or where one or two may be seen in 
 a day. Came from Fotheringham. 
 
 1870. First appeared — a male — at Bahiamoon, in the Stra- 
 cathro district, north-east of the county. Now resident ; pre- 
 served, and increasing in a fir wood of 300 acres (50 miles 
 from O ). Occur also on Hunthill, Careston, Glen Ogle, etc. 
 
EXTENSION IN FORFARSHIKE. 75 
 
 Arrived about 1870 at Ballintore, from Airlie, and estab- 
 lished about 1872, in woods of about 80 acres, where they are 
 preserved, but are not increasing at present. Occur also on 
 neighbouring properties of Aucharroch and Ascreavie. 
 
 1871. Arrived from the west about 1871 at Auchnacree 
 (32 miles from ©). Established about 1873. Not pre- 
 served, but still increasing, in a wood of 100 acres. As usual, 
 in most cases, a female was first observed. 
 
 Arrived about 1871 at Careston, Glen Esk (46 miles from 
 O). Not preserved, but still increasiag. Acreage 150 of 
 pine, and 90 of birch, etc. Probably came from Fearn or 
 Balhall. 
 
 1877. Are stated to reach along the south slope of the 
 Grampians, and may be expected to spread into Deeside, in 
 Aberdeen, and through Kincardineshire, probably vid Glen- 
 dye, which runs into the Feugh, and so joins the Dee at Ban- 
 chory. Glen Dye is wooded far up into the dividing range of 
 hills, but there is a considerable portion of moorland, which 
 would require to be bridged by the birds' flight. Still this 
 appears to me to be the probable outlet beyond the Gram- 
 pians.^ 
 
 Capercaillies occur also in Forfarshire at various other 
 localities, from which, however, I have no dates of arrival or 
 establishment. Amongst these I may mention : — 
 
 Kinnaird, near Brechin ; Balnaboth, in Glen Prosen, a far 
 north locality ; Lindertis, near Kirriemuir ; Noranside ; Bal- 
 haU. 
 
 ^ Vide Kincardineshire. Since the above was written they have followed 
 this route. 
 
CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 Permanently inhabited by the species, Fife can, however, 
 hardly claim to be distinctively a CapercaiLKe country, as the 
 woods are not, as a rule, of very great extent, as in Perth and 
 Forfar. At one or two localities, however, they are increasing 
 steadily in numbers, as, for instance, at Lathirsk, east of Auch- 
 termuchty, where they were introduced a few years ago, and 
 where, in 1877-8, there would be from 20 to 30 birds. 
 
 1863. The first Capercaillie seen in Fife, so far as I can 
 learn, was shot fifteen or sixteen years ago at Eankeillor, to 
 the west of Cupar (37 miles from © ), after a long continued 
 gale from the north — auct. Eobert Tullis, Esq. It is true. 
 Captain H. W. Feilden informs me that he has an indistinct 
 recollection of a Capercaillie having been killed at Falkland 
 Castle, where there are extensive fir woods, as early as 1847, 
 but I have been unable to obtain more exact statistics. 
 
 1864. Stragglers appeared about Colessie, near Auchter- 
 muchty, and around that neighbourhood, and at several 
 localities along the Fife -Perth march, but it was not until 
 much later that the birds appeared to take a hold on the 
 county. 
 
 1868. A great blank now occurs, and we hear nothing more 
 of the Capercaillie in Fife until 1868, when the birds arrived 
 ^ I find I have returns from at least twenty localities in Fife. 
 
EXTENSION IN FIFESHIRE. 17 
 
 at Pitlour (32 miles from © ), near Auchtermuchty, probably 
 coming from the direction of the Bridge of Earn district, where, 
 as has been shown under Perthshire, the woods are not exten- 
 sive, and are greatly mixed with hard wood. Nor did establish- 
 ment take place at Pitlour or in Fife until 1871 or 1872. 
 
 1871-2. Established at Pitlour as above stated, and in 
 1873 from eight to ten were seen in a day, and six were shot 
 in a season. They are not preserved, but are thought to be 
 increasing in a wood of some 250 acres. 
 
 About the same time stray birds appeared at ^N'ether 
 Kinneddar, in the south-west corner of the county (37 miles 
 from O , these having probably strayed from the separately- 
 introduced stock at Tulliallan centre, in the detached 
 part of Perthshire, near Kincardine-on-Forth, as mentioned 
 under the latter county. They have never become fairly 
 established here ; although birds remain during the breeding 
 season they do not stay throughout the year, but repair to 
 larger covers on West Grange, Tulliallan, and Brucefield, the 
 woods on Nether Kinneddar being, as yet, too young, and not 
 of great extent — auct W. C. C. Erskine, Esq. 
 
 1873. Two birds appeared at Pitfirrane, near Dunfermline 
 (40 miles from Q ), where there are some 200 acres of old 
 fir and mixed wood. At present they are seen here every 
 spring, but do not remain. An attempt was made to intro- 
 duce them by eggs from Taymouth, but an unusually wet 
 season (1877) killed the young birds — auct. Mr. Thompson, 
 head gamekeeper, Pitfirrane. 
 
 1874. An introduction, which eventually proved success- 
 ful, took place at Lathirsk (37 mUes from O ), near Falkland, 
 at which latter place, however, they are said to have appeared 
 before they were introduced at Lathirsk. The introduction 
 was from Monzie, in Perthshire. 
 
 1875. In the spring of 1874 or 1875 a male bird was seen 
 at Lathockar, in the east of Fife, supposed to have wandered 
 
78 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 from Falkland — the nearest place to Lathockar, where they 
 breed, being 20 miles off — Lathockar is 50 miles from © at 
 Taymouth, and about 38 miles from Q at Tulliallan ; but 
 from the nature of the intervening country it is improbable 
 that they came from the latter. There are only some 50 or 
 60 acres of suitable wood on Lathockar. Possibly also it 
 may have come from Lathirsk, 15 miles off. 
 
 1877. The Capercaillie in 1877 appeared at quite a 
 number of localities in Fife, but from the insufficient acreage 
 or unsuitable character of most of the covers, I believe their 
 attempts at advance in this direction cannot be successful in 
 the immediate present. They appeared at Pitreavie, near 
 Dunfermline. Mr. Paterson of Dalnaglar, in Perthshire, 
 lessee of Pitreavie, writes that he saw two birds there about 
 the last week in November 1877, and a few days afterwards 
 Lord Eosebery shot a female at Dalmeny on the opposite 
 side of the Firth of Forth, in all probability one of the same 
 birds seen at Pitreavie, sTunuing that the birds will cross water 
 if they can distinguish suitable forest land on the other side, 
 as I have already mentioned in my concluding remarks under 
 Perthshire. 
 
 Other localities, where they appear for the first time in 
 1877 in Fife, are Auchtermuchty, Markinch — female seen — 
 Leven — female shot — Pitliver, and Scotscraig, and others. 
 
 In the south-west part of Fife, as plantations increase in 
 size and number, we may look for an advance from the 
 somewhat isolated and fully-stocked districts of Tulliallan, 
 West Grange, and Brucefield, but scarcely before then. 
 
 Had Glen Eagles, in the Ochils, been a forest-clad glen, 
 we might, with some certainty, have looked for an advance 
 through it from Perthshire. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 EXTENSION IN KINKOSS-SHIRe/ 
 
 There are no extensive pine woods in Kinross. Consequently, 
 the Capercaillie is a rare bird in the county, comparatively 
 speaking. The only locality where they are resident in the 
 county is at Cleish Castle. Aldie is really in Perthshire, near 
 the Crook of Devon (v. Perthshire under 1866). As there are 
 considerable woods upon Aldie, and the birds are likely to 
 increase there now, Kinross will probably be supplied with 
 occasional stragglers, but until more ground is planted it is 
 not likely to become resident in any numbers. 
 
 1866. This is the earliest date I have for their appearance 
 in Kinross — probably a stray bijd from Aldie. This was at 
 Craigow, Milnathort, where, at the present time, they only 
 appear occasionally in autumn and winter, leaving in spring. 
 The woods are small and old. Perhaps altogether two pairs 
 may be seen in a season. 
 
 A few birds have been seen from time to time in the 
 Knock Wood in the Ochils. In 1873 one was seen at 
 Thomanean, side of Loch Leven. It occurs occasionally at 
 Portmoake, in the northern and eastern portions of the 
 county, probably coming from the Perthshire side of the 
 Ochils and from Fife. They have also been shot at Touchie, 
 
 1 My returns from Kinross are 12 in number, representing all the im- 
 portant estates in the county. 
 
80 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 Craigfarg, and Athronhall, where five have been shot from 
 time to time. 
 
 Beyond the above there seem to be few — if any — statistics 
 forthcoming from Kinross, and Mr. E. Burns Begg says I 
 may rest assured that I have received all that is obtainable, 
 from Messrs. Bethune and Henderson, to whom I am in- 
 debted for almost all my notes from this county, through the 
 introduction of David Syme, Esq., sheriff of Kinross. 
 
I 
 
 
 X 
 
CHAPTEE XL 
 
 EXTENSION IN CLACKMANNANSHIRE. 
 
 Although marching with a district — TulliaUan, Brucefield, 
 and West Grange, in the south of Perthshire — ^thickly popu- 
 lated by Capercaillies, Clackmannan cannot claim any appre- 
 ciable share of them. There are few large woods suitable, 
 although it is almost surrounded by them. Thus only 
 occasional birds are seen, and these rarely. Two female 
 birds were shot at Mixed Park about 1875. It has not 
 occurred upon Kennet, the plantations not being large 
 enough. Lord Balfour of Burleigh, however, took an active 
 part in introducing them to Tulliallan. 
 
 Mr. Eobert Gray, in " Ornithological Notes " in the ' Proc. 
 Berwick Nat. Club' 1877, p. 354, mentions them as found in 
 the woods of this county " in considerable numbers," but this 
 can refer only to the Earl of Zetland's woods. 
 
 G 
 
CHAPTEK XII.i 
 
 EXTENSION IN STIRLINGSHIRE. 
 
 Stirlingshire, there can be little doubt, forms a natural link 
 in the chain which will in time lead the Capercaillie into the 
 southern counties of Scotland. The avenues of advance into 
 the county are probably two in number; one leading from 
 the separate introduction at TuUiallan in 1856 and 1864 
 {mde Perthshire) ; and the other, and perhaps less isolated, 
 and more generally adopted route, from the south of Perth- 
 shire — from Stirling westwards. The largest "waves of 
 distribution " seem to have pressed through the narrow pass 
 near Stirling, rounding the spur of the Gargunnock hills, and 
 flooding the hill slopes and wooded uplands, reaching as far, 
 at the present time (1877), as Chasefield covers, near Denny, 
 which are forty miles from Tajnnouth ; or even farther, as, in 
 1877, Capercaillies bred for the first time at Dougalston, 
 Milngavie, near Glasgow (46 miles from Q), certainly the 
 farthest south-westerly point at which we can record the 
 arrival of birds bred from the original Taymouth stock. 
 Their next steps of advance southward, in all probability, will 
 be to the extensive woods of Callendar, near Falkirk, and 
 thence eastward and southward. As mentioned under " Out- 
 
 1 From Stirlingshire I have 32 returns, which must fairly represent all the 
 estates of importance in the county which are suitable for the safe harbourage 
 of the species. 
 
EXTENSION IN STIRLINGSHIRE. 83 
 
 lying Counties," p. 88, it will be seen that already there are 
 indications of advance in this eastward direction in Linlith- 
 gow and Edinburgh, though no doubt stream-waves from 
 Stirlingshire and from Tulliallan centre will coalesce, as 
 partially exemplified by the Dalmeny example, shot in 1877, 
 which, as already shown, in all probability came "across seas " 
 from Pitreavie {v. Fife). 
 
 Another outlet into Stirlingshire from Perthshire may pos- 
 sibly be found in the woods of Cardross, at the side of the Lake 
 of Monteith ; but there is this against that line, that Cardross 
 woods lie in a hollow, and at present — except isolated woods 
 at Gartmore and Duchray (near Loch Ard), and on Garden, 
 and stripes of wood on Eoss Priory, Loch Lomond side — there 
 is little to lead them from it in a direction round the western 
 spur of the central range of hills in Stirlingshire. It is per- 
 haps uncertain at present whence the birds which bred at 
 Milngavie came ; whether by this route, or from the eastward 
 by Chasefield, near Denny ; but we think probably from 
 Cardross direction, as we find connecting links in Stirling- 
 shire of occasional occurrences at Eoss Priory, Killearn, and 
 Culcreuch, near Fintry. When the woods grow higher upon 
 Ballikinrain estate, near Fintry, another natural 'forest 
 stepping-stone' will be afforded, but that cannot well take 
 place for a number of years yet. 
 
 The principal distribution of wood in the county is on 
 Meiklewood, near StirKng, and westward on Leckie and 
 Gargunnock, to Boquhan, Arngomery, and Garden, along the 
 north slope of the Gargunnock and Fintry hills. There are 
 young plantations of considerable extent upon Ballikinrain. 
 Again, southward from Stirling, is a range of wood from 
 Meiklewood, through Touch, Sauchie, Auchinbowie, Dales- 
 wood, Torwood, Quarter (where 60 acres of wood is just 
 34 years planted), and Chasefield — all more or less occupied 
 at present by the birds. These latter properties and localities 
 lie along the eastern slope of the Touch and Denny hills, a 
 
84 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 part of the great central mass of hills which extend around 
 the sources of the Carron and Endrick rivers. 
 
 1856. The earliest record of the occurrence of the species 
 in this county was a bird — a female — shot upon Stenhouse- 
 muir, and for a long time afterwards in possession of Mr. Caddell 
 of the Grange, Linhthgow. Stenhousemuir is an open, flat, 
 grass common, used annually for the great autumn cattle and 
 sheep markets, usually known by the name of " The Falkirk 
 Trysts." This bird, I believe, could only have come from 
 TuUiallan, and must be looked upon as a very exceptional 
 occurrence (compare under Perthshire, 1856). The next nearest 
 point was the Doune district in Perth, but there the birds 
 only appeared for the first time this same year. 
 
 1863. In 1863, birds bred at Dunmore, which is only 
 separated from Tulliallan by a narrow part of the river Forth. 
 The Dunmore and Airth woods are not extensive, otherwise 
 we might certainly have expected a larger irruption from 
 Tulliallan by this channel. These eggs, however, were not 
 hatched out. [Vide ' ZooV 1867, p. 897.] 
 
 1866. First observed at Garden, and bred there in the 
 " Kippen Firs " — a wood close to Loch Laggan (35 miles from 
 O). These birds probably came across the valley of the 
 Forth, direct from the Doune district, from the wooded estates 
 of Lanrick, Blair-Drummond, and Gartencaber. The Kippen 
 Firs and neighbouring woods of Arngomery would be visible 
 to the birds from Doune. 
 
 1867. Appeared simultaneously on Torwood Estate and 
 on Denovan, near Larbert and Denny (both about 38 miles 
 from O ). On these estates together, and on Quarter — also 
 adjoining — there is a considerable acreage of suitable wood, 
 and they have become firmly established. 
 
 In 1867-68 a female was shot at Eoss Priory by Sir George 
 Leith-Buchanan, Bart., who did not again meet with a bird 
 there until 1877-78 (31st December 1877), when he again shot 
 a female bird. 
 
EXTENSION IN STIRLINGSHIRE. 85 
 
 In 1868 Capercaillies bred in Torwood for the first time. 
 " Three or four birds are seen frequently by the keeper, and it 
 may be considered as established, as protection is afforded to 
 these birds, and Torwood is in every way suitable for their 
 increase. There can be little doubt they will increase, though 
 perhaps by degrees and slowly." [' Extract from old Note Book 
 on Birds of Stirlingshire; 1868.— J. A. H. B.] 
 
 1869. On Arngomery, close to Garden, the first — a female 
 — was shot also in the " Firs of Kippen " before mentioned. 
 
 1870. First observed on Sauchie property, near Stirling, 
 and became established (35 miles from © ), probably from the 
 Stirling direction, but also quite possibly from Tulliallan, as 
 birdSk might be led there through the woods of Dunmore, 
 Polmaise, and Camock, in the Carse of Stirling. Now (1877) 
 there are about 40 or 50 birds on Sauchie. The first birds 
 seen were two females and one male, and the two hens had 
 nests close to the avenue, and within 100 yards of the house. 
 
 Became established at Torwood, coming doubtless from 
 Sauchie or from Tulliallan direct, or through Sauchie from the 
 Stirling direction.^ 
 
 A female was seen several times on Dunipace by myself, 
 and was afterwards shot on Denovan (38 miles from Q ). 
 
 1871. The first seen at Boquhan — a female. Then no more 
 tin 1875, when a hen and brood (35 miles from © ). Either 
 come from Garden, marching with it, or direct from Lanrick. 
 Amount of wood limited. I have shot over both Boquhan 
 and Garden, and do not think the birds are ever likely to 
 become numerous. 
 
 A female not unfrequently seen on Larbert House grounds 
 in the autumn, marching on the east with Dunipace ; but the 
 acreage of wood is Hmited, though possibly large enough to 
 hold a few birds if not much disturbed. There is more of 
 spruce than pine in the covers. 
 
 ^ In April I myself saw a female in Torwood. {^ Note Book,' 1870-71.) 
 
86 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 1874. One stray bird was shot at Kowardennan, on Loch 
 Lomond, about this date. 
 
 One — a female — was shot at Quarter, near Denny, in the 
 summer, and another in October of the same year. It is now 
 established here in a wood of 60 acres of spruce, larch, and 
 Scotch fir, which is just 34 years old. Birds here probably 
 arrived from Torwood on the east, or from Auchenbowie and 
 Sauchie on the north. Auchenbowie held birds at this time, 
 though they did not become resident till the year after-^ 
 1875. 
 
 1875. Birds became established " not prior to 1875," on 
 Duchray, near Loch Ard, just on the border of Perth and 
 Stirling, and 33 miles from Q . These birds no doubt came 
 from Cardross, through Gartmore (where, however, they are 
 only as yet occasional). There are about 200 to 300 acres of 
 suitable wood on Duchray and adjoining property, of which 
 100 to 150 are on Duchray.^ 
 
 Occasionally seen on Carbrook, near Larbert, marching with 
 Torwood ; but the covers are mixed, and not quite suitable. 
 
 Occasional on Chasefield, when only hens were seen in 
 this year and in 1876 (40 miles from Q ). 
 
 Became resident on Auchenbowie, marching on the north 
 with Sauchie. 
 
 Bred for the first time at Boquhan, In 1876 eight birds 
 were seen, but the keeper at Arngomery shot four or five hens, 
 and they did not breed in 1877. 
 
 1876. Two hens seen on Drum farm. Earl's Burn, up the 
 Carron valley above Denny, in an isolated patch of firs in the 
 midst of moorland (37 miles from Q ). These birds, no doubt, 
 came from Quarter woods, being attracted by the view of old 
 Scotch fir on the horizon at Sheppytroutie, whence again they 
 could see the younger plantations on the hill slopes at the 
 
 1 The lessee of the Duchray shootings has never himself seen any Caper- 
 caillies on the ground. 
 
EXTENSION IN STIRLINGSHIRE. 87 
 
 Earl's Burn. There is not sufficiency of cover here to hold 
 them permanently. 
 
 1877. Nine birds have been seen in all on Airthrey, but 
 none remain from March to August. 
 
 1877. Males first seen in Chasefield (40 miles from Q ). 
 1877-78. Occasional on Gartmore within the last few years 
 
 (34 miles from © ). 
 
 A male seen at Carbeth,nearKiUearn, about 13th November 
 1877, and continued about till January 1878 (40 miles 
 from O ). 
 
 Bred at Dougalston, Milngavie (46 miles from Q ). 
 
 Eesident at Quarter (37 miles from© ). Wood 34 years 
 old. 
 
 Five seen at Bridge of Allan, 4th January 1878 (28 miles 
 from O )• 
 
 Only occasional stiU at Dunmore (35 miles from © ). 
 
 Stray birds appeared on Carbrook, which, however, marches 
 with Torwood, whence, doubtless, they came. As both sexes 
 have been seen, sporadical or possibly permanent residence 
 may here take place ; but the woods are not extensive, nor 
 very suitable. 
 
 In May 1878 I again saw a female on Dunipace, flushing it 
 from the ground, amongst blackberry bushes, in oak coppice- 
 wood. 
 
 1878. A bird was killed upon Callendar estates about the 
 middle of November this year, the first seen. As already 
 noted, it would probably come from either the Chasefield 
 coverts or from Torwood. 
 
 We may expect their establishment here shortly. Woods 
 extensive and suitable. 
 
 At Buchanan, near Loch Lomond, a pair bred (auct. J. 
 Lumsden, Jlde Sir George Leith-Buchanan, Bart.) 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 EXTENSION IN OUTLYING COUNTIES. 
 
 LINLITHGOW. 
 
 Linlithgow, marching with Stirlingshire, will, in course of 
 time, probably receive its supplies from the latter county, 
 through Callendar woods, near Falkirk, where the species 
 has as yet only once been met with (1878), although these 
 extensive woods, and others on Bonnymuir, are within sight 
 of Chasefield and Torwood covers. It is also a possible 
 line of advance, which has already been indicated by the 
 advent of the female bird shot at Dalmeny Park, near 
 Queensferry (48 miles from © ), by Lord Eosebery ; which 
 bird was no doubt one of the two seen a few days before 
 by Mr. Paterson at Pitreavie, near Dunfermline.-^ But this 
 line of approach is less likely, as it will be dependent 
 upon the stocking of the woods of Pitreavie and Pitfirrane, 
 on both of which estates the wood is rather old, or of too 
 mixed a character, to afford good harbourage or make an 
 increase likely. The advance of the Capercaillie from this 
 direction will probably be dependent upon planting on the 
 Fife side of the Firth. 
 
 1 Since this was written I have been informed by tlie keeper at Dalmeny 
 Park that another female bird had been seen at Dalmeny about six years before, 
 say 1871 ; and another has been seen on Craigie Hall since Lord Rosebery 
 shot the above. 
 
EXTENSION IN OUTLYING COUNTIES. 89 
 
 In the account of the Capercaillie prior to extinction, I 
 have abeady noticed the birds shot by Captain Stanton near 
 Bo'ness in 1811. 
 
 In 1872 a male was seen by Captain Maynard in Kettle- 
 stone plantations (44 miles from © , and 5 miles from TuUi- 
 allan, across sea). 
 
 MID-LOTHIAN. 
 
 1876. One bird was distinctly identified in Mansion House 
 Eoad, at the Grange, on the outskirts of Edinburgh, in May 
 
 1876. The bird — a female — flew past the gentleman who iden- 
 tified it within 20 yards. It came from the south, and flew 
 away due north, heading across the Meadows, directly for the 
 space between St. Giles and the Tron Church towers. Pos- 
 sibly this might be the bird shot at Dahneny in November 
 
 1877, but I doubt if it would have remained there so long 
 without being detected. My idea is that, wherever it came 
 from, it headed for the church spires, mistaking them at the 
 distance for tops of pine trees on the horizon. Edinburgh is 
 54 miles from Taymouth O , and 18 miles in a direct line from 
 TulliaUan © . It is rather a curious instance of the extreme 
 wandering propensities of the species. It is reported as hav- 
 ing come from the south. I have no statistics from any loca- 
 lities to the south of Edinburgh to make me suppose that its 
 origin was there. It must have been, I fancy, a truly wandered 
 bird, like the earlier records in Fife and Stirlingshire. 
 
 DUMBARTON. 
 
 Birds have once or twice been shot in the Loch Lomond 
 district, probably strayed birds from the direction of Cardross. 
 They have been obtained at Eoss Priory by Sir George Leith- 
 Buchanan, Bart, (see under Stirlingshire), and on the islands 
 of Loch Lomond (* Froc. Nat Hist. Soc.,' Glasgow, vol. iii. p. 
 68) ; also in Stirlingshire. 
 
90 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 The only one ever heard of actually within the confines of 
 the county, was flushed at Kearnine (?) Wood, at the higher 
 end of Loch Lomond — as Mr. John Colquhoun informs me — 
 but he adds that he is rather sceptical about it. Mr. John 
 Colquhoun offered to introduce them on Eossdhu estate, but 
 his brother — the late Sir James Colquhoun, Bart. — did not 
 wish to encourage them, as he considered that they give little 
 sport, and are overbearing to all other game within their reach. 
 If this record is correct — and I must say I see no reason why 
 it should not — the bird probably found its way from that 
 point on the west slope of Ben Laoigh, whence they found 
 their way also into Argyleshire, at Ardkinglass {q. v.) Either 
 route is open to pioneer birds from the said shoulder of Ben 
 Laoigh, though that towards Glen Fyne to Ardkinglass, may, 
 prove — and apparently has proved — the more enticing of 
 the two, as will be seen under Argyleshire. 
 
 ARGYLESHIRE. 
 
 Of its former occurrence in the county we have the some- 
 what vague record in the ' New Statistical Account ' of Ard- 
 chattan, where it is said, " Nor have we reason to doubt that 
 the stately Capercaillie once rejoiced amongst the fir woods of 
 Glen Etive (op. cit. p. 481). 
 
 Besides the above, we have indications of its having lin- 
 gered in this part of Scotland perhaps as long as anywhere else, 
 as we find the name — in the form of Capull-coille ^ — in old 
 Gaelic songs (see Part II. antea, pp. 3, 27). 
 
 Eggs were sent to the Black Mount, by Mr. James Guthrie, 
 at Lord Breadalbane's request, but none were hatched out. I 
 am informed, however, that a bii*d was seen there about 1867 
 or 1868. 
 
 ^ This is the name handed down, and still used in Lochaber and adjoining 
 parts of Argyleshire, districts which — with Badenoch, AthoU, Breadalbane, 
 and Upper Braemar — have retained in greatest purity the Gaelic topography 
 of Scotland, as we are informed by Kobertson in his work before quoted. 
 
EXTENSION IN OUTLYING COUNTIES. 9 1 
 
 In 1870 two males seem to have done a good deal of pros- 
 pecting in Argyleshire and adjoining parts of Inverness, 
 having been first heard of and seen in Ardgour (about 46 miles 
 from O ), at CaUaob, on Loch Leven, and a few days after- 
 wards at Camus-na-gaul, opposite Fort WiUiam. They were 
 then seen — always supposing them to be the same birds, and 
 we cannot fix a limit to the distances to which males will 
 wander in search of mates — in Glengarry (Inverness-shire, 
 3'. V.) The Eev. A. Stewart, Nether-Lochaber, considers that 
 these birds probably entered Glengarry and Loch Ness by 
 Kingussie, Loch Laggan, and the valley of the' Spean, but I 
 have failed to discover the localities whence they could have 
 come by this route. 
 
 The Eev. A. Stewart (who has written many excellent 
 articles to the ' Inverness Courier ' under the ' nom de plume ' 
 of " Nether-Lochaber,") proposes to suggest to " Lochiel " the 
 propriety of introducing a pair or two to the woods of Loch 
 Arkaig side, near his residence — Achnacary Castle. 
 
 In 1875 birds arrived of their own accord at Ardkinglass, 
 and are supposed to have come direct from Breadalbane, doubt- 
 less through Glenfyne, having forced their way up Glen 
 Dochart, and overflowed from the internal great pressure at 
 Taymouth (see general remarks under Glen Dochart further 
 on, p. 109). At Ardkinglass there are about 550 acres of 
 suitable woods, and the birds are preserved and increasing. 
 As many as twelve were seen one day this year (1878). A 
 hybrid, killed in October 1878 at Ardkinglass, was forwarded 
 to Mr. Eobert Small, Edinburgh, for preservation. It was 
 killed by the keeper, and is now in the possession of Mr. 
 Brodie, Edinburgh, who leased Ardkinglass shootings. No 
 difference is observable here in the numbers of black game, 
 which are fairly abundant. This is an interesting example of 
 the great pressure at a centre forcing birds over a bare and 
 unfavourable country (see general remarks ut sujj., and under 
 Kincardineshire, ivfra, p. 95). 
 
92 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 It is considered by a correspondent who is personally 
 acquainted with the lie of the valleys between Crianlarich, 
 Tyndrum, and Loch Fyne, that the probable route taken by 
 the birds was from Tyndrum, skirting the northern base of 
 Ben Laoigh, where there are some fragments of old (indi- 
 genous ?) Scotch fir, and then, on rounding the western base, 
 a point is reached which looks down on Loch Fyne, and also 
 through the Quurn — or Cairn — Pass into Glenfalloch. But the 
 distance from the straggling old Scotch firs on Ben Laoigh to 
 Loch Fyne is only between three and four miles, and this latter 
 would be the country which would first present itself to the 
 gaze of the pioneer birds. I am also informed by another 
 correspondent — W. Colquhoun, Esq. — ^that his brother thinks 
 that there are no woods which would lead them from the old 
 fir wood near Grianlarich by the Bhalloch into Glenfalloch, 
 and thence by the latter and across into Glenfyne, so I think 
 the route already indicated will prove to be the most likely. 
 By this route also the bird reported at the head of Loch 
 Lomond {v. Dumbarton, 1878) would probably arrive. 
 
 About 1876-77 they made their appearance at Inveraray. 
 Two or three cocks and one hen were the first birds to arrive. 
 The hen killed herseK on the deer-park fence in April 1877. 
 1^0 more hens have made their appearance. The most seen 
 in one day were four cocks together, but there are a good few 
 hybrids ; one of these latter was killed lately by flying against 
 the telegraph wires. "Last season I got eggs from Arran, 
 and put them into grey hens' nests, and they hatched, but I 
 am sorry to say I have never seen any of the birds. If all is 
 well I shall try the same next year. The woods here are 
 quite adapted to the bird's habits ; and are four miles long by 
 an average width of half a mile. The Duke is very anxious 
 to get a few more. It is generally supposed that they came 
 here from Taymouth, but whether from Loch Awe side or by 
 Glen Fyne will be difiBicult to say. Ardkinglass is qnly five 
 
EXTENSION TN OUTLYING COUNTIES. 93 
 
 miles as the crow flies from here. They could have crossed 
 the head of Loch Fyne, which is only about half a mile wide 
 at Ardkinglass, and thus they would have trees aU the way 
 down to Inveraray." For the above useful notes I am indebted 
 to Mr. J. Thompson, head keeper, Inveraray. I think there 
 can be little doubt about the route by which they have arrived 
 — ^viz., by the Ardkinglass and Glen Fyne route from Glen 
 Dochart. 
 
 This overflow from Glen Dochart is made all the more 
 worthy of attention by the apparent preponderance of males. 
 The hybrid killed by flying against the telegraph wires — 
 above-mentioned — ^is a male, indicating the more unusual, in 
 my opinion, maZe parentage of Tetrao urugalliis male, and Tetrao 
 tetrix female. This goes far to prove the extreme wandering 
 propensities of males, and to account for even more curious 
 records than those at Fort- William in 1807, and at Bo'ness 
 (v. Part II. p. 26), not to speak of the prospecting party of 
 males which travelled over so much groimd in Ardgour and 
 Glengarry. 
 
 INVERNESS. 
 
 In Hartings' ' Sale Oatalogiie ' of his collection of eggs 
 (Stevens', 6th June 1872, p. 20) occurs the entry " Capercaillie 
 — Tetrao urugallus — two ; Guisachan, Inverness, May 1868. 
 E. Hargitt." They were introduced about that time, young 
 birds having been presented to Sir Dudley Marjoribanks by 
 Mr. Mercer of Gorthy, near Methven, Perth ; and the year 
 previous, eggs were sent from Perthshire to Guisachan. I 
 learn from one correspondent that all the birds at Guisachan 
 have died off. 
 
 In 1873 birds were introduced at Invereshie, Inverness- 
 shire, but were never fairly established. A cock was shot in 
 1875,and at present — 1878 — only one hen is to be seen. There 
 is abundance of suitable cover, extending four miles in one 
 
94 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 direction, and half a mile broad ; and the present keeper has 
 instructions to introduce them again next year — 1879 — by- 
 birds. 
 
 Former occurrence of the species in this county is men- 
 tioned under previous heads (antea^ pp. 16, 20, 26). 
 
 ABERDEEN. 
 
 For an account of an unsuccessful attempt, at introduction 
 at Mar Lodge, see antea, pp. 37-42. The Capercaillie is not 
 spoken of in MacGillivray's ' List of the Birds of Deeside and 
 Braemar; (1853.) 
 
 For notice of its former occurrence on the " Brea of Marr," 
 see under previous heading, p. 18. 
 
 In 1873 eggs were hatched out at Inverernan, Strathdon ; 
 but some of the birds eventually found their destination in the 
 Museum of the Marischal College of Aberdeen, having been 
 sent to Mr. Eobb, the curator, for preservation. 
 
 Any other statistics I hold from this county are strongly 
 negative. I have elsewhere pointed out what I believe to be 
 the most natural avenue into Aberdeenshire, but it is also 
 possible that another route may be chosen by the birds, viz., by 
 Glen Tilt from Blair Athole ; but at this point there are some 
 10 miles of unsuitable country intervening, and I rather incline 
 to the route by Kincardineshire {q. v.) 
 
CHAPTEK XIV. 
 
 EXTENSION IN KINCARDINESHIRE. 
 
 At present the only record I have of its occurrence in the 
 county is that of a hybrid, which was shot at Fetteresso on 
 26th October 1872 (' Scot Nat! 1873-74, vol. ii. p. 57 ; and 
 Mr. George Sim, in lit) It is not easy to decide the source 
 of this hybrid, or whence came the Capercaillie which pro- 
 duced it. As far as I can learn at present, Stracathro is the 
 locality nearest to Kincardineshire where Capercaillies are 
 found (see Forfarshire, antea, p. 73). 
 
 Since the above remarks under Kincardine and Aberdeen 
 were penned, I am glad to be able to record that birds have 
 occurred on Deeside, at the very spot where I anticipated they 
 would first make their appearance. 
 
 In August 1878 three Capercaillies — one old hen and two 
 young — male and female — were shot in the pine woods on 
 Scoltie Hni, near Banchory, and not far from the junction of 
 the river Feugh — half of the waters of which come down the 
 wooded strath of Glen Dye — with the river Dee. Mr. Charles 
 Danford, who sends me the information, adds : " This is the 
 first time I have heard of them in this district ; " and I have 
 a negative return from the estates of Durris, lower down the 
 Dee, in which my correspondent — Mr. C. M'Hardy, forester 
 at Durris — states : " We have none of them in the north that 
 I am aware of. . . . I am aware of their having been tried in 
 
96 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 Strath Don, where I lived previous to coming here, but the 
 attempt failed." 
 
 I am particular in my record of this occurrence, because I 
 am inclined to look upon it as the commencement of a new 
 era in the history of the Capercaillie in Scotland, their future 
 line of advance, probably rushing up the great wooded valley 
 of the Dee as far as the pine woods reach — i.e. almost to the 
 base of the Ben Muich-Dhu, and thence — if we pursue them 
 farther — surmounting the confines of the valley, northward 
 into Strath Don and the north of Aberdeen, into Banff and 
 Inverness. I could even now point out the probable avenues 
 of advance out of Aberdeenshire, but it would be, perhaps, pre- 
 mature to do so until we see with what success they populate 
 the Dee valley. 
 
 I am particular in recording this occurrence for another 
 reason also. I have failed to obtain evidence of the presence 
 of the bird in any other localities in the county besides those 
 mentioned, and I have received several negative returns, along 
 with the general statement in most cases, that it appears to be 
 almost unknown in the county. This is curious, seeing that, 
 since the year 1865, they have been present at Stracathro, just 
 on the borders of Forfar and Kincardine. Thus, a distance of 
 some 18 or 20 miles as the crow flies, has been bridged over 
 (although at intermediate localities there is abundance of forest 
 growth to act as stepping-stones), and a watershed has been 
 crossed. This finds a parallel in the overflow from Glen 
 Dochart into Argyleshire {q. v.), but it is difficult to say which 
 instance is the more remarkable. 
 
 In August or September 1878, one bird was shot near 
 Inchmarlo House, the only one ever seen there. The woods 
 are continuous and extensive between Banchory and Inch- 
 marlo, and the whole parish of Banchory Ternan is almost 
 entirely covered with pine woods, in every way suitable to 
 the successful restoration of the birds to Deeside. 
 
EXTENSION IN KINCARDINESHIRE. 97 
 
 In 1878. The first has also been killed upon Fasque 
 estate, the property of Sir Thomas Gladstone, Bart. This 
 forms deforest stepping-stoTie to the advance into Deeside. 
 
 In 1878 another has been shot at Fetteresso, and it has 
 also been lately found on Inglismaldie. The dilatory advance 
 in this direction is most remarkable when it is remembered 
 that the country is well wooded on both sides of the water- 
 shed. 
 
CHAPTEE XY. 
 
 EXTENSION IN EOSS, ELGIN, AND COUNTIES OF 
 THE MORAY FIRTH. 
 
 There is a vague idea that they existed about 100 years 
 ago in Eoss-shire, but I can obtain no satisfactory statistics. 
 
 I am not aware that any attempts at introduction have 
 been made in Eoss-shire, but Captain Dunbar Brander, of 
 Pitgaveny, has informed the Eev. George Gordon that Lord 
 Fyffe had obtained eggs of the Capercaillie for Lochnabo — a 
 wood between Elgin and Fochabers — this last summer (1878), 
 but the results he had not learned. 
 
CHAPTEK XVI. 
 
 EXTENSION IN SUTHEKLANDSHIRE. 
 
 For the following account of the attempt at introduction 
 in Sutherland I am indebted to Mr. Thomas Mackenzie, 
 sheriff-substitute, Sutherland. " It may interest you to know 
 the result of an attempt made in 1870 by Mr. Chimside 
 of Skibo to introduce Capercailzies into Sutherland. A 
 setting of ten eggs was obtained, I think, from Perthshire, 
 and these were all hatched out at Skibo. Five of the 
 young birds were handed over to the care of the game- 
 keeper of Mr. Gilchrist, of Ospisdale, the adjoining property, 
 but all of these died within three weeks. Of the five left 
 at Skibo, three arrived at maturity, when, unfortunately, 
 a weasel attacked and killed one of them, and during the 
 hubbub and confusion occasioned by this, the cock bird 
 would appear to have flown into the kennel of dogs, where 
 it was destroyed, for the feathers were afterwards found 
 there. The remaining bird, a hen, frequented the woods 
 about Skibo Castle for two years after this, and was last 
 seen in the garden in July 1872, after which it finally 
 disappeared. What its ultimate fate was I cannot learn with 
 certainty, but there are no Capercailzies at present on either 
 of the properties of Skibo or Ospisdale." 
 
 Mr. Mackenzie further remarks — " For an experiment on 
 so small a scale the result was not unpromising, and the 
 
100 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 survival of a single bird for upwards of two years, would 
 point to the general suitableness of the locality, and to the 
 prospect of a renewed attempt being attended with better 
 success. The great mortality which occurred immediately 
 after hatching was owing, I fear, to the eggs having been set 
 under such an ignorant foster mother as the common barn- 
 door hen, and I would suggest that, as a remedy, the experi- 
 ment might be tried of placing three or four eggs in the nest 
 of the wild grey hen, to which species the Capercailzie is so 
 closely allied, and leaving her to bring up the young birds. 
 From what I can learn, there is no antipathy between the two 
 species." Mr. Mackenzie further informs me that there are 
 some 1800 acres of suitable wood, principally fir, upon the 
 Skibo and Ospisdale estates. 
 
 Of its former occurrence in this county I have already 
 spoken (vide pp. 19, 29). 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 EXTENSION IN SOUTH OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 AYRSHIRE. 
 
 An attempt to introduce the CapercaiUie into Ayrshire was 
 made in 1841 or 1842, both by birds and eggs, at the aviary 
 at Glenapp, belonging to Lord Orkney. All the eggs were 
 hatched out, and in 1843, in September, nine healthy birds 
 were seen there by the author of ' The Birds of Ireland ' {q. v.. 
 vol. ii. p. 33). But by the year 1848 they again became extinct, 
 in which year the last of these introduced birds was found 
 dead in the open on the farm of Downan. The birds and eggs 
 brought to Glenapp came from Taymouth. The plantations 
 on Glenapp were at that time too small and too scattered 
 to keep them, and the birds either wandered and were shot 
 down, or died, succumbing to the adverse conditions around 
 them. It is thought that, now the plantations have increased 
 and grown to a suitable size, if another introduction were 
 attempted it would prove more successful. 
 
 Lord Ailsa's gamekeeper at Culzean, obtained eggs from 
 Arran, and got some of them hatched out, but none of the 
 birds came to maturity. 
 
 A bird was reported to have been killed on the 12th 
 August 1877, at Old Cumnock, by Captain E. M. Campbell, 
 but I have failed to obtain proper authentication of the fact ; 
 indeed, he himself cannot corroborate it. 
 
102 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 GALLOWAY AND WIGTON. 
 
 In 1869, at Newton Stewart, a female bird was shot 
 ' Scot. Nat.; voL i. p. 44). Probably a strayed bird from the 
 Glenapp introduction in Ayrshire, or the Sanquhar intro- 
 duction in Dumfries. (See also K. Gray — " On the present 
 distribution of the Capercaillie in Scotland ;" ' Proc. Nat. Hist. 
 Soc.; Glasgow, vol. ii. p. 10 ; read December 28, 1869.) 
 
 LANARK. 
 
 In 1868 a fine male was shot by Henry Lees, Esq., at 
 Auchengray, near Airdrie. Probably wandered from some 
 locality where attempts' at introduction had been made. ( Vide 
 E. Gray, op. cit.) 
 
 KIRCUDBRIGHT. 
 
 1869. In November 1869 a female was killed at Auchen- 
 cairn. Probably a strayed bird from Glenapp or Sanquhar 
 {; Scot. Nat; Yo\.i.^.^). 
 
 DUMFRIES. 
 
 Mr. Lindsay, the Duke of Buccleuch's gamekeeper at 
 Sanquhar, tried to introduce them, but failed. {Auct E. 
 Gray, op. cit) 
 
CHAPTEE XVIII. 
 
 ARRAN. 
 
 We now come to Arran, the centre of a separate introduction. 
 Its isolated position, the fact of its being formerly frequented 
 by the species prior to its extinction in Scotland, and of the 
 successful re-introduction and self-stocking, gives it a right 
 to be considered apart from the other centres of introduction 
 on the mainland. 
 
 It is doubtful, I think, if any localities on the mainland 
 can come to be populated naturally by Arran birds, i.e., from 
 a natural outward pressure of population, so that, though a 
 centre, it cannot be expected to exert an impulse of similar 
 extent to what Taymouth has done. 
 
 The Capercaillie formerly abounded in Arran, as we are 
 informed by the Eev. J. Headrick (' View of Arran' 1807), 
 but had apparently become extinct at the time he wrote. 
 It was re -introduced in 1843, and for some time the 
 birds were kept in an enclosure near Brodick Castle. It 
 became common, and spread to the limits of the fir planta- 
 tions, while an odd bird occasionally wandered as far as 
 Lamlash, by 1870. It became still more abundant in 1872 
 (R Gray, ' The Birds of Arran,' Glasgow, 1872), "when thirty 
 to forty birds might be seen in a day's walk, and twenty nests 
 be found in a season." 
 
 Mr. CroU was head keeper at the time of their introduc- 
 
104 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 tion at Brodick, and had charge of them. Mr. George Croll, 
 his son, has supplied me with the following account of the 
 introduction : — " The first introduction came from Taymouth 
 Castle in 1843. The birds numbered six hens and one cock. 
 The second introduction came from Sweden to London in 
 1846, and I went there (London) to receive them, and brought 
 thep to Arran. The number of birds, eight hens and two 
 cocks. The approximate estimate of birds in after years 
 would be, in 1855, about 40, and in 1865, the year I left the 
 island, about 65 or 70. I consider that the birds cannot 
 increase to more than 80 or 90 birds, owing to the limited 
 extent of wood and planting. Black game have decreased on 
 the island of late years, not on account of the numbers of the 
 Capercaillies, but solely through the want of cropping on the 
 moor-edges, which have been turned into pasture. There 
 has been little or no planting of Scotch fir, larch, or spruce, 
 since the year 1830." 
 
 The birds are confined to the neighbourhood of Brodick, 
 Arran, where there are about 600 acres of fir wood; only 
 stragglers having been found in other parts of the island. 
 
PAET V. 
 
 GENERAL REMARKS ON THE DISTRIBUTION AND 
 INCREASE OF THE SPECIES ; 
 
 AND 
 
 ON THE DECREASE OF BLACK GAME. 
 
CHAPTEE XIX. 
 
 LAWS OF EXTENSION OF RANGE. 
 
 The general distribution of the Capercaillie throughout the 
 world is concisely given by Mr. H. E. Dresser in his great 
 work ' Tlie Birds of Europe' part xxi.^ He says : — " This mag- 
 nificent grouse, the largest of its family, is found throughout 
 Northern Europe, and is even met with in the forests on the 
 mountain ranges in the southern or southern-central portions 
 of the Western Palaearctic region." Perhaps the most 
 southerly locality recorded in Europe is Acarnania in Greece 
 {op, cit.) ^ To the east it extends far into Asia, and has been 
 found to occur as far as the valley of the Irkut ; but in the 
 extreme east of Siberia it becomes partially, if not wholly, 
 replaced by a smaller species — Tetrao urugalloides of Midden- 
 dorf. Beyond this, in the present connection, it is unneces- 
 sary to enter into detail as regards its distribution outside 
 the limits of Great Britain. 
 
 Within the area of its present range in Scotland, suitable 
 woods — e.g. woods of spruce, Scotch fir, or larch, or of these 
 combined — of 100 acres, or even less in extent, and upwards, 
 are usually inhabited by the species ; the smaller woods hold- 
 
 * See also Lloyd's ' GaTm Birds and Wild Fowl of Sweden,'' 1866, p. 2. 
 
 * Pennant, * Arctic Zoology,^ 1792, vol. i. p. 365, seems to have traced 
 it as far south as the Archipelago, in the islands of Crete and Milo. Hassel- 
 guist is given as the authority for the bird shot in a palm tree in Milo, and 
 Belon for Crete (^ Penny Cyclopcedia^' vol. vi. p. 260). 
 
108 THE CAPEHCAILLIE. 
 
 ing only a few pairs, sometimes permanently, but often only 
 for a few years consecutively;-^ and the larger woods and 
 continuous forests holding more in proportion according to 
 their areas, as many as 36, 25, 23, etc., having been shot in 
 one day by shooting-parties upon certain estates in Perthshire. 
 
 But in districts inhabited by them, where forests, once 
 extensive, have been reduced in size, or entirely cut down 
 and replaced by sheep-grazing on the cleared ground, a reduc- 
 tion in numbers or entire disappearance naturally takes place. 
 
 Change of residence or local migrations, such as are men- 
 tioned by several writers — e.g. Lloyd, CoUett, etc. — I have 
 myself observed also in Scotland, and many of my corre- 
 spondents draw my attention to the fact in their letters. The 
 birds often entirely quit one part of a forest or extensive 
 wood for another, and this migration usually takes place from 
 an older to a younger growth — i.e., to a growth which is of 
 that age which is suitable to their requirements of feeding 
 and shelter combined. There is also a decided preference 
 shown by the birds for forest slopes facing the south, or at all 
 events for those lying well to the sun, as I think can be traced 
 by the general distribution of the birds at the present time. 
 I find that in various localities they appear to thrive better 
 and to increase more rapidly where they inhabit situations 
 having a southerly exposure ; other amenities, such as the 
 necessary amount of cover and absence of disturbing influ- 
 ences, being of course taken into consideration. The above- 
 
 1 Thus, at Aberuthven wood, on the south side of the Earn valley, or 
 right hank of the river, a pair of Capercaillies bred regularly for four or five 
 years, but, along with their young, always left after the latter could fly. 
 Since about 1869 they have not returned to this locality — a wood of about 
 40-50 acres in extent. I could give many other instances of their breeding 
 sporadically in this way, and also of their breeding regularly, but always 
 leaving with their young for larger covers afterwards. This is regularly the 
 case at Ochtertyre, Crieff" district, where, I am informed by Sir Patrick Keith 
 Murray, Bart., " nests are found all over the woods and copses, miles from 
 the winter resort of the birds. " 
 
LAWS OF EXTENSION OP RANGE. 109 
 
 mentiojied partial migration or change of residence may, in 
 many cases, be induced by this preference. (See also, under 
 " Eestoration," the accoimt by Sir Eobert Menzies, Bart., of 
 the preference shown to the woods of Dull, near Taymouth.)-^ 
 
 In certain districts, as, for example, in Glendochart, in 
 the west of Perthshire, Capercaillies are known to frequent 
 coppices of hardwood (birch and oak), and even to occur 
 regularly in autumn at some distance away from wood of any 
 kind, being often shot by sportsmen as they rise out of long 
 heather on the hill-sides.^ 
 
 In the winter season, however, most of these latter repair 
 to more suitable shelter. 
 
 Their favourite haunts are spruce, Scotch fir, or larch 
 forests, and their occurrence in hardwood coverts is com- 
 paratively rare, except in the breeding season, or in the case 
 of birds resting during a tour of inspection. The departure 
 from their usual habitat, on comparatively rare occasions, 
 may be accounted for by a natural impulse urging them to 
 extend their range, notwithstanding unusual difficulties and 
 unsuitable ground, combined with an unusually strong pres- 
 sure outward from the nearest centre of population. An 
 unusually strong pressure of this kind probably takes place 
 outward from Taymouth ; and Glendochart being the direct 
 
 ^ Correspondents inform me that the young birds do not like the sun, and 
 that in the heat of summer they often shelter themselves under overhanging 
 banks, apparently to escape from it. In the heat of summer even the old 
 birds sit more upon the ground than earlier or later in the season. In Glen- 
 almond, in Perthshire, the bank of the river facing the north is preferred, but 
 that -is simply because the distribution of the pine woods favours them. On 
 the south side of Loch Rannoch it has been found rather difficult successfully 
 to rear and keep them. The young birds hatched out at Cromer Hall {vide 
 under "Restoration "), supposed to have died from exposure to a scorching 
 sun {^ Penny Cyclopcedia,' vol. vi. p. 260), may, however, have perished from 
 an insufficient supply of their natural food. 
 
 2 In Norway, Sweden, and Russia, the Capercaillie also occurs occasionally 
 in hardwood coverts — oak, beech, birch, etc. — but is not usually stationary 
 in such localities ; but, as remarked by several Scandinavian naturalists, 
 seems fond of patches of such growth in the midst of pine forests. 
 
110 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 outlet towards the west, the wave of advance has been forced 
 up the valley until it has reached beyond the limit of spruce, 
 Scotch fir, and larch. The inevitable law exists that there is 
 a distinct limit to the population of a species in any one 
 locality, regulated by the size, capabilities, and amenities of 
 the area, and when this limit is reached and exceeded the 
 surplus population is forced to seek new ground. Further, as 
 the internal pressure continues and increases, the greater 
 difficulties will be faced and surmounted by the pioneers, in 
 order to fulfil the destiny of the species, and the amount of 
 success achieved will depend upon the hardihood and " fitness" 
 of the species in the struggle for existence. 
 
 The easiest and most natural courses of advance foUow 
 the valleys, up or down stream, or stretch along the wooded 
 foothills and slopes, preferring, as already pointed out, the 
 sunny exposures. This is clearly illustrated by the fact, that 
 Capercaillies in a comparatively short space of time reach and 
 populate more remote localities in the directions whence the 
 great valleys lead them, than they do in those directions 
 where mountainous or treeless country intervenes.-^ 
 
 The beau-ideal of a safe harbourage and permanent home 
 for the Capercaillie would then appear to be as follows :— 
 A forest of spruce, Scotch fir, and larch, mixed, of, say 700 to 
 1000 acres or more in extent, having a southern exposure, or 
 lying well to the sun, of which forest certain portions — say a 
 
 1 The comparative rate of advance by valleys and over mountains is illus- 
 trated — to choose amongst a great mass of similar statistics — by the extreme 
 limit reached by the Tay valley route in 1877 {vide Map), and the distance 
 reached at Loch Kennord in the same year ; the former — Milngavie near Glas- 
 gow — some 45 miles in a direct line from Taymouth, and the latter only 7^. 
 Or, to select another example — the limit reached by the Tay valley route to 
 Dunkeld, and thence by Strathmore into Forfar in 1865 (Brechin district — 
 over 50 miles in a direct line from Taymouth), as compared with that reached 
 in Glenshee in the same year (Dalnaglar, only about half that distance in a 
 straight line from Taymouth). I am inclined to think, judging from a large 
 mass of data, that the birds rarely, or only under exceptionally strong pres- 
 sure, cross mountain tracts, unless they can vieio forest-covered country beyond. 
 
LAWS OF EXTENSION OF RANGE. Ill 
 
 fourth or a fifth — consists of old timber, and the remainder 
 of a succession of growths in regular rotation; forested in 
 fact like a German forest, thus offering abundance of food, 
 shelter, and quiet. And further, there ought to be, so to 
 speak, convenient natural avenues or wooded continuations — 
 'f(yre8t stepping-stones ' — to other districts, either in valleys, or 
 along the hill-slopes, to act as safety-valves for the escape of 
 surplus population. 
 
 The hen Capercaillies appear to be, in most cases, the 
 pioneers, which lead to the extension of the range of the 
 species ; and it is natural that they should act as the pioneers, 
 as they are more numerous than the cocks, and increase 
 in numbers more rapidly, as is the case with most poly- 
 gamous species."^ The birds, from some point of vantage on 
 the outskirts of their residence, view a large pine wood, even 
 at some miles distance, and make direct for it. 
 
 It is suggested and believed by several correspondents that 
 the pioneers are entirely composed of young birds driven away 
 from the lecking ground, and haunts of their native coverts. 
 This is no doubt in great measure the case, and is only part of 
 the mode in which the natural law is put in force, but I must 
 certainly uphold that attraction does take place by the most 
 likely coverts and woods, as all our statistics indeed go to 
 
 ^ According to Lloyd — quoting the writings of others on the birds of 
 Sweden — it would appear that the males are by many considered the most 
 abundant, giving rise to the extraordinary migrations of the male birds from 
 time to time, * en masse,^ in the north of Europe ; and we also are told of the 
 wandering habits of the males, which are said to ^forflyga sig,^ i.e., "to fly it 
 knows not whither " — in the same way as I find the hens do in this country — 
 and being shot in strange out-of-the-way localities. The author of ' Tidskrift 
 for Jagare ' is quoted by Lloyd, as stating that from experience he " has found 
 that both capercali and blackcock broods contain more males than females." 
 Certainly this flocking together and wandering propensity of the males in 
 , Scandinavia is singular. I have utterly failed to obtain any statistics con- 
 firmatory of this superabundance of males in Scotland ; indeed, our experience 
 is quite opposed to that of continental naturalists, unless, indeed, the killing 
 of 17 males in one day at Keillor wood, near Methven, can be said to point to 
 a superabundance of males. 
 
112 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 prove ; and this, I think, will become patent to any one who 
 studies their distribution. If, on the one hand, they are forced 
 to leave by the older and stronger birds, still they will leave 
 in those directions which are most likely to meet the require- 
 ments of the species, and, as I have already pointed out, I 
 believe that the birds have great power of vision, and use this 
 in an appreciable degree when on a pioneering journey. 
 
 Birds, andi especially females, are thus often shot or seen 
 in localities totally unsuited to their habits — no doubt resting, 
 as I have already indicated, during their tour of inspection. 
 Amongst such localities may be instanced a bare moor or 
 open common,-^ a patch of wood, of an acre or two in extent, 
 in the middle of a bare mountain glen,^ or even in the 
 crowded thoroughfares of a large town.^ There is evidence 
 in some cases of these pioneers having been assisted in their 
 travels by long-continuing gales. Thus, about the first bird 
 shot in Fife — in 1863 — at EankeiUor, near Cupar, arrived 
 towards the end of a gale which had been blowing for some 
 days from the north ; and several other instances could be 
 cited. 
 
 The females precede the males by from one to two years, 
 and establishment of the species takes place very shortly 
 after the arrival of the males, and from two to four years 
 after the first appearance of the females — i.e., where establish- 
 ment does follow (yide Tables given below). 
 
 In the comparatively few instances in which males are 
 first observed, it may be inferred, in most cases, that the 
 females had arrived from one to two years previously, and 
 had escaped observation, or that the males had wandered 
 during their search for their pioneers. In certain districts, 
 where there is only a limited population at the centre, a 
 
 ^ Stenhousemuir, Stirlingshire, for example — a bare grass common, with 
 a few scattered whin bushes — used to hold markets upon. 
 
 2 As Glen Queich, and many others in Perthshire and other counties. 
 ^ In Edinburgh [vide under Midlothian, antea, p. 89). 
 
LAWS OF EXTENSION OF RANGE. 
 
 113 
 
 natural impiilse causes the males to go in search of the hens, 
 and it is probably while so doing that they are said to "^or- 
 flyga sig" or " fly they know not whither," in Sweden. Witness 
 the occurrences of a male bird at Auchengray, in Lanarkshire, 
 and (whether prior to extinction or not) of the male birds 
 shot at Fort William in 1807, and at Bo'ness in 1811. The 
 following table shows some of the above facts. The statistics 
 are selected from a very large number in my possession, all 
 going more or less to prove what I have above stated. 
 
 Table showing Order of Arrival and Establishment 
 OF THE Species. 
 
 Name of Localities. 
 
 Date of 
 arrival of 
 Females. 
 
 Date of 
 
 arrival of 
 
 Males. 
 
 Estab- 
 lished. 
 
 Time 
 
 between 
 first and 
 last dates. 
 
 Cardross, Perth . . 
 
 1868 
 
 1870 
 
 1871 
 
 3 years 
 
 Chasefield, Stirling . 
 
 1875 
 
 1877 
 
 1877 
 
 2 „ 
 
 Boqulian, do. 
 
 1871 
 
 Bred 
 
 1875 
 
 4 „ 
 
 Lanrick, Perth . . 
 
 1856 
 
 18561 
 
 1859-60 
 
 3-4 „ 
 
 Moncrieffe, do. . . 
 
 1861 
 
 ? 
 
 1864 
 
 3 „ 
 
 Kinnordy, Forfar . . 
 
 ? 
 
 1863 
 
 1863 
 
 ? 
 
 Fotheringham, Forfar 
 
 1862 
 
 1862 
 
 1862 
 
 Same year 
 
 Torwood, Stirling 
 
 ? Birds arrived 1867 
 
 ... 
 
 1870 
 
 3 years 
 
 Auchengray, Lanark. 
 
 ? 
 
 18682 
 
 Not established 
 
 Rossie Priory, Stirling 
 
 1867-68 ) 
 1877-78 S 
 
 No males^ 
 
 Not established 
 
 Rossie Priory, do. . 
 
 
 
 1 The remains of a male were also found in 1856 at Lanrick, or Gartencaber 
 (adjoining). Its death, from unknown causes, very possibly delayed the 
 establishment a year or two. Otherwise, judging from analogous cases, the 
 establishment would probably have taken place in 1857. A separate inform- 
 ant gives 1853 as the date of their first appearance at Lanrick ; but judging 
 from parallel records at contiguous localities, I think this may be too early 
 stated, though, of course, quite within the bounds of possibility. 
 
 2 This male, killed in 1868 at Auchengray, was doubtless a bird wandering 
 in search of a mate from some one of the localities south of the Clyde, where 
 several futile attempts at separate introductions were made. 
 
 * A very sufficient reason here for the non-appearance of males is the insuf- 
 ficiency of cover. Although the females twice attempted to extend the range 
 of the species in this direction, they were not followed up by males ; or it 
 may possibly have been because the hens were in both instances shot soon 
 after their arrival. 
 
 I 
 
114 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 The CapercaiUie, then, has populated the woods and forests 
 of part of Scotland, principally by its own exertions, since the 
 great restoration at Taymouth ; but there are certain minor 
 centres of introduction which have undoubtedly added some 
 impulse to their advance, though, perhaps, not to any extent 
 compared with the impulse from the great centre. Thus, we 
 have the Tulliallan introductions in 1856 and 1864, and the 
 Arran introduction, and that at Lathirsk, in Fife, besides 
 others more or less successful or unsuccessful. The Arran 
 introduction, perhaps, has done least to extend the bird's 
 range, its isolated position naturally placing a bar to their 
 spreading, although the introduction in itself has proved 
 eminently successful, so far as the limited area of wood 
 permitted. 
 
CHAPTEE XX. 
 
 A FEW REMAKES ON HYBRIDISM. 
 
 On first arrival and establishment of the Capercaillie at a 
 new locality in an entirely new district, where black game are 
 abundant or fairly plentiful, cases of hybridism are not unusual. 
 If females arrive first — as we have shown they do — in a district 
 populated by black game, the absence of their natural partners 
 will induce coition with black game, and will result in 
 hybrids. If the male Capercaillies are long of arriving, this 
 hybridism will increase in frequency. But when their own 
 lords at last make their advent, the hens undoubtedly, for the 
 most part, return to their allegiance, and hybridism becomes 
 rarer, though it may not altogether die out. But, as we have 
 already seen, the males usually do arrive very shortly after 
 the females — a scarcity of female birds at the centre, caused 
 by the overflow, doubtless inducing the males to follow. 
 Only in unusual cases of isolation, or unusual distance from 
 the centre, do the males fail to find out the hens. Thus it 
 is only rarely that hybridism attains to serious proportions. 
 As the exceptions often prove the rule, I wiU instance a few 
 statistics chosen from amongst a number of others. 
 
 At Logiealmond, Perthshire, two hybrids were shot in 
 1852, the first obtained there. Also a hybrid was shot at 
 Alyth, in the east of the same county, in 1857. At TuUiallan 
 the first bird ever seen there was a hybrid in 1854. These 
 
116 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 three localities are situated respectively about 17 J miles as 
 the crow flies, 28 miles, and 38 miles, from the centre of 
 restoration — Taymouth; and these were amongst the birds 
 which had reached to unusually great distances at these dates. 
 I cannot be far wrong in supposing that female Capercaillies first 
 reached these unusually distant localities, it may have been 
 assisted by gales of wind (as in the case of the first recorded 
 Fifeshire bird (p. 76), and that male Capercaillies failed to 
 follow them. Landing in a country inhabited by black game, 
 hybridism resulted. 
 
 Again, at TulliaUan, in 1856 (two years later), out of a 
 setting of Capercaillies' eggs three birds were reared, but these 
 turned out to be aU. females, which " bred freely with black 
 game, and hybrids were common in 1857." In 1864 more eggs 
 were hatched out, some of which were males, and since then 
 Capercaillies have increased rapidly, and now — 1877 — there 
 will be from 200 to 300 birds on the estate. Hybrids are still 
 to be met with, but not so numerously as before the Caper- 
 caillies became plentiful." For information, so much to the 
 point, I am indebted to Mr. Millar, head gamekeeper at TuUi- 
 allan, who has been there since their earliest appearance. The 
 eggs hatched out in 1864 were obtained from Freelands, near 
 Perth, by Lord Balfour of Burleigh. 
 
 Sabanaeff, in his account of the ' A'vi Fauna of the Ural! 
 says, under ' Tetrao uwgalloides {T. Medius) '; — " Taking this 
 as a hybrid, it is easily explained, as a great number of the 
 male T. urogallus are killed in spring, and therefore there 
 exists a great predominance of females " (see translation of his 
 paper in ' Proc. Nat. Hist. Sod Glasgow, 1877, p. 304). I am 
 not sure, however, that this is entirely the reason of a pre- 
 dominance of females. Farther north, at Ust-Zilma, on the 
 Petchora, Seebohm and I found that the natives only shot the 
 hen Capercaillies, as the males were not considered fit for 
 food. 
 
REMARKS ON HYBRIDISM. 117 
 
 As to the occurrence of females in whole or partial male 
 dress in Scotland, I know of the following : — One in the pos- 
 session of Lord BaKour of Burleigh, at Kennet, in Clack- 
 mannan, shot on the 2d N'ovember 1862, near Dunkeld, at Mr. 
 Hugh Bruce's residence. This specimen ''shows its tertiaries 
 and scapulars tipped with white, and so far slightly resembles 
 the plumage of the adult female." ^ This was the first example 
 of the kind recorded in Scotland, but another has since been 
 obtained, also shot at Dunkeld, which is now in the Museum 
 of Science and Art. It was obtained at Dunkeld in 1866, 
 and purchased from Mr. Eobert Small, naturalist, Edinburgh, 
 for the Museum.^ Mr. J. H. Guvnej jun., informs me that he 
 has in his possession a dwarf Capercaillie in nearly full plum- 
 age, bought in Leadenhall Market. This is probably of Scan- 
 dinavian origin, however. Mr. Gurney adds : — " There is a 
 similar dwarf in the British Museum, but larger than mine. 
 It may, for aught I know, be a female in male plumage. It 
 is labelled, ' Hybrid grouse, var.,' but I do not believe in its 
 being a hybrid." In our collection at Dunipace is a very 
 diminutive Capercaillie in male plumage, shot at Dunira, and 
 given to me by Mr. J. Hamilton Buchanan, which I believe 
 to be a female in male plumage, but unfortunately the speci- 
 men is not sexed.^ 
 
 1 Vide 'Proc. Byl. Phyl. Soc.,' Edinr,, vol. viii. 1862-63, pp. 25-27. 
 
 2 Op. cit. 1865-66, p. 408. 
 
 3 For full particulars regarding hybridism and varieties, etc. , see Collett, 
 
 * Birds of Northern Norvjay,' quoted very fully by Dresser, * Birds of Europe,' 
 parts 20 and 21. In the Christiania Museum is a truly wonderful series of the 
 lovely varieties found in this species, which will always well repay the atten- 
 tion of visitors. I had the pleasure of examining these in 1871. For an 
 account of an unusual hybrid between black grouse and hazel grouse, see 
 Dresser in 'P. Z. S.,' 1876, p. 345. There are many other notices and 
 accounts of hybrids scattered up and down, and a general reference to ornitho- 
 logical works might suffice in this place. However, to those who feel curious 
 on the subject, I may recommend an examination of Carus and Engelmann's 
 
 * Bihliotheca Historico-Natv/ralis ' (vol. ii. pp. 1253-54), which will supply a 
 list of papers, British and Foreign, up to the date of 1861. 
 
CHAPTER XXL 
 
 ON THE INCKEASE OF CAPERCAILLIES. 
 
 My circular contained several queries, specially bearing upon 
 this part of the subject (vide circular, p. 54, queries 9th to 
 13th). From the answers received, I have put together the 
 following statistics, as they may be useful for future com- 
 parisons. 
 
 Perhaps the districts where the CapercaiUie is most 
 abundant at present are as follows : — The Tay Valley from 
 Taymouth to Perth, and the districts between Perth, Crieff, 
 and Comrie, in Perthshire ; Strathmore, in Forfarshire ; TuUi- 
 aUan, in south of Perthshire ; Sauchie, in Stirlingshire ; and 
 Arran. 
 
 The greatest number I have heard of killed in one day 
 was 36 at Ladywell plantation, Pitnacree, near Dunkeld, in 
 1865. This is part of the Athole estates, upon which are at 
 least 10,000 acres of suitable woods. At Bamff, in the east 
 of Perthshire, 25 were shot one day in 1877 — area 2000 
 acres. At Dunkeld 23 were shot one day {vide ' Game-Booh,' 
 belonging to Mr. Small of Dir-na-Nean). At Fowlis Wester 
 12 were shot one day in October 1859 ; here the woods are 
 extensive, as they join with Abercairney, Gorthy, Tulchan, 
 and neighbouring properties. At Methven 14 were shot one 
 day — 300 acres. In Keillor wood, Methven, as I am informed 
 by Mr. D. Brown, he once saw 17 cocks killed in one day. 
 
INCREASE OF CAPERCAILLIES. 119 
 
 At Oclitertyre great numbers were seen in 1870 or thereabouts. 
 At Cardross, where they only arrived in 1868 and 1870, and 
 became established in 1871, and where there are about 300 
 acres of suitable wood along the south shore of the lake of 
 Menteith, 18 to 20 may be now seen in a day; and in 
 November 1877, 4 males and 6 females were shot one day. 
 On Murthly 12 were shot one day, and from 20 to 25 in four 
 days — about 3000 acres of fir and larch. Here they became 
 scarcer for a time after a certain date, and a correspondent 
 assigns over-shooting on a neighbouring property as the cause. 
 Now they are increasing again. On Tulliallan it is reckoned 
 there are " from 200 to 300 birds," in woods of an area of 
 at least 1500 acres. On the adjoining property of West 
 Grange I have myself seen at least 16 birds in one day, and 
 seen 4 shot. At Easter Ogle, in Forfarshire, 20 to 24 have been 
 shot in one day — about 2000 acres. On Sauchie, in Stirling- 
 shire, there are estimated to be from 50 to 60 birds. At 
 Dunsinane, near Perth, in 1868 or 1869, I saw upwards of 
 30 birds in one day. At Dupplin 16 were shot one day. 
 At Taymouth, about 1862, estimates reached between 1000 
 and 2000 birds.^ At Torwood, in Stirlingshire, in 1878, about 
 14 were driven up to the guns in one beat, and 3 were shot. 
 
 The above are only selections from a larger mass of 
 materials, but they will, I think, fairly illustrate the districts 
 in which the birds are most abundant. The farthest point 
 reached towards Loch Earn is Dunjra, except a stray bird or 
 two on Loch Earn side at Ardvorlich and Dearry. 
 
 ^ According to returns to Parliament in 1873, the total acreage of the 
 Taymouth estates in Perthshire was 234,166 ; of this, of course, only a 
 comparatively small proportion is under wood. 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 ON THE DECREASE OF BLACK GAME. 
 
 Black Game have become less plentiful, and in some cases 
 even extinct, or nearly so, in certain districts where Caper- 
 caillies have become plentiful, and there is an apparently 
 striking connection between the advent of the latter and the 
 departure of the former. This cannot be denied, and I have 
 many statements from correspondents bearing out the truth 
 of the assertion.^ 
 
 From many others, however, I have also the statement 
 that black game have not decreased in certain other districts 
 which Capercaillies have taken possession of, and where they 
 have become plentiful ; and the latter group of correspondents 
 are invariably of opinion that Capercaillies in no way inter- 
 
 ^ And it does seem certain, moreover, that Capercaillies and black game 
 .do not invariably agree to live peaceably in one another's company. One 
 correspondent, who appears to have had considerable experience of their habits, 
 and to have watched them closely, tells me that when black game and Caper- 
 caillies do happen to frequent the same ground, the latter drive away the 
 former in the spring time. As this, however, can only refer to somewhat 
 unusual circumstances in the localities, and as the two can hardly be said 
 generally to frequent similar country, this fact can only be held as of local 
 application. The same correspondent adds that they drive away black game 
 " by driving off the old birds and killing the young ;" and he states that he 
 has seen battles between the species in ^clucking season.'' He also saw a 
 Capercaillie and a grey hen with their broods coming in contact, when a 
 terrible battle ensued. *' The Capercaillie succeeded in driving away the grey 
 hen, and then killed the most of her brood." 
 
DECREASE OP BLACK GAME. 121 
 
 fere with black game. From other sources I gather the fact 
 that, in many districts remote from the area inhabited by 
 CapercaiUies, black game have become much scarcer, or have 
 almost disappeared within the last few years; indeed, the 
 complaint is no uncommon one, although in some cases a 
 reason for the decrease cannot with certainty be assigned. 
 This last fact proves, at all events, that there are other 
 " environing causes " at work, modifying and restricting the 
 numbers of black game, and that it is unfair to heap aU the 
 blame, if indeed any of it, upon the Capercaillie : that, in fact, 
 it would be judicious to pause before summarily condemning 
 the panel. 
 
 To endeavour to discover and make plain to my readers 
 some of these other causes of the decrease of black game is 
 the object of this section. 
 
 At Dalnaglar, a property in Glenshee, Perthshire, as I 
 am informed by the proprietor, black game were " extremely 
 abundant fifteen years ago." CapercaiUies arrived there about 
 1865, when black game were still plentiful, and rapidly 
 increased in numbers in a large pine wood of some 300 acres 
 in extent, the largest suitable cover for the species in Glen- 
 shee. For the last ten years (prior to 1878) drainage opera- 
 tions have been carried on more or less : previous to that 
 time no draining had been done for ten years. No young 
 plantations have been formed, and all the wood on the 
 property is now nearly, or quite, ready for cutting. Black 
 game have decreased to such an extent that at one time they 
 became almost extinct, and the proprietor had to re-introduce 
 them by eggs from counties south of the Firth of Forth. I 
 myself will not be surprised to learn some day that even the 
 CapercaiUies wiU change their residence and remove to more 
 eUgible covers, unless young plantations be started on 
 Dalnaglar. 
 
 We have seen that attempts to introduce CapercaiUies to 
 
122 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 the old Black Wood of Eannoch — the remains of the Cale- 
 donian Forest — which has a northerly exposure, and where, 
 until of late years, there has been but little fresh planting, 
 have failed. If proprietors drain their moors and trench their 
 forests upon the rapid system now so generally practised, I 
 doubt if they can expect to have black game as plentifully as 
 formerly. It is weU known to naturalists that black game, 
 especially when young and tender, are particularly fond of 
 feeding in swampy rushy moor, or moist forest land, finding 
 there abundance of insect food suited to their tender age. It 
 is not until they reach a certain age that black game feed 
 persistently upon larch, birch, and Scotch fir " sprits." Take 
 away from them this rushy ground where their favourite, nay, 
 necessary food is found, and black game will leave or die out, 
 unless artificial feeding, perhaps, in some degree may avert 
 the calamity; which, however, I doubt. 
 
 Again, I have it from various correspondents that in cer- 
 tain localities in the Tay vaUey and elsewhere, black game 
 have in no ways decreased, although Capercaillies have become 
 numerous ; and in several instances I have elicited the fur- 
 ther information that at some of the said localities draining 
 has not taken place to any extent for a number of years. 
 
 At Arden, on Loch Lomond, as I am informed by my 
 friend Mr. James Lumsden (who for some time back has been 
 working at the distribution of black game in Scotland), there 
 are no Capercaillies. Black game, nevertheless, have been 
 decidedly on the decrease, even rapidly, during the last eight 
 or nine years, which is the time which has elapsed since drain- 
 ing operations on a considerable scale were commenced upon 
 the estate. There has also been a curtailing of the acreage of 
 cropped land along the moor edges, cropping having been 
 replaced by grazing. Cropping, I hold, of course, as an arti- 
 ficial mode of feeding black game ; still this, at least, proves 
 another " environing cause " for their decrease. Every year 
 
DECREASE OF BLACK GAME. 123 
 
 almost we hear of complaints of the decrease of black game 
 continuing from many estates in the west of Scotland and 
 from other parts; often, it is true, from causes at present diffi- 
 cult to trace, but some of which I have little doubt will be 
 found in drainage, land improvement, and consequent destruc- 
 tion of insect and vegetable food necessary to the weUbeing 
 of i3lack game. Mr. J. B. Hamilton, of Leny, has given me a 
 strong instance of decrease of black game, owing to land 
 improvement, from a district not inhabited by Capercaillies, 
 which is so much to the point that I quote his communica- 
 tion in full : " In Dumfriesshire I have for several years shot 
 over the Corrie estate, which belongs to my friend Mr. Jardine, 
 of Lanrick. It is a hilly grass country, with a deal of good 
 strong land in it. It may extend to some 10,000 acres, and 
 at one time he rented the shooting of adjoining land there to 
 a somewhat similar extent. He has known that district aU 
 his life, and has shot over it for probably thirty years or more. 
 The black game have diminished very largely in numbers 
 during that period. His impression is that he does not see 
 one bird now for ten that he used to do. There are no Caper- 
 caillies there, or anywhere near there, though there are plenty 
 of fir woods of all ages and sizes. He accounts for the dimi- 
 nution of the black game from the improvement of the land. 
 During the last twenty years there has been a large amount 
 of drainage, both close and open, done on the Corrie property, 
 and a very large amount of top dressing the hill land with 
 lime, at the rate of from six to eight tons per acre. The result 
 of all this is the destruction of the coarser grasses which pro- 
 duced the seeds that were the food of the game, and the pro- 
 duction of a finer type of herbage, which has probably doubled 
 the rental of that property within the last twenty years. 
 
 " Improvement of land, as a general rule, may, I think, be 
 accepted as synonymous with injury to really wild game. Thus, 
 I have known the size and weight of hares to have fallen off 
 
124 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 greatly on land after it lias been improved; and the quality, 
 probably, of beef and mutton, and certainly of milk, and its 
 products — ^butter and cheese — is greatly deteriorated on im- 
 proved land, while the quantity is largely increased." 
 
 Water is in itself necessary for the health of black game, and, 
 as Lloyd informs us, the want of it in certain seasons " visibly 
 diminished their numbers" {op. cit. p. 74). On the other 
 hand, trees are necessary to the welfare of Capercaillies. But 
 drainage is necessary to the growth and health of forest trees, 
 so that the interests of the Capercaillie and black game are 
 really antagonistic in a considerable degree to one another, 
 though it cannot, with justice, be said that the former are 
 actually "driving out" — which is the expression generally 
 used^he latter. Eather say the conditions favourable to 
 the former are, in a measure, antagonistic to the latter.^ 
 
 Indeed, I have evidence in at least one instance of a 
 reaction, that is to say, of the black game actually increasing 
 in a locality where Capercaillies have been on the decrease 
 for twenty years, not simply because the Capercaillies have 
 decreased, but because the same reasons which caused the 
 Capercaillies to decrease, viz., the cutting of large extents of 
 forest without a corresponding area being replanted, and little 
 or no draining operations having been carried on — have bene- 
 fited the black game, and caused them to increase again in 
 numbers. To make perfectly sure of this fact, I was at some 
 pains to obtain statistics from the locality in question regard- 
 
 ^ Indeed, if we come to investigate the subject further, we find red grouse 
 decreasing, and black game increasing, under similar or parallel conditions. 
 Thus, in Buchanan parish, Stirlingshire, we find the red grouse ** superseded 
 by the black grouse {^ New Stat. Acct. of the County,' p. 91) ; also a great de- 
 crease of the former in Kirkcudbright {op. cit. p. 110)." "Scarcely a black 
 cock to be seen in 1809 in Kirkgunzeon parish, Kirkcudbright, now outnum- 
 bering the grouse " {pp. cit. p. 219) ; and many more instances could be given. 
 On the other hand, in certain districts, in localities where there is a suitable 
 provision for both species — sufiicient heather for the grouse and sufficient 
 marshy ground and grass for black game, as, for instance, in parts of the high 
 flat moors of Ayrshire — both species thrive and multiply. 
 
DECREASE OF BLACK GAME. 125 
 
 ing land improvements, etc., during the last twenty years, and to 
 verify reports as to corresponding increase and decrease of 
 the two species. 
 
 In this neighbourhood also — ^parish of Dunipace, Stirling- 
 shire — twenty years ago, black game were common at a 
 locality only about a mile from this house. Drainage opera- 
 tions were carried out to a considerable extent, and black 
 game entirely disappeared. Capercaillies arrived and became 
 fairly established about 1867 in the spruce and pine woods of 
 Torwood and Denovan, which partially surround the moor- 
 land locality in question. No drainage of any consequence 
 has taken place for very many years. Black game returned 
 to the locality of their own accord three years ago (1875), 
 and have since then been increasing slowly but steadily. 
 Capercaillies at the same time are tolerably common. The 
 nature of the land admits of both species thriving and in- 
 creasing, for while the Torwood forest has been partly drained, 
 old wood cut, and the ground replanted, the moorland haunt 
 of the black game has almost returned to its normal state, the 
 same as before it was drained at all. 
 
 To open draining on estates in Scotland, and to other 
 land improvements, injuring or destroying the natural grasses 
 and drying up the land, is attributable, I believe, the marked 
 decrease in black game which many proprietors lament. 
 
 Mr. Eobert Collett writes me as follows : — " As to the 
 decrease of the black game, effected by the spreading of the 
 Capercaillie, I am sure that it must be on very rare occasions 
 that these birds offend each other. They have in Norway 
 their different localities, which they prefer to others, and 
 their own breeding-grounds, and I have very seldom heard of 
 any fighting between them. In Norway I never heard of 
 any corresponding decrease and increase of the named species. 
 Although certainly both tetrix (black game) and urugallus 
 (Capercaillie) are straggling birds, and may be found in num- 
 
126 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 bers one year in a place where they are totally absent the 
 next." Dr. Meves writes in similar terms from Sweden. 
 
 Besides, increased population and wealth, producing a 
 steadily increasing swarm of sportsmen year by year, together 
 with the general use of the rapidly-loaded breechloader — has 
 this nothing to do with the decrease of black game ? I have 
 many communications from parties well able to judge, that 
 this is a factor, and a not unimportant one. Combine this with 
 the above planting, and draining, and land improvement, and 
 say : — Is it not more extraordinary that black game are still 
 numerous, than that they have decreased in number during — 
 we will say — the last thirty years ? 
 
 I could bring forward much more evidence of a similar 
 nature, clearing the Capercaillies from blame, but I think it 
 needless further to enlarge upon this part of the subject. I 
 will merely add in the words of an American naturalist 
 (Prof. T. Gill, in ' The Nation; July 19, 1877, p. 44) :— " Birds 
 are a highly speciahsed group, very liable to modifications, 
 resulting from environing causes, and ever susceptible to the 
 changes of condition that may supervene;" and record my 
 conviction that the increase of Capercaillies is probably the 
 very least important factor in the decrease of the black game, 
 if, indeed, it is one at all. Further, I believe that too often 
 too much importance is attached to casual and superficial 
 remarks expressed by those who do not look beneath the 
 surface of first impressions. Error or exaggeration in con- 
 sequence gains credence, and becomes, in the minds of many, 
 even as estabhshed facts. 
 
CHAPTEE XXIII. 
 
 EELATIONS BETWEEN CAPERCAILLIES AND PHEASANTS. 
 
 Not only are Capercaillies accused of driving away black 
 game, but in some localities (though not generally, as far as I 
 can learn) they are said to drive away the pheasants from the 
 feeding boxes and themselves feed upon the Indian com. 
 This is induced, no doubt, simply by the force of constant 
 example set before them, and it only proves how easily our 
 big friend can adapt himself to circumstances like a good 
 colonist, as he undoubtedly is. Moreover, the CapercailKe, 
 exercising his gifts still further, sometimes takes possession 
 of a comfortably formed pheasant's nest — according to several 
 correspondents — as, they say, three or four pheasant's eggs are 
 found at times in nests occupied by Capercaillies. But I 
 should doubt if in most cases such occupation by the Caper- 
 caillie is premeditated, and I would not be surprised to 
 learn that some day or other some observant naturalist will 
 report the fact, that the hen pheasant is really the aggressor, 
 and second occupier of the nest. Supposing, however, that 
 the Capercaillie really is the aggressor, how often does it 
 happen, and what amount of harm is done ? A Capercaillie 
 hen, intent on preparing a summer home, we will suppose, 
 wanders about in search of a suitable position, and stumbles 
 upon a hollow in every way suited to her requirements. A 
 hen pheasant having covered over her two or three eggs with 
 
128 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 leaves, had perhaps just left it shortly before. The Caper- 
 caillie may give it an additional scrape, or she may not, but, 
 at all events, she settles upon it and lays her eggs. Perhaps 
 the hen pheasant deserts, perhaps they sit amicably on the 
 eggs by turns. In either case the eggs are kept warm, unless 
 indeed the Capercaillie ejects them. Perhaps a gamekeeper 
 comes by that way. He sees the pheasant's eggs, and lifts 
 them, and they are hatched out under a hen, but he is pretty 
 sure to blame the Capercaillie for usurping the pheasant's 
 nest, when perhaps really the pheasant is the bird which 
 ought to bear the judgment ; in other words, the Capercaillie 
 gets . more blame than she really deserves. The number of 
 pheasant's eggs lost in this way cannot surely be very great. 
 When partridges and pheasants' eggs are found in the same 
 nest — as they often are — ^tell me, which is the aggressor ? 
 
 Other correspondents, but not many, believe that Caper- 
 caillies drive away the old pheasants and kill the young in 
 the same way as described in the former section with regard 
 to black game. If, as I strongly suspect, the hen pheasant is 
 the first aggressor — laying in the hen Capercaillie's nest, and 
 claiming a part of the maternal duties — it is perhaps natural 
 that the stronger bird should assert her rights, or suspect the 
 pheasant's motives, and retaliate by driving her off, and even 
 killing the young pheasants. But, for reasons above stated, I 
 think this can only be in exceptional cases, and only in self- 
 defence. 
 
 There can be no doubt that the hen birds of the two 
 species do fight at the feeding-places intended for the pheas- 
 ants, and that sometimes a hen pheasant is killed or maimed 
 in the battle ; but this wiU find its own cure in some other 
 way than by extirpating the Capercaillies; 
 
PAET VL 
 
 ON DAMAGE TO FOEESTS AND CROPS ; 
 AND CONCLUSION. 
 
 ' Who shall decide when doctors disagree. 
 And soundest casuists doubt ? " 
 
 Note. — This Part is far from complete, but I have found great trouble in 
 getting statistics, and crops, etc., for dissection during the summer months. 
 Perhaps the only way to elicit further data will be to publish it as it at present 
 stands. 
 
 K 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 DAMAGE TO FOKESTS. 
 
 Extensive damage done by Capercaillies to woods and forests 
 is another sad thorn in many proprietors' sides. To hear some 
 speak of the awful destruction going on might ahnost lead one 
 to suppose that in bygone days the evil deeds of the species 
 brought its own punishment ; that, in fact, the Capercaillie 
 exterminated the forest growth over large areas of Scotland, 
 and that this extermination exterminated them in turn. In 
 many parts of the area 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 to them to increase. Twenty years 
 ago, when Capercaillies appeared on an estate, the greatest 
 care was taken to foster them. Now, it is usually different ; 
 and, where at all plentiful, they are shot, both sexes indis- 
 crimiaately ; 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 pre- 
 vent my becoming anxious lest a second extermination should 
 ever take place, if fair means only be used to keep its numbers 
 in check. 
 
 I have in this connection endeavoured to collect inde- 
 pendent testimony from the best sources as to the nature and 
 amount of the damage done. Mr. Malcolm Dunn (who has 
 
132 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 specially studied, and who read a paper upon the subject 
 before the Botanical Society of Edinburgh (see ' ZooV 1875, 
 p. 4338), writes to me as follows : — " In reference to the 
 damage done to plantations by both Capercailliei and black 
 game, the proof is too strong to admit of the slightest doubt. 
 Where either exist in large numbers, in, or in the neighbour- 
 hood of, young plantations of larch and Scots fir, 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 
 Scots fir especially, at a season of the year when there are no 
 insects of any kind upon them — I here refer to beetles, cater- 
 pillars, or Aphides — coccus or scale insects may be upon the 
 trees, but not on the wood or leaves eaten hy the Capercaillie. 
 This is the opinion of all my correspondents who have paid 
 any attention to the matter, corroborated by my own experi- 
 ence. Of the very many ' crops ' of the Capercaillie which I 
 have dissected and carefully examined, none contained any 
 traces of the bird having fed upon insects. In the winter the 
 crops are usually entirely filled with the leaves, huds, and young 
 shoots of the Scots fir. The contents of one ' crop ' of a male 
 bird, which I examined in November 1873, were as follows : — 
 203 points of shoots of Scots fir, with the leading buds entire, 
 gome of the shoots being fully 3 inches long ; 11 pieces of 
 young wood, 1 J to 2 J inches long, having leaves attached, but 
 no terminal buds ; and 52 buds — making in all 266 shoots and 
 huds, besides a large handful of single leaves of the Scots fir, 
 which the bird had devoured at one meal. The whole were 
 quite fresh and green, were to all appearance selected from a 
 very healthy tree, and showed no trace whatever of ever having 
 been attacked by the pine beetle {Hylurgus ;pini]perda) or any 
 other insect ; and most certainly there were no insects in 
 the crop. The contents of this crop I presented to the Edin- 
 burgh Botanical Society, and they can now be seen in the 
 Museum of the Society in the Botanic Gardens. In another 
 
DAMAGE TO FORESTS. 133 
 
 crop, which I examined in April 1874, 1 found the contents to 
 be wholly the young shoots, leaves, and huds of larch. 1 counted 
 the extraordinary number of 918 buds alone in this ' crop,' 
 besides the bits of shoots and leaves, which formed by far the 
 bulkiest part of the whole. There were a few bits (three) 
 of silvery lichen amongst the contents, but nothing else.^ 
 These are given Sisfair samples of many crops I have examined, 
 received chiefly from Perthshire, Mr. Brown having sent me 
 about a score from Perth in 1874. 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 pre- 
 ference for shoots which were infected by them. In fact, I 
 should maintain that the bird prefers clean, healthy, fresh food, 
 and has no taste for damaged or decaying vegetation of any 
 kind. I have never examined the crop of a young bird taken 
 out of the nest ; but I have analysed the crops of several 
 birds of the same year in July and August, and failed in every 
 instance, to find any insects, so that, although I am aware 
 that it is said in boohs that they are ' fond of insects, especially 
 when young,' I am unable to corroborate the assertion. The 
 nature and habits of the bird do not in any way lead me even 
 to suppose it feeds on insects ; but in other parts of the world 
 — in Norway for instance — it may feed on different matter to 
 what it does in Scotland. 
 
 " Since I made my investigations anent the injury done 
 by the Capercaillie, etc., to forest trees, I have also investi- 
 gated the injury done by insects. The injury done by the 
 pine beetle to the Scots fir is in no ways analogous. The 
 beetle does its injury internally, by eating the pith of the 
 shoots and heart of the buds ; the Capercaillie ' lops ' the 
 shoots, buds, and leaves clean off, and the one cannot by any 
 possibility be mistaken for the other ; besides, the injury is 
 
 ^ The pieces of lichen no douht were picked up along with the other con- 
 tents of the crop, and do not form a pa,rt of the regular food of the bird. — 
 [J. A. H. B.] 
 
134 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 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 hybemating in, or on, dead wood on the ground. 
 
 " The beetle attacks almost any pine tree, sick or healthy, 
 any size or any age ; only, as it climbs from the ground to the 
 branches, small trees, say under 25 years of age, are those 
 commonly attacked. Capercaillies, on the other hand, attack 
 only healthy trees of any size or age, and will, in some in- 
 stances, return to the same tree for days continuously , till it is 
 completely stripped of its buds or growing points, and, of course, 
 most seriously injuring it, and rendering it perfectly useless for 
 timber. If the bird is kept within due limits (in numbers), 
 the injury they do is immaterial to the general welfare of our 
 forests ; but if they become very numerous, they will cer- 
 tainly play havoc with the pine and larch plantations in their 
 neighbourhood, especially young plantations. Black game, 
 at certain seasons, are just about as injurious to young pine 
 and larch trees." The above remarks by Mr. Dunn were 
 evoked by special queries which I put to him regarding the 
 possibility existing of the buds affected by the pine beetle 
 being those chosen by the Capercaillie. As has been seen, 
 Mr. Dunn is of the opinion that the bird prefers " clean, 
 healthy, fresh food," and has " no taste for damaged or decaying 
 vegetation of any kind." He does not consider that insects 
 of any kind form part of their food, but he at the same time 
 states that he " never examined the crop of a young bird 
 taken out of the nest." 
 
 In this connection Mr. D. Brown, formerly naturalist for 
 many years in Perth, writes that he has" stuffed very nearly 700 
 Capercaillies during the last twenty-two years," and "not in one 
 single instance have I observed any form of insect in the very 
 many crops I have emptied for inflation, or which may have 
 burst during the operation of skinning the birds." Mr. D. 
 Brown's and Mr. Dunn's evidence, however, must only be 
 
DAMAGE TO FORESTS. 135 
 
 considered as negative, in opposition to the positive recorded 
 testimony of a number of other naturalists. Mr. Eobert 
 Collett of Christiania distinctly states that the young birds 
 "are at first fed almost exclusively on small soft-bodied 
 insects " {'Birds of Europe! by Dresser, Part xxi.). Mr. Charles 
 Ottley Groom Napier, who has specially devoted his attention 
 to compiling an account of ' The food, use, and heauty of British 
 Birds! gives as the food of the Capercaillie in May, " insects, 
 leaves," etc. (p. 69). Various other authors of repute state 
 the same, such as Lloyd (' Game Birds of Sweden,' pp. 4, 5). 
 Indeed, I should myself be more surprised to learn that they 
 did not eat insects, as all game birds and gallinaceous birds 
 feed more or less upon insects and larvse, especially when 
 young ; but I have not on that account neglected specially to 
 make observations and inquiries in this direction, as the sub- 
 ject of the food of the Capercaillie is in itself of interest, all 
 the more so when we find that a difference of opinion is ex- 
 pressed, as we find above. 
 
 Mr. Eobert Collett and Professor Easch of Norway like- 
 wise have never found insects in the crops of many Caper- 
 caillies they have dissected "in the season from autumn to 
 spring." They are protected by law all the summer time. 
 Mr. Collett adds that he believes they feed upon larvae. " I 
 cannot understand why they are often seen in numbers in 
 places in our forests where only the insect larvae are devour- 
 ing the leaves of the birches or the blaeberry plants, if they do 
 not feed upon these larvae. But, unfortunately, no specimen 
 must be killed in the season when these larvae are present." 
 
 Herr Dr. Moves, of Stockholm, writes to me : — " I believe 
 that these birds (Capercaillies) sometimes do as much good 
 as harm to forests. Travelling in Jemtland I found young 
 wood grouse, from three to ten days' old, having their throats 
 and crops fiUed with Tenthredo or Nemitus larvae, which are 
 found on pine trees. A couple of wood grouse shot in 
 
136 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 Daleme about a month ago (his letter is dated 16th March 
 1878) ha'd pine-needles (Finits 8ylvestris),jumpev-heTnes (Juni- 
 perus), and cranberries ( Vaccin. vitis-idcea) in their crops." 
 
 Here is one little gleam of sunshine. They must destroy 
 vast numbers of Tenthredo and Nemitus larvae, even during 
 the at'present-sujyposed short period of their insect-feeding age. 
 But a question of interest is : — How long does this insect- 
 feeding age continue? And another question of interest 
 is : — How much good do they do in that time against the 
 harm they do at others ? These are questions the solution of 
 which, I think, cannot fail to prove of economic interest to 
 proprietors of forests, and which, if thoroughly investigated, 
 may more than likely induce many to modify their wholesale 
 condemnation of the Capercaillie. The rook, against which 
 species Acts of the old Scottish Parliament were passed, now 
 increases, and even with many farmers lives upon altogether 
 a different footing than formerly. Many farmers know now 
 that it would be a dangerous experiment to rid the country of 
 rooks altogether. There are two sides to every question, and 
 I have strong faith that if all the good the Capercaillie does 
 were as thoroughly investigated as the evil has been, there 
 would not be quite such a hue and cry against it. 
 
 A correspondent in Perthshire writes as follows : — " From 
 the first of November up to the end of May the Capercaillie 
 lives principally on Scotch fir ' sprigs.' Then, from the first 
 of June to the end of October, he lives greatly upon insects, 
 digs deep into ants' mounds ^ in search of food, and strips the 
 bark off rotten trees in search of worms and beetles." Pancy 
 hundreds, yes and thousands, of CapercaiUies thus employed. 
 Do they do no good ? 
 
 I have quoted Mr. Dunn's letter fully, as it is perhaps the 
 letter, amongst many others I have received, which places the 
 
 1 Lloyd directs that ants' eggs be provided for the young birds when 
 rearing them by hand (op. at. p. 32). 
 
DAMAGE TO FORESTS. 137 
 
 damage done in the strongest light. I am still of opinion, 
 however, that the final results exhibited in certain young trees 
 are just as likely to have been caused by beetles as by the 
 Capercaillies. If the buds are destroyed, whether by beetles 
 internally or by Capercaillies, whether in summer or in 
 winter, I believe the results will be the same, viz., as will be 
 seen farther on — the trees becoming bushy, branchy, and 
 stunted. 
 
 My friend Mr. J. J. Dalgleish — owning an estate in 
 Perthshire, and having between 400 and 500 acres of pine, 
 larch, and spruce plantations of different ages inhabited by 
 Capercaillies — informed me that old trees are not so much 
 damaged, because the birds cannot reach the terminal shoots. 
 Whenever the trees get old enough, and the birds cannot any 
 longer reach the top bud, the trees are safe. But on wood of 
 a certain age they and black game together inflict serious 
 injury. The result, in his opinion, is, that the trees become 
 stunted and bushy, and unless a new upward growth takes 
 place, soon become useless. 
 
 Becoming interested in the subject of destruction to forest 
 plants and trees, I visited, in January 1878, a piece of ground 
 of fourteen acres in extent, or thereabouts, situated in the midst 
 of old pine wood of different ages, and which had been 
 planted six years previously with pine seedlings on the above- 
 mentioned estate. In one corner, facing the sun and the 
 south, and protected on the north and west by older growth, 
 the damage which the young trees had suffered was perhaps 
 most apparent. Upon this estate CapercaiUies are tolerably 
 abundant, as many as four haying been shot in one day by a 
 party in 1877, and I have myself estimated the numbers- seen 
 in one day at least sixteen. Black game are scarce, and 
 have been so for a number of years; but I have seen 
 black game driven out of the adjoining covers, and once 
 rising out of the above enclosure. The stunted, bushy. 
 
138 THE CAPEECAILLIE. 
 
 or tufty young trees were pointed out to me, and I clearly 
 saw where the central buds of the " leaders " had been picked 
 out — or had dropped off! — resulting in side shoots taking 
 the place of the leaders, and thus deforming the trees. This 
 was affirmed to be the damage done solely by the Capercaillie, 
 which birds were stated to stand upon the ground and pick 
 out the buds from the leading shoots, when the trees were 
 perhaps four or five years old, and had been planted perhaps 
 three years. After reaching this age the trees are considered 
 safe, as they are too high for the birds to reach the terminal 
 shoot from the ground, and the young upper branches and 
 leader are too young and tender to bear the weight of the 
 bird. Becoming older still, the terminal shoot lengthens 
 beyond the reach of the Capercaillie when it stands upon 
 the upper branches, and the birds are then obliged to feed upon 
 the side shoots. It was further stated that the trees, in con- 
 sequence of this treatment when young, were delayed in their 
 growth, and that many were destroyed and rendered useless. 
 Notwithstanding all this apparently strong evidence 
 against the Capercaillie, I reserved the right of agent for the 
 defence, with the hope of being able to pick holes still in the 
 evidence ; or, at all events, to mitigate his sentence. I saw a 
 tree on the same property at least forty years old (on the 
 authority of the proprietor), which was standing close to the 
 young plantation, and with the same exposure, which was 
 stunted in exactly the same way. It is needless to point out 
 that that deformity could scarcely have been caused by 
 Capercaillies, unless they attack old trees also, as Capercaillies 
 were not introduced successfully into that district until 1864, 
 when the trees would be thirty years of age ; or, taking the 
 imperfect introduction resulting in hybrids in 1856, and sup- 
 posing the few birds there at that time capable of doing any 
 damage, which is too unlikely, still the trees would be 
 twenty-two years of age. 
 
DAMAGE TO FORESTS. 139 
 
 Mr. J. B. Hamilton, of Leny, amongst others, informs me 
 that he has seen abundant evidence of their work and mis- 
 chief, and adds : — " on Scotch firs of twenty to tliirty years old. 
 My own impression is that they are not so injurious to young 
 Scotch fir plants of a foot or two in height as black game, 
 which are very fond of the leading bud in these, and are one 
 of the causes of that tufty appearance in these that you 
 allude to." 
 
 There seems to be considerable diversity of opinion 
 amongst those inimical to the CapercaiUie as to the ages of the 
 wood attacked. On the other hand, I have the following opinion 
 from Sir Eobert Menzies, which I quote in full : — " Neither 
 do I blame them for being destructive to the plantations, a 
 fault that is frequently found with them, and in consequence 
 of which they are shot down. So far as my experience goes, 
 they do not injure newly planted young trees in the same 
 way that black game do, as they will not go to a plantation 
 where there are no trees they can roost upon ; they will not 
 pick out the tops while standing on the ground,^ and it is not 
 till the trees in a plantation are somewhat grown that the 
 Capercaillies settle in it, and then, as they are heavy birds, it 
 is only the side shoots they can get at, as the top shoot is not 
 strong enough to carry them. I am of opinion that it is no 
 fault of the Capercaillies that plantations of Scotch fir are 
 found not to do well, but that a very bad sort of that tree is 
 now sold out of the nurseries that will never become trees ; 
 plants that do not make a leader like the true Scotch fir, but, 
 on the contrary, have no stem, and abound in branches,' both 
 above and below. This sort of Scotch fir is an importation 
 from the Continent, now of some years' standing, and young 
 plants are now sold as 'true natives' that are seedlings taken 
 from trees originally grown from this imported seed. When 
 
 1 This opinion from Sir Robert Menzies was received quite independently 
 of any suggestions of mine, or mention of other people's remarks. 
 
140 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 these are not found to be doing well the Capercaillie is 
 blamed ; but I think it is the seedsman who is at fault, and 
 more care should be taken to see that the young Scotch fir 
 plants are of the right sort, when the plantation will be found 
 to do well enough, though there are a good many Capercaillies 
 in it." — {Sir B. Menzies, Bart, in lit) 
 
 Further, Mr. Eobert CoUett of Christiania, in reply to 
 inquiries I made of him regarding destruction done to forests 
 in Norway and Sweden, writes : — " In Norway there is not 
 any trace of destruction to the forests done by the Capercaillie. 
 Certainly they do live in winter almost exclusively on the 
 leaves of the fir (Binus syhestris), but they only take some 
 shoots here and some there ; for the most part from old — or at 
 least not young — trees. 
 
 We find here (as well as in much other correspondence I 
 have had on the subject) great discrepancy between the 
 accounts of different authorities as regards the age of the 
 wood at the time it is afi&rmed to be destroyed by Caper- 
 caillies. One affirms that it is only the young plants that 
 are injured, and that the birds stand on the ground and pick 
 out the " sprits," or leading buds ; another states his convic- 
 tion to be that they " will not pick out the tops while stand- 
 ing on the ground," and that they cannot reach the top 
 shoots when the tree is grown, owing to these top shoots not 
 being strong enough to bear their weight.-^ I cannot say if it 
 is positively correct to state that they will not feed while 
 standing on the ground ; but it has been shown or recorded 
 that they do sit upon the topmost shoots of smaller trees at 
 " lek " time, in such localities as are destitute of larger trees. 
 Dresser tells us (' Birds of Europe' part xxi.), " They used some 
 of the smaller trees for their * lek ;' and it was easy to dis- 
 
 1 If they cannot reach the top shoots, then they must be content with 
 side shoots, and thus become, to a certain extent, nature's pruners, as shown 
 by the opinion of several naturalists. 
 
DAMAGE TO FORESTS. . 141 
 
 tinguish those which had been used for that purpose, as the 
 tops were bent down by the weight of the birds." If the 
 bird does so at " lek," there is a probability that it will also 
 do so at feeding-time. The general impression seems to be 
 that it is only older wood that is attacked, and quite a num- 
 ber of my correspondents seem to be of this opinion, the dam- 
 age done to young plants being not infrequently put to the 
 charge of black game. 
 
 The editor of the Swedish hunting journal, ' Nya Yagore 
 ForbuTidets Tidshrift' Stockholm, expresses his opinion in a 
 letter to Herr Dr. Meves, that " there is certainly a local 
 damage observed and complained of " in Sweden, " viz., in 
 young plantations, where the plants are a foot or two in height. 
 The havoc then done by the old male Capercaillie is some- 
 times considerable." Dr. Meves writes to me that his son — 
 "The Inspector of Forests" — told him that there "is very 
 rarely any complaint about damage done to young plantations 
 by wood grouse." 
 
 I read and studied a little book ' The Larch Disease! 
 by Charles Macintosh (Edinburgh, 1860), with a view to 
 obtaining parallel hints as to the natural history of the 
 Scots fir. Eeading this book rather strengthened my sus- 
 picions, and the statements of several correspondents {pp. 
 cit. p. 15, et seqq.) regarding imported seed, unhealthy seed- 
 lings, southerly exposures, hot suns, and late frosts, having 
 something to do with the stunted appearance of some 
 plantations. Accordingly, I wrote to Mr. John Hancock, of 
 Newcastle, who being both a good ornithologist and experi- 
 enced arboriculturist, would be likely to afford me good and 
 unbiassed information. 
 
 The facts I have gathered from a correspondence with 
 Mr. Hancock, and later correspondence, are as follows : — 
 
 There is a stunted form of fir supplied by nurserymen, 
 which never makes a tree, but remains a dwarf, and bears 
 
142 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 cones. Mr. Hancock considers that these plants are generally 
 reared from slips and not from seed. It has been the fashion 
 of late years to plant this for cover for game. 
 
 Mr. Hancock considers the work of the Capercaillie as a 
 natural state of pruning, which, in forests or woods of con- 
 siderable extent, would result in little or no harm to the trees. 
 In this Mr. CoUett of Christiania would appear to agree in 
 his remarks quoted above ; and, indeed, I think all who con- 
 sider at all that the balance of nature should be respected 
 will have a similar opinion. If the population is too great 
 for the extent of wood, no doubt damage must ensue ; but, as 
 pointed out by several correspondents, not to speak of my 
 own inexperienced observations, this balance of nature could 
 be preserved, or at least the evil remedied, if — as Mr. Hancock 
 says — " all landed proprietors would plant two trees for every 
 one cut down ;" then the food supply would soon be in excess 
 of the requirements of the birds." I have elsewhere shown 
 that an increase of the population beyond what the balance 
 of nature can stand results in the emigration of the surplus 
 birds, and that an over-stock of birds cannot last for any 
 length of time ; a natural law proved by the very fact of the 
 distribution and extension of range of species. If artificial 
 feeding, or great excess of young wood be planted, the birds 
 will increase in number accordingly ; but this, too, wiU have 
 its limit. The whole question appears to me to resolve itself 
 into the question of the balance of nature and natural laws. 
 If man, on the one side, infringes these laws by making two 
 trees grow where nature only grew one, he must expect to see 
 perhaps double the number of CapercaiUies, because double 
 the amount of food for them is supplied. But, on the other 
 hand, in many parts of Scotland, the balance of nature has 
 been disturbed by reckless cutting of forests without replant- 
 ing. The consequence here is that the birds become propor- 
 tionately scarcer, after no doubt doing a certain damage to 
 
DAMAGE TO FORESTS. 143 
 
 the remaining trees. Man shoots them down on all occasions, 
 forgetting or ignoring the fact that he himself was the first 
 disturber of nature's laws. 
 
 Mr. Hancock considers that the stunted and bushy trees 
 which I described to him will prove, in all probability, to be 
 the work of a small beetle or weevil (before mentioned) which 
 eats into the buds. Its work cannot be confounded (as already 
 shown by Mr. Dunn) with what the Capercaillies do : " The 
 latter cut the bud quite off, whilst the former leaves the dead 
 buds attached to the stems." 
 
 " There seems to be no doubt but that the usual planta- 
 tion plant is decidedly inferior to the native, and it is sup- 
 posed that the seed is not pure — according to some authorities 
 I have consulted — having been taken from plantation-trees 
 which are not true Scots fir, but hybrids between the latter 
 and some other of the family, or else that it is foreign seed of 
 an inferior strain. 
 
 "It is certain that the Scots fir of modern plantations is an 
 inferior plant. How much this may be due to uncongenial 
 soil and injudicious treatment, not being an adept in forestry, 
 I know not." (Dr. Buchanan White in lit.) 
 
 Although Capercaillies are said by Mr. Dunn only to 
 attack healthy trees, I am not sure that heetles of the Hylurgus 
 tribes may not be induced to confine their operations to 
 the inferior strain of trees above mentioned. It is notorious 
 that many parasitical insects are more apt to attack bodies 
 which are in an unhealthy state than those which are healthy, 
 and we have no stronger proof of this than in the presence of 
 certain parasites in the human body. 
 
 Whether these insects attack all trees alike, healthy and 
 unhealthy, native or imported, soimd strain or unsound strain, 
 indigenous old Scotch pine, as at Eannoch, or the younger 
 growths, is more a question for the arboriculturist and ento- 
 mologist than for an ornithologist, though other questions 
 
144 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 hinging upon the answers, from an ornithologist's point of 
 view, may^ or may not, prove of value. 
 
 Now, although the actual work of the beetle cannot be 
 confounded with what the Capercaillies do, is it not quite 
 possible that in many cases — I will not say in all — the 
 results — viz. the stunting and deforming of the young trees — 
 may have often been caused by the beetle, and the- blame 
 have been laid on the Capercaillie ? 
 
 But before quitting this part of our subject — in which, 
 let me say, there remains still a vast deal of investigation 
 before we can consider it exhausted — I would shortly draw 
 the attention of my readers to some other facts which must 
 be considered in the connection of " damage done to forests." 
 In the course of an examination into the " damage done 
 to forests " by another animal — the squirrel — at the distribu- 
 tion and increase of which, in Scotland, I am also working, I 
 find that a favourite food of the squirrel, amongst a very 
 extensive selection, consists of the shoots of fir, larch, and a 
 variety of other trees. It seems to me difficult to account for 
 the wide differences of opinion regarding the age of the trees 
 attacked by the Capercaillie, otherwise than by supposing that 
 there must be inaccuracy of observation either upon the one 
 hand or upon the other, or by supposing that both sides of 
 the question are more or less right or more or less wrong. 
 I do not wish to cast a deeper shade over the already dis- 
 reputable character which the squirrel bears amongst the 
 foresters and woodmen of Scotland — its burden is perhaps 
 already greater than it can bear — but I think it is quite pos- 
 sible, indeed more than likely, that the difference of opinion 
 already taken notice of is traceable to the more regular 
 attacks of the nimble little quadruped, whose weight is not so 
 great as that of the Capercaillie, and would not prevent it 
 from reaching the leading shoots at almost any age of the 
 trees. Many will say at once that the traces of squirrel's 
 
DAMAGE TO FORESTS. 145 
 
 work are visible upon the ground under the trees attacked, 
 and can be at once identified, but I doubt if this is always the 
 case. I fancy it would not always be easy to pick up the 
 rejected husks cast down by the squirrel amongst under- 
 growth, or the long heather amongst which young fir seed- 
 lings are often planted. In the West Highlands, in localities 
 where squirrels are not, how often do we find the ground 
 underneath the birch-trees strewed with the fresh green 
 shoots, and under the hazels with the " nut-bobbins ; " and 
 have we not watched the black game busy picking them off 
 and letting them drop? Many a West Highland road by 
 the margin of a lake or arm of the sea, at certain seasons of 
 the year, are thus thickly strewn, but there are no squirrels 
 there. 
 
 It is true the Capercaillie swallows the buds whole, and 
 differs in its form of food thus far from the squirrel, but I 
 think it unfair to the bird to put all the blame upon it for 
 the " stunting " and " bushing " of the trees, old or young, 
 without taking into consideration the other causes of the 
 damage done. How much damage, done really by the 
 squirrel, is laid to the charge of the Capercaillie ? How 
 much easier is it to see a Capercaillie in a young fir planta- 
 tion, in which the plants are a foot or two in height, than 
 to see the squirrel ! The Capercaillie rises a hundred yards 
 off, and seeks shelter in the higher woods, thus proclaim- 
 ing his presence. The squirrel may, or may not, make for 
 the higher woods, but at all events he more easily evades 
 detection. 
 
 Yet another cause of damage to fir-plantations has been 
 pointed out lately by Mr. J. Hardy, viz. : — the massing of 
 wood-pigeons upon the top-shoots of young spruces and firs 
 {in lit) ; but I merely indicate these here to show that a 
 much more exhaustive inquiry into the causes of damage to 
 
 L 
 
146 THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 forests is necessary, before the amount due to each agent in it 
 can be assigned with justice and impartiality. 
 
 Finally, on the subject of food. According to authors and 
 correspondents : — In summer the food of the Capercaillie con- 
 sists of various plants, fern-shoots, and buds of trees, such as 
 alder, birch, and hazel, and acorns, where procurable ; almost 
 all Sorts of berries, such as cranberries, cowberries, blaeber- 
 ries, wild strawberries and raspberries, juniper-berries, and of 
 insects. It also feeds on the leaves of the larch and Scotch 
 fir, and sparingly of the spruce. A correspondent states that 
 from 1st of November to end of May, or thereabouts, they 
 feed upon vegetable food, and principally on fir-shoots ; but 
 in summer — i.e. from beginning of June to end of October — 
 " they live greatly upon insects, digging deep into ants' mounds 
 in search of food, and stripping off the bark of rotten prostrate 
 trees, looking for worms or beetles." 
 
 So also do its congeners black game and grouse. " During 
 spring and summer the black cock, as Mr. Lloyd informs us, 
 feeds upon birch buds, tender leaves . . . berries, etc., 
 and on insects and larvae." 
 
 I will be glad if what I have said above will lead to a * 
 more thorough investigation of the statistics of damages done 
 to forests, 1st, solely by Capercaillie ; 2d, solely by squirrels ; 
 3<i, solely by insects ; Ath, solely by wood pigeons ; and ^th, 
 solely by black game. Each of these subjects might well 
 deserve separate and exhaustive treatment, but in such an 
 investigation it is needless to say every separate act of 
 destruction or damage should be distinctly and clearly brought 
 home to one of the agents, and every side of the question be 
 critically examined. Until actual, positive, unquestionable, 
 and distinct evidence, and a large mass of carefuUy collected 
 statistics be brought together, and viewed from every possible 
 aspect, we cannot, I consider, with justice assign the amount 
 of damage done to any one of these agents in particular. 
 
DAMAGE TO FORESTS. 147 
 
 Deeply aware of the imperfections of this part of the 
 subject, I still hope it may lead to a more perfect treat- 
 ment of it.^ 
 
 ^ Since the above was written I have received a report upon the contents 
 of four crops of Capercaillies from Dr. Buchanan White, but as these are, 
 except in one case, unaccompanied by dates, they are not of much service. 
 Three contained fir-needles, and a few buds and small stones. The fourth 
 (7th October 1878) " a very little reddish grumous matter." As already 
 seen, we want reports upon crops of birds Mlled in summer, and both of old 
 birds and young, and without dates these reports are next to useless. 
 
CHAPTEK XXV. 
 
 DAMAGE TO GRAIN. 
 
 As to the damage done to grain, it certainly appears to be con- 
 siderable where they frequent standing fields of corn. In 
 the Crieff and Comrie district I have it from a reliable eye- 
 witness that numbers of these birds alight in standing corn- 
 fields, beating down the stalks with their wings each time 
 they alight, and doing incalculable damage. On the other 
 hand, in almost all other districts from which I have data, I 
 am told that they are either " seldom if ever," or " never," 
 seen in corn-fields. I am bound to say, however, that these 
 latter reports do not emanate in most cases from parties who 
 might take an impartial view of the matter, or from agricul- 
 turists who might not be blind to their shortcomings ; and 
 upon this point I still require data before arriving at conclu- 
 sions. Meanwhile, I think it is safe to consider that any 
 such damage is extremely local, and not general. A corre- 
 spondent in Glenalmond informs me that the taste for grain 
 has only lately been developed there. He says they are now 
 beginning to feed upon the stocks on Balgowan estate (1877), 
 and he adds with natural gladness, being a person interested 
 in their welfare, " It wiU then be easier to rear them." -^ 
 
 Never have we heard that Capercaillies in a wild native 
 
 ^ The gamekeeper on Balgowan, however, has never seen them on arable 
 ground, nor has he ever found grain in their crops. 
 
DAMAGE TO GRAIN. 149 
 
 state — as in Norway, Sweden, or Eussia — have ever done 
 damage to crops at any time, and I am borne out in this by 
 several letters from Norwegian and Swedish naturalists. 
 
 Naturally the CapercaiUie is a tame bird, at least in 
 Scotland, since the restoration of the species, but where much 
 disturbed or shot at, they soon learn to take care of themselves, 
 and do so very effectually on the whole. In the nesting sea- 
 son they become often very tame, allowing passers-by to .stand 
 still and inspect them at a distance of a few paces.^ It is 
 usually, however, most difficult in an ordinary day's walk 
 through the old fir woods to obtain a shot at them, and it is 
 by driving the covers that they are usually kiUed in greatest 
 numbers. I am not aware that the method — in practice in 
 Norway and the north of Europe — of hunting them with a 
 dog, and approaching after the birds are " treed," is much in 
 practice anjrwhere in Scotland, although occasionally sports- 
 men stalk them with pea-rifle in hand. Mr. E. Anderson, of 
 Dunkeld, gives me an amusing account of the squirrel-like 
 actions of a hen CapercaiUie when caught napping in a thick 
 fir, dodging round the tree stem, and preferring this method 
 to that of escaping by flight. It is under such circumstances 
 sufficiently exciting and interesting sport, and worthy of a 
 good marksman. 
 
 ^ On SaucMe property, in Stirlingshire, a cock bird — one of the first that 
 arrived there — used boldly to attack any girl or woman passing along the 
 avenue, close to which, and within 100 yards of the house, two hen birds were 
 at the time sitting on eggs, and several times allowed himself to get caught. 
 
CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 I HAVE now brought together all the information I have 
 been able to collect upon these points in the history of 
 the Capercaillie, which presented themselves to my mind 
 as most worthy of attention in this country. I am, I trust, 
 aware of my own imperfections in arranging these materials, 
 and planning the form in which to lay them before my 
 readers. I am aware especially of the unfinished state of 
 the last two chapters — perhaps the most interesting to the 
 landed proprietor and forester — but as I waited long after 
 the other portions were brought up to the date of my 
 latest items of information for fuller and more minute data 
 regarding the destruction done to forests, but without re- 
 ceiving any additional statistics, and the summer having 
 passed without my having the opportunity of examining a 
 single Capercaillie's crop, I decided upon placing my MS. in 
 the printer's hands, leaving till a future opportunity the more 
 thorough investigation and treatment of this part of the subject. 
 I have not entered into the subject of the habits of the 
 species for two reasons. First, that has already been most 
 amply treated of by abler pens than mine; and second, having 
 had comparatively few opportunities of narrowly watching the 
 species, I am unable to add anything of sufficient novelty to 
 this portion of its history, and I feel that were I to extend this 
 
CONCLUSION. 151 
 
 essay to any further treatment than I have already done, I 
 would be entering upon the dangerous habit called book- 
 making. 
 
 I therefore conclude, hoping that some interest may be 
 found in the foregoing pages ; and if the information given is 
 not new, at least it is carefully sifted, and, I believe, in all the 
 more important passages, will be found to be reliable. 
 
 I shall be glad to receive further notes on the advance of 
 the species, from those who may be sufficiently interested in 
 the subject, in order to keep on record its further history; and, 
 as already mentioned, I will be glad if the subjects treated of 
 in the last chapter attract interest and further discussion. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 DERIVATION OF ' CAPERCAILLIE. ' 
 
 Fide CHAP. I. Addition to Footnote at page 3. 
 
 Since the first chapter of this Essay passed through the 
 press, I have come upon the following passage in Joyce's ' Irish 
 Names of Places,' which appears to me to have peculiar signi- 
 ficance in the connection. In his chapter upon Animals [chap, 
 vii. p. 452, third edition, 1871], after telling us that "the 
 transfer of a name from one species of animals or plants to 
 another is a curious phenomenon, and not unfrequently met 
 with," \i. e. in the Erse] — op. cit. p. 456, — ^he shows further on how 
 this comes to be exemplified under The Goat and The Horse. He 
 says " The word gdbhar (gower), a goat, is common to the Celtic, 
 Latin, and Teutonic languages : the old Irish form is gabar, 
 which corresponds with Welsh, gafar; Corn., gavar; Latin, 
 CAPER; Ang.-Sax., haefer. . . . The word galar, accord- 
 ing to the best authorities, was anciently applied to a horse as 
 well as to a goat. In Cormac's ' Glossary ' it is stated that 
 gabur is a goat, and golur a horse. Colgan remarks that gahhur 
 is an ancient Irish and British word for a horse," &c. (p. 459). 
 
 ANTIQUITY OF THE SPECIES. 
 
 Vide CHAP. III. page 14. 
 
 Professor Newton informs me that remains of Capercaillie 
 have been found in a Eoman layer at Settle, but up to date of 
 going to press I have not learnt anything further than the 
 statement. 
 
 M 
 
154 APPENDIX. 
 
 FORMER HISTORY OF THE CAPERCAILLIE. 
 
 Fide CHAP. IV. page 15. 
 
 We have evidence of the prior history of the Capercaillie in 
 the fact, that it was recognised by name by the ancient Britains, 
 whose name for it was Ceiliog Coed. (v. ^ Eng. Cyclop.^) 
 
 ADDENDUM TO CHAP. IV. page 33. 
 
 Longfield, in his Treatise on the ' Game Laws in Ireland^ 
 says that the " Wild Turkeys " of Act George III. must have 
 been Capercaillies, and adds that they were not extinct so late 
 as 1787. The earlier authors seem to have been sorely exer- 
 cised as to what was the correct place the Capercaillie should 
 take in the Class Aves. Thus, while, as we have seen, it 
 received the names of * pekokes ' and ' Pavones sylvestris ' and 
 * Wild Turkey,' Merrett, in his 'Finax' (1667, p. 179), puts "the 
 Capricalca, Capricalze Scotis," among the Aquaticce Palmipedes, 
 and Charleton places it still further away in the company of the 
 members of the genus Anser.^ 
 
 RESTORATION IN IRELAND. 
 
 Fide CHAP. V. page 51. 
 
 Col. Edward H. Cooper of Markree Castle, Co. Sligo, has 
 made attempts to introduce Capercaillies into that county. He 
 writes — 16th Feb. 1879 — "My experience is so far not very 
 hopeful. Three years ago I turned out a hen bird. She was 
 not seen again. The following spring I got a sitting of eggs 
 from Scotland ; four hatched out, and lived for about six weeks ; 
 but I believe it is impossible to rear them by hand. This last 
 autumn and winter I have turned out seven birds, but only one 
 
 1 [Fide .—ONOMASTICON ZOICON, Plerorumque Animalium Diffcr- 
 entias & Novfrnm Propria pluribus Linguis exponens. Cui accedunt MAN- 
 TISSA ANATOMIGA ; et quEedam De Variis FOSSILIUM generibus. 
 Autore Gualtero Charletono^ M.D. CAROLl II. Magna Britannia. Regis 
 Medico ordinario, & Collegii Medicoram Londinensium Socio. LONBINI, 
 apud Jacohum Alleztry Regalis Societatis Typographum. mdclxviii. (4to,) 
 p. 98.] 
 
APPENDIX. 155 
 
 cock. A hen or hens are constantly seen about, but the cock 
 has not been heard of, so I am afraid there is very little chance 
 that they will breed this spring, unless they cross with a black- 
 cock. I have also turned out a good many fine healthy black 
 game this autumn, and several, I know, are still about here. I 
 also put a sitting of eggs under a pheasant last spring : they all 
 hatched out but one egg : none of the young birds were ever 
 seen : there were some heavy storms at the time, so the young 
 chicks may have perished." It is hoped and expected that 
 Col. Cooper will eventually succeed in restoring the Capercaillie 
 to Ireland. 
 
 EXTENSION IN INVERNESS. 
 
 Fide CHAP. XIII. page 93. 
 
 Mr. Peter — Lord Lovat's factor at Beauly — informs me that 
 " one of the old native breed of Capercaillies was trapped at 
 Struy (?), about 50 or 60 years ago. None have been seen since 
 that time." This date would be placed at from 1819 to 1829. 
 I wrote for further particulars and more exact dates, but have 
 not received any up to the date of going to press. 
 
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