. Game birds and shooting-sketches : illustrating the habits, modes of capture, stages of plumage and the hybirds & varieties which occur amongst them . fordin the shape of fruits, heather, grain, or insects. Whentheir natural homes cannot supply these latter necessaries,their instinct is called into play, and they will wander farto obtain them. I have often shot birds out of turni23sand potato-patches in October, that must have travelledmany miles to gratify their palates : the crop of a Greyhenwhich I opened contained raspberries, blaeberries, ants,heather, grass, and oats, and the bird, aft
. Game birds and shooting-sketches : illustrating the habits, modes of capture, stages of plumage and the hybirds & varieties which occur amongst them . fordin the shape of fruits, heather, grain, or insects. Whentheir natural homes cannot supply these latter necessaries,their instinct is called into play, and they will wander farto obtain them. I have often shot birds out of turni23sand potato-patches in October, that must have travelledmany miles to gratify their palates : the crop of a Greyhenwhich I opened contained raspberries, blaeberries, ants,heather, grass, and oats, and the bird, after having half-filled her crop with the grain, had evidently completedher dinner with a course of meat and dessert. 62 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES During the wiiiter moiitlis Blaekgame do not feed onthe shoots of the Scotch fir to the extent that Capercailliedo ; in fact, I think they seldom eat them at all except inA^ery severe weather, when the whole of their food is foundon the trees. They generally prefer the buds of the birchto anything else, and if surprised during their hours ofrepast, which are generally in the early morning and late. EVENING AT THE LOCH-SIDE. afternoon, they do not manifest that extraordinary degreeof shyness which is inherent in the species. That they do not feed on the pine and larch tops to theextent that Russian or Norwegian l)irds do can be easilyimao-ined, for Blackoame will not eat these unless drivento do so through hunger. In our comparatively mildwinter the birds have seldom to rough it for any longperiod, whereas the foreigners generally have to enduremonths and months of privation. This particular food BLACKGAME 63 has the efFect of makiiio- the flesh of the latter exceedinolvrank and turpentiny, whereas it is seklom that one gets aScotch or English bird that can honestly be called at alldisagreeable in this respect—there is generally just enoughof the gamy flavour to make it agreeable. In this country Blackgame do not migrate, as th
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjecthunting, bookyear1894
