"A few years ago," writes Mr. Lloyd in his interesting Field Sports,' "I procured a brace of those birds, consisting of cock and hen, for a friend of mine, Mr. Thomas Fowell Buxton, the member for Weymouth, then resident at Cromer Hall in Norfolk. After a lapse of a few months the hen laid six eggs, and from these, in process of time, six capercali were produced. The chicks lived until they had attained to a very considerable size, when, owing to the effects, as it. was supposed, of a burning sun, to which they had been incautiously exposed, the whole of them, together with the mother, died. On this mishap the old cock, the only survivor, was turned loose into the game preserves, where he remained in a thriving con dition for about a year and a half. At last however he also met his doom, though this was supposed to be owing rather to accidental than natural causes." In further corroboration of the fact that the Capercali will breed when in confinement, we make the following quotation from Mr. Nilsson's work. That gentleman's authority was the ofwer director of Ulu.; and the birds alluded to were at a forge in the province of Dalecarlia :— " They were kept together during the winter in a large loft over a barn, and were fed with corn, and got occasionally a change of fresh spruce-fir, pine, and juniper sprigs. Early in time spring they were let out into an inclosure near the house, protected by a high and close fence, in which were several fire and pines, the common trees of the place. In this inclosure they were never disturbed ; and during the Bitting season no one approached except the person who laid in the meat, which at that time consisted of barley, besides fresh sprigs of the kinda before mentioned. It is an indispensable rule that they shall have full liberty, and remain entirely undisturbed, if time hens are to sit and hatch their young. As soon as this had occurred, and the brood were out, they were removed to the yard, which was also roomy, and so closely fenced that the young ones could not escape through ; and within this fence were hedges and a number of bushes planted. Of the old ones one of the wings was always clipped, to prevent their flying. I have seen several times such broods, both of black game and capercali, eight to twelve young ones belonging to each hen. They were so tame that, like our common hens, they would run forward when corn was thrown to them. They should always have a good supply of sand and fresh water." M. Greiff gives the following directions for rearing the young : " The eggs, usually so called, to be found in ant-hills and stubble, are to be gathered; hard boiled eggs are to be chopped and mixed amongst fine moistened barley-meal ; also pea-haulm and trefoil-grass are to be given them for food, and water to drink, which must be placed so that they cannot overturn the pitcher, for they suffer very much if they get wet when they are young. Dry sand and mould they never should be without. When they get larger, and cabbage leaves, strawberries, cranberries, and blueberries are to be had, they are fond of such food : and when they are full grown they eat barley and wheat ; and in winter they should get young shoots of pine and birch-buds. I have seen many people who thought they treated young birds well by giving them juniper berries; but they never resort to this kind of food but in case of necessity." The following observations of Professor Nilsson show how well this bird is adapted for the game preserve:— " When the capercali is reared from the time of being a chicken, he frequently becomes as tame as a domestic fowl, and may be safely left by himself. He however seldom loses his natural boldness, and, like the turkey-cock, will often fly at and peck people. He never becomes so tame and familiar as the black-cock. Even in his wild state the capercali frequently forgets his inherent shyness, and will attack people when approaching his place of resort. Mr. Alderberg mentions such an occurrence. During a number of, years an old capercali cock had been in the habit of frequenting the estate of Villinge at Wermclo, who, as often as he heard the voice of people in the adjoining wood, bad the boldness to station himself on the ground, and, during a continual flapping of his wings, pecked at the legs and feet of those that disturbed his domain." For the details of the experiment made by Lord Fife in the years 1828, 1829, 1830, and 1831, we must refer the reader to Mr. Wilson's interesting paper in ‘Jameson's Journal' for July 1832. Suffice it to say that, after some failures, Mr. Wilson, in August, 183], saw at Braemar five young Capercali which had been hatched there, and were, with their parents, in good health. The intention of the Thane was, "as soon as some healthy broods had 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." In 1844 five young birds were hatched in the aviary of the
late Lord Derby at Knowsley.
Temminck makes the food to consist of many sorts of berries, the buds and young shoots of the leaves of trees and of alpine shrubs ; also of insects, but rarely of seeds. Mr. Lloyd says that it feeds principally on the leaves of the Scotch fir (Tal), and very rarely on those of the spruce (Gran) : also on juniper berries, cranberries, blueberries, and others common to the northern forests, and occasi onally in the winter time on the buds of the birch, &c. The young, he says, are for the most part sustained at first on ants, worms, insects, &c.
Tcmminck says that the nest is formed in high herbage and under bushes, and that the hen lays from 6 to 16 obtuse eggs of a dirty white colour, marked with yellowish spots. Latham states that he is well informed that the nest of one found in Scotland was placed on a Scotch pine : "if so," says Montagu. "it differs from all the genus, who are known to lay their eggs on the bare ground." Mr. Lloyd, who had the beat opportunities for ascertaining the fact, observes that the hen makes her nest upon the ground, and lays from 6 to 12 eggs, and that her young keep with her till towards the approach of winter; but that the cocks separate from the mother before the hens. The same author describes, evidently from personal observation, the lek,' or play, of the male in the breeding season, and as it is in itself most interesting, and corrects some errors which have gone abroad on the subject, we make no apology for inserting it : "At this period, and often when the ground is still deeply covered with snow, the cock stations himself on a pine and commences his love-song, or play as it is termed in Sweden, to attract the hens about him. This is usually from the first dawn of day to sunrise, or from a little after sunset until it is quite dark. The time however more or less depends upon the mildness of the weather, and the advanced state of the season.
" During his play the neck of the capercali is stretched out, his tail is raised and spread like a fan, his wings droop, his feathers are ruffled up, and, in short, lie much resembles in appearance an angry turkey cock. He begins his play with a call something resembling peller, peller, peller;' these sounds ho repeats at first at some little intervals ; but as he proceeds they increase in rapidity until at last, and after perhaps the lapse of a minute or so, he makes a sort of gulp in his throat, and fininhes with sucking in as it were his breath.
"During the continuance of this latter process, which only lasts a few seconds, the head of the capercali is thrown up, his eyes are partially closed and his whole appearance would denote that he is worked up into an agony of passion. At this time his faculties are much absorbed, and it is not difficult to approach him : many indeed, and among the rest Mr. Nilsson, assert that the capercali can then neither see nor hear; and that be is not aware of the report or flash of a gun, even if fired immediately near to him. To this assertion I cannot agree, for though it is true that if the capercali has not been much disturbed previously be is not easily frightened during the last notes, if so it may be termed, of his play ; should the contrary be the case, he is constantly on the watch, and I have reason to know that even at that time, if noise be made, or that a person exposes himself incautiously, he takes alarm and immediately flies.
"The play of the capercali is not loud, and should there be wind stirring in the trees at the time, it cannot be heard at any considerable distance. Indeed during the calmest and most favourable weather it is not audible at more than two or three hundred paces.
" On hearing the call of the cock, the hens, whose cry in some degree resembles the croak of the raven, or rather perhaps the sounds gock, gock, gock,' assemble from all parts of the surrounding forest. The male bird now descends from the eminence on which he was perched to the ground, where he and his female friends join company. The capercali does not play indiscriminately over the forest, but ho has his certain stations, ' Tjador-lek,' which may perhaps be rendered his playing grounds. These however are often of some little extent. Here, unless very much persecuted, the song of these birds may be heard in the spring for years together. The capercali does not during his play confine himself to any particular tree, as Mr. Nilsson asserts to be the case, for on the contrary it is seldom he is to be met with exactly on the same spot for two days in succession.