The CAPERCAILLIE, CAPERCAILZIE, or CAPERCALI (_Tetrao urogallus_), the
largest and finest species of the above group, is of a blackish hue on
the crown of the head and throat; the nape is deep grey, marked with
undulating black lines; the back pale black, powdered with grey and
reddish brown; the tail black, spotted here and there with white; the
breast glossy steel-green, and the rest of the under side spotted more or
less distinctly with black and white. The eye is brown, the bare skin that
surrounds it bright red, and the beak greyish white. This noble bird is
from two feet two inches to two feet five inches long, its breadth being
from four feet four inches to four feet seven inches; the wing measures
from fifteen to seventeen, and the tail from thirteen to fourteen inches.
"The Capercali," says Mr. Lloyd, "is to be found in most parts of the
Scandinavian peninsula; indeed, as far to the north as the pine-tree
flourishes, that is to say, very near to the North Cape itself. These
birds are, however, very scarce in the more southern of the Swedish
provinces. The favourite haunts of the Capercali are extensive fir-woods.
In coppices or small covers they are seldom or never to be found."
Professor Nilsson observes that such as breed in the larger forests remain
there all the year round, but those on the contrary that breed on the
sides of elevated mountains, or in more open parts of the country, in the
event of deep snow, usually descend to the lower grounds.
The principal food of the Capercali, when in a state of nature, consists
of the leaves and tender shoots of the Scotch fir (_Pinus sylvestris_). He
very rarely feeds upon those of the spruce (_Pinus abies_). He also eats
juniper-berries, blue berries, and other berries common to the northern
forests, and also, occasionally in the winter time, the buds of the birch,
&c. The young Capercali feed principally at first on ants, worms, and
insects.
In the spring of the year, 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 performance is usually carried on from the first dawn of
day to sunrise, or from a little after sunset, until darkness has set
in. 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, he much
resembles in appearance an angry Turkey-cock. He begins his play with
a call, something resembling the words "Peller, peller, peller." These
sounds he repeats at first at some little intervals; but, as he proceeds,
they increase in rapidity, until at the last, and after perhaps the lapse
of a minute or so, he makes a sort of gulp in his throat, and finishes
by drawing in 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.
"On hearing the call of the cock, the hens, whose cry in some degree
resembles the croak of the Raven, or rather, perhaps, the sound of '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 has
certain stations, which may be called his playing grounds. These, however,
are often of some little extent; and here, unless very much persecuted,
the call of these birds may be heard in the spring, year after year, for
years together. The Capercali does not during his play confine himself to
any particular tree, and is seldom met with on the same spot for two days
in succession. On these playing grounds several Capercali may occasionally
be heard playing at the same time. Old male birds will not permit young
birds, or those of the preceding season, to play. Should the old birds,
however, be killed, the young ones, in the course of a day or two, usually
open their pipes. Combats, as may be supposed, not unfrequently take place
on these occasions, though I do not recollect having heard of more than
two of these birds being engaged at the same time."
"The Capercali hen makes her nest upon the ground, and lays from six to
twelve eggs; these are two inches three lines long, by one inch eight
lines in breadth, and of a pale reddish yellow-brown, spotted all over
with two shades of darker orange-brown. It is said she sits for four
weeks; her young keep with her until the approach of winter, but the cocks
separate from the mother before the hens. When the females really commence
incubation, they are forsaken by the old males, who skulk about among the
brushwood while renewing their plumage, the female alone attending to the
hatching and rearing of her progeny."
"Except there be deep snow upon the ground," says Mr. Lloyd, "the
Capercali is much upon the ground in the daytime; very commonly, however,
he sits in the pines, sometimes on the very uppermost branches. During the
night he generally roosts in the trees; but if the winter be very cold, he
not unfrequently buries himself in the snow. Considering the large size of
the bird, his flight is not particularly heavy or noisy; indeed, I have
not only seen the Capercali at a very considerable height in the air, but
I have known him to take a flight of several miles at a time. During the
winter he is in most instances to be seen perched on the very uppermost
branches of the pines."
"The Capercali lives to a considerable age; at least, so we infer from the
cocks not attaining their full growth until their third year, or upwards.
The old ones may be easily known from their greater bulk, their eagle-like
bill, and the more beautiful glossiness of their plumage. The size of
these birds, I have reason to suppose, depends in a great degree on the
latitude where they are found."
Pennant, in his "British Zoology," speaking of the Capercali, 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 those parts. In
our country I have seen one specimen, a male, killed in the woods of Mr.
Chisholme, to the north of Inverness."
Of late years successful attempts have been made to restore this bird
to Scotland, and in 1836 Mr. Lloyd procured for Sir T. Fowell Buxton
forty-nine Capercali, male and female. These he presented to his friend
Lord Breadalbane, by whom they were reared with such success that about
Taymouth Castle they became as common as the Black Cock, and spread thence
over all the more wooded parts of the Highlands as far as Aberdeen, and
have grown so tame that a carriage might be driven under the trees on
which the hens are perched without their taking the slightest notice.
Although the Capercali is exceedingly shy in its native wilds, it
sometimes divests itself of its shyness and approaches people fearlessly;
and this, says Mr. Lloyd, in his amusing volume on the "Game Birds
of Sweden and Norway," "has occasionally given rise in Sweden to the
notion that it is actually 'possessed.'" "About this time last year,"
Lieutenant Jack relates, "whilst the cottager Anders Pehrsson, of
Bengtsbo, in the province of Westmarland, was collecting brushwood in
the forest, a Capercali cock, without showing the smallest apprehension,
came and alighted on the ground immediately near him. The old belief
in _Troll-Foglar_, or enchanted birds, once so common, and which is
still retained by a portion of the peasantry, could not but have its
effect on the man from such clear and conclusive evidence. With this
crotchet in his head, he therefore hastened to the _Klockare_, or clerk
of the parish, named Pettersson, who was also its oracle, residing at a
distance of about an English mile from the spot, and related to him what
had happened. Pettersson, who professed not to have the most distant
apprehension of the _Troll_ and their emissaries, at once put his gun
in order, and, accompanied by Pehrsson, repaired to the spot indicated,
which the Capercali had not yet quitted. The _Klockare_ advanced to within
a few paces of the bird, and pulled the trigger, but the gun 'clicked.'
It was cocked a second and a third time, though with the same result.
The flint is now hammered, and fire at length produced, though confined
to a flash in the pan. The ardour of the sportsman rose to its highest
pitch. How provoking! neither pricker nor other instrument to clear the
touch-hole. These had been forgotten in the hurry of departure from home.
As a substitute a pointed piece of wood is had recourse to; but it breaks
short off in the touch-hole, and only makes matters worse. All this
while the Capercali remains motionless, a quiet spectator of the enemy's
proceedings. The _Klockare_, on his part, gazes at the bird, and that
with a feeling somewhat akin to awe. He is on the point of sharing his
comrade's belief in _förtrollning_, or enchantment. Once more, however,
he musters up courage, and, renewing his endeavours, finally succeeds
in clearing the touch-hole; fresh priming is then put in the pan, but
when all is in readiness, and he is prepared to discharge his piece, the
bird, which hitherto had not budged an inch from the spot, suddenly takes
wing. Our Nimrod is just about to give vent to his feelings, and pour
maledictions on his villainous weapon, when, to his joy, he sees the bird
alight on a tree within an easy distance. To place the gun to his shoulder
and fire is now the work of a moment, and to the undisguised delight, not
to say astonishment, of both our doughty knights of the chase, the old
blunderbuss went off with a loud bang, and the Troll-bird gave up the
ghost."
"In Scandinavia," continues Mr. Lloyd, "the Capercali is in considerable
request for the table. It is more palatable, however, during the autumnal
months, when it lives for the most part on berries and the like, than
in the winter, when its food consists of pine-leaves, which give it a
somewhat resinous flavour. In Wermeland and the adjacent country it is
a standing dish at the last-named season at the houses of the gentry,
who usually lay in an ample supply of these birds at the setting in of
the frost. On the occasion of births, marriages, and deaths with the
peasantry, the Capercali is looked upon as a needful addition to the
feast. With them it is eaten either simply boiled or first parboiled and
afterwards roasted until hard as a stone, in which state it will keep for
weeks or months."
* * * * *
The HEATH COCKS (_Lyrurus_) represent a group of slenderly-formed birds,
possessing short, arched, and rounded wings, the third quill of which
exceeds the rest in length. The tail, composed of eighteen feathers, is in
the female very slightly excised at its extremity, but in the male is so
deeply forked as to present somewhat the form of a lyre. The powerful beak
is of moderate size; the foot has its exterior and inner toes of equal
length, and is completely covered with feathers. The very glossy plumage
exhibited by the members of this group may be regarded as their most
distinguishing characteristic, the male in particular being remarkable for
the resplendent brilliance that adorns his feathers.
[Illustration: THE CAPERCALI (_Tetrao urogallus_).]