This is the finest game bird we have, unless it be considered that the
lately introduced wild turkeys are finer; both are the offspring of
imported birds, for the turkeys never were British birds, and the
capercailzie after extinction were re-introduced in the Taymouth Castle
district by the then Earl of Breadalbane.
The birds do not grow in Scotland to nearly the size of those of the
Continent, and fine as they are they give but little sport, and are
thought to be objectionable in many ways. One of these is said to be
that they eat the leaders of the Scotch pine and so ruin the trees; but
it is difficult to believe this to be correct, for the leaders of the
pines could hardly be reached from any other branch but its own, and
this would prove a very insecure seat for so heavy a bird. However,
capercailzie are increasing in Scotland, in spite of the determination
of many woodmen to keep them down. That they form a very pretty addition
to a day’s bag, and create the excitement that variety usually affords,
is true enough. There is no place equal to some of the less elevated
estates in Perthshire for variety of bag. There capercailzie, roe deer,
brown hares, rabbits, duck, teal, blackcock, pheasants, grouse,
partridges, woodcock, two sorts of snipe, and wood pigeons, as well as a
variety of the scarcer kinds of duck, may all be killed in one day. But
it is difficult to beat for the majority of these varieties of game in
any one way; for instance, capercailzie and black game seem to require
special methods of beating covers for them, and then they are not both
likely to take the same course, as the caper can make but little headway
up hill and the black game can. Where capercailzie are numerous they are
very interesting to drive and shoot, for it is not easy to do either
properly. But they are usually too scarce for special days in October,
and in August they give no sport in their half-fledged condition.
Seventy of these birds have been killed in driving in one day near
Dunkeld. The hens lay from 6 to 13 eggs. The full-grown
cock-of-the-woods weighs from 9 to 13 lbs. in Scotland, but is bigger in
Scandinavia. The hen lays late in May, and the birds are polygamous.
Linnæus gave the scientific name _Tetrao urogallus_ to the
cock-of-the-woods, which is known in Gaelic as Capultcoille. He is Tiwr
to the Norwegian, and Tjäder to the Swede; Glouhar to the Russian, and
Auerhahn to the German. These birds became extinct in Ireland about 1760
and in Scotland about 1780, and were not re-introduced successfully
until 1837, although repeated attempts had been made.