"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."