WWW.THEFIELD.CO.UK 75
influenceonthewaytheybehave.I askedDr
AdamSmith,theGWCT’sdirectorofpolicy
inScotland,whethertherewasanyscien-
tificdatatosupportthisandhetoldmethat
hehadfoundnoreferencetotestsbetween
EnglishandScottishgrouseforgeneticdif-
ferences that would indicate theywere a
sub-species. Tests between Ireland and
Scotland, and Scotland and Norway, had
been carried out that established various
geneticdifferencesbetweenthegrouseand
whilenoneactuallysayssub-species, they
arestrongenoughtobeclose.
Ifthesedifferencesexist,thenit islikely
similardifferenceswillbepresentbetween
England and Scotland, but whether it is
enoughtoestablisha sub-speciesis a ques-
tion that has been argued inconclusively
for decades in numerous scientific papers.
“There are clearly physical characteristics
that varybetweenthered grousepopula-
tions,”he toldme.“Thealmostcoal-black
cock birds of Donside and Deeside, as
opposed tothe palerbirds oftheWestern
Isles; the often very pale winter feather-
ingonthebelliesofScottishgrouserarely
seen on Englishones. But are these sub-
species?Probablynot.”Beinghatcheda few
daysearliercanmakeEnglishgrouseseem
slightlylargerandheavierthansomeScot-
tishbirds– theeffectofbetterqualityfood,
as Englishheatheris generally30% more
nutritiousthanScottish–butthatisbyno
meansalwaysthecase,asa varietyofman-
agementandweatherfactorswould have an
influencefrommoortomoor.
Onbalance,theredoesnotseemtobea
definitive answer, but Simon Thorp made theinterestingobservationthatScottishgrouse
areperceivedtobehardertoshootthanEng-
lishbecauseoftheromanticismandmagic
thathasbeensucha majorpartoffieldsports
inScotlandforthepast 200 years.Thewhole
adventure of going up to the Highlands,
comingupfromthesouth,orfromAmerica,
Europe,RussiaorAsia,arrivinginnorthern
Scotlandtoshootinsucha unique,stunning
andmajesticlandscape.Thespiritofthiswas
brilliantly portrayedintwo magnificentoil
paintingsbyGeorgeEarl(1824-1908).Com-
missionedin1893,Goingnorthcapturesall
the bustle,excitement andsense ofimmi-
nentdepartureasa partyofsportsmen,with
theirwives,servantsand gundogs,wait on
King’s Cross station besidepilesofleather
trunks,guncasesandrods,tocatchthetrain
north at the start of the season. In Com-
ingsouth, thesamepartywaittoboardthe
trainatPerthstationa monthlaterfortheir
returnjourneyandnowamongtheluggage
are heads, salmon, blackcock and grouse.
Funnily enough, thereis a similaranalogy
between the stalking in,say, Rosshireand
theequallychallengingstalkinginCumbria,
amerethreehoursfromLondonbytrain.
Perhaps itis allin the mind, butthere
isonethingallgrouseshotswillagreeon:
whetherthemoorbenorthorsouth,high,
low,steeporflat,whengrousearecoming
towards you, he who hesitates is lost.Above:onBransdale,NorthYorkMoors,wherebirds
areconsidered‘tamer’.Left:PeakDistrictbirdsare
said to be sharper on their toes early in the season