Sc. Forms; 6–9 capercailye, -llie, -ly, -le, capercalȝe, -calye, -calzeane (-callzie), 7 -kelly, 7–9 -caley, -cally, 8 -coille, -colze, -colly, (cobberkely), 9 capercailzie, -kayle, caipercaillie. [Corruption of the Gael. name capull coille great cock (lit. horse) of the wood (coille = genitive of coll wood). The lz for lȝ is a 16th-c. Sc. way of representing l mouillé, as in Sc. spulȝe, Fr. espouille spoil, and is properly represented by ly.]
The Wood-grouse (Tetrao urogallus), the largest of European gallinaceous birds; the male is also called Mountain Cock or Cock of the Woods. Formerly indigenous in the Scottish Highlands, where, after having become extinct, it has again been introduced from Scandinavia.
1536. Bellenden, Cron. Scot. (1821), I. Introd. 42. Capercailye, ane foul mair than ane ravin quhilk leiffis allanerlie of barkis of treis.
1596. J. Dalrymple, trans. Leslie’s Hist. Scotl. (1885), 39. The Capercalȝe … with the vulgar peple, the horse of the forest.
1630–56. Sir R. Gordon, Hist. Earl. Suthd. In these fforests … ther is great store of partriges, pluivers, capercaleys.
c. 1730. Burt, Lett. N. Scotl. (1818), II. 71. The cobberkely, which is sometimes called a wild turkey.
1797. Statist. Acc. Scotl., XX. 307. (Inverness) The caper coille or wild turkey was seen in Glenmoriston about 40 years ago.
1799. R. Jamieson, Ballad, Ld. Kenneth & Ellinour. The Caiper-caillie and Tarmachin, Craw’d crouse on hill and muir.
1830. Lyell, Princ. Geol. (1875), II. III. xlii. 460. The larger capercailzies … had been quite destroyed.
1884. Q. Victoria, More Leaves, 50. Saw a capercailzie, of which there are many here.
