NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 239 



dodge behind, and stooping low, with head pushed out in front, 

 when she crossed the higher places, just as I have seen a Corn- 

 crake do when crossing open ground between two places of 

 shelter. She must have seen me, or suspected my presence, as 

 she soon ran rapidly away in another direction, over the sky-line, 

 and was lost to view. I waited again, and in about ten minutes 

 she returned from the same direction in which she had last 

 disappeared, and repeated the manoeuvres above described, also 

 picking up flies, and endeavouring to put on an appearance of 

 supreme indifference. As if not quite certain of my presence, she 

 sometimes perched on the top of a mossy hummock and looked 

 round, jerking up her head; but, finally, she again ran swiftly 

 over the sky-line. From these movements I, somewhat too hastily, 

 concluded that the nest must have been in that direction, and I 

 accordingly left my place of concealment, and carefully stalked, on 

 hands and knees, after her. I peeped over the crest just to see 

 her take wing from the succeeding sky-line. 



Feilden and the keeper then joined me, and we searched 

 carefully around, beating up every foot of a large square which 

 we had first marked out. We found a false nest, which gave us 

 hopes. Had the real nest been within that square, we feel 

 convinced it could not have escaped us, and the sequel will show 

 how closely we must have passed it. Once more we went to the 

 east end of the range. Here, amongst some loose stones on the 

 side of the hill, we found a Ptarmigan sitting on her nest. 

 Feilden put down his hand, and the poor bird did not move off 

 her eggs until his forefinger was within three inches of her bill. 

 When at last she scuttled off, we found that she had been sitting 

 hard on only three eggs. 



After an hour or so, Feilden started, this time alone, and we 

 lay still. In about half an hour from the time he left us we heard 

 him shout, and we sprang to our feet and ran. The keeper said, 

 " Can he have found it 1 " and I answered, as we ran, " Not a 

 doubt of it." Sure enough, Feilden had the nest safely and 

 surely marked with a red pocket-handkerchief, and had come 

 away to meet us. As we now approached we again saw the bird 

 run, this time directly off the nest. It was not fifteen yards from 

 the side of the big square we had before so carefully searched. 

 We sat down beside the nest and feasted our eyes upon the 

 contents ; and the poor bird, still exercising her cunning, ran 



