CATALOGUE OF BIRDS. 



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proceeded, you g-enerally find him on the top of a 

 stone, ready to spring off the moment you show an 

 indication of hostility. If you throw a stone at him, 

 he rises, utters his call, and is immediately joined by 

 all the individuals around, which, to your surprise, if 

 it be your first rencontre, you see spring up, one 

 by one, from the bare ground." 



The above extract is a very faithful picture of 

 what these birds are like in their native haunts 

 amongst stones and boulders. John and I had to 

 give up the task of trying to locate them, as they 

 did not let us approach them, or else let us pass 

 them ; so, finally, we separated, and took the chance 

 of one driving them past the other when put up on 

 the wing. We managed to secure the two in the 

 case just as a thick fog was descending over the 

 mountain, from which we had to make tracks 

 towards the hotel with the utmost agility possible. 

 My day on Ben Screel with John McKillop brings 

 to an end, so far as collectinsf birds for the Waterloo 

 Museum is concerned, my visit to McKintosh's 

 hotel at Glenelg, where I had a real good time 

 amongst a lot of nice people ; for McKintosh was a 

 man who laid himself out for his guests, giving them 

 all sorts of entertainment in the way of Highland 

 Reels, Strathspeys, Sword- Dancing, etc., to the ac- 

 companiment of the bagpipes. But everything 

 comes to an end, and so must this account of my 

 day after Ptarmigan. 



