102 Northern Observations of Inland Birds 



obtained a fleeting impression of its blotched and camou- 

 flaged springtime dress. No sooner had it vanished 

 than we heard a dead thud — so near and loud as to startle 

 the dogs, and I said to the stalker : ** I think your pere- 

 grine has got the ptarmigan all right ! '' 



Nor was there any doubt about this, for when the atmo- 

 sphere had cleared a few minutes later there was the 

 tell-tale line of ptarmigan feathers within forty yards of 

 where we sat ! 



That peregrine had descended from its perch at least 

 three hundred feet above, and it was impossible for it 

 to have seen the ptarmigan as the whole mountain face 

 was enveloped. At the time we were much mystified, as 

 the only sane conclusion was that the falcon had heard 

 the ptarmigan descending the glen, and dived bhndly 

 into the storm, judging its whereabouts to within a few 



feet. 



McGregor, the head keeper in Glen Lochay, informs 

 me that one day he was digging peats when he was 

 startled by a terrific swish of wings just overhead, and 

 looking up he saw a peregrine stoop diagonally towards 

 a point about fifty yards from him. The bird alighted 

 in the heather, and stood there some seconds turning its 

 head from side to side, as it searched the ground all 

 round. It then quietly began to walk about, searching 

 the while, till suddenly it made a pounce, striking deeply 

 into the twisted stems. It then flew oflF, having extracted 

 a grouse from its hiding ! 



It was evident that the falcon, watching from the crags 

 near, had seen the grouse feeding at that point, and had 

 at once stooped. The grouse on seeing it hid themselves 

 deep down in the ling, so that the peregrine had to search 

 for them. The incident is unique in that very few men 

 have ever seen a peregrine searching on foot for its 

 quarry 1 



