180 LAGOPUS SCOTICUS. 



or five hundred yards before they were put up. On such occa- 

 sions, the male is generally the first to rise. He erects him- 

 self among the heath, stretches out his neck, utters a loud 

 cackle, and flies off, followed by the female and young, aflfording 

 by their straightforward, heavy, though strong, flight, an easy 

 mark to a good shot. Some persons scarcely ever see these 

 birds when squatted, while others can discover them without 

 much difficulty. To do this it requires a sharp eye and consi- 

 derable experience. In the Hebrides, I generally succeeded 

 in shooting them on the ground, which, unsportsmanlike, I 

 preferred to the ordinary method ; but w^hen the heath is high 

 and close, it is impossible to discover them among it. Young 

 birds often allow a person to come within a few yards or even 

 feet before they fly off", and even the old males, unless previously 

 harassed, rise within shooting distance. 



In a district where there is choice of situation, the Brown 

 Ptarmigans prefer the slopes of hills not exceeding two thou- 

 sand feet high ; but they are to be found on the lowest and 

 most level peat-bogs, especially if there are large tufts of heath 

 surrounded by banks. Those which in summer and autumn 

 reside on the heights, usually descend in winter ; but even 

 during that season, individuals may be found in their highest 

 range, which is bounded less by actual elevation than by the 

 disappearance or scantiness of heath. When there is frost, and 

 the snow lies heavily, they may be traced without a dog by 

 their footmarks, or seen at a distance ; but the sport of follow- 

 ing them is by no means so easy as to entice one who regards 

 his comfort. In the island of Harris, having gone to the moors 

 during a snow storm, without stockings, my shoes having been 

 so contracted by a previous day's wetting that I could not get 

 them on in the usual manner, I had my ancles so cut by the 

 ice that they afterwards inflamed, ulcerated, and were more 

 than two months in healing. 



The Brown Ptarmigan generally flies low and heavily, mov- 

 ing its wings rapidly, with a whirring noise, and proceeding in 

 a direct course without undulations. Occasionally, when at 

 full speed, and especially when descending parallel to a decli- 



