THE PTARMIGAN 109 



before she succeeded in flying out over the rock and down 

 to my feet. On such occasions the birds have run round 

 me in a circle, trailing their wings and crouching low — 

 taking advantage during all this time of any shelter they 

 may happen to pass — and uttering a curious squeaking 

 cry of distress periodically. 



On account of the precarious nature of their nesting, 

 many young Ptarmigan are found till mid-July in the 

 downy stage. I have myself seen a young bird with 

 undeveloped tail towards the end of September ; and in 

 1913, on July 10th, I came across a brood of six Ptarmigan 

 not more than a couple of days old, while I heard of a 

 brood being found in a similar state on the 24th of that 

 month. Young Ptarmigan much resemble Grouse, though 

 rather smaller and of a more golden tint, but the nature 

 of the ground on which they are found is usually sufficient 

 to identify them. Although certain Ptarmigan do lay a 

 second time, this is by no means always the case when the 

 first clutch has been destroyed, and many of the White 

 Grouse in this position form into packs of, maybe, 100 

 birds as early as the commencement of July. 



Besides the damage done to the eggs and young of the 

 White Grouse by unseasonable falls of snow, a consider- 

 able number of eggs are devoured by Grey Crows and 

 Common Gulls. Both these birds bear off their booty 

 in their bills to some loch or hill burn where they wash 

 down their meal with draughts of water. I once visited 

 a colony of Common Gulls where they nested on a wild 

 hill loch, and found, in the shallow water, the remains of 

 eggs of Grouse and Ptarmigan. This might point to the 

 fact that the young Gulls were sometimes fed on an egg 

 diet — the suggestion is given for what it is worth. 



The Grey Crow is an inveterate egg-stealer, as is also, 

 in the more western districts, the Raven. The hill fox 

 not infrequently surprises the Ptarmigan as she broods 



