BIRDS OF LOCH AND MOUNTAIN 27 



that perhaps young Grouse are more difficult to 

 discover than any other young birds ; but at length 

 I found three or four downy youngsters, only a few 

 hours old, hiding in the heath, while the nest con- 

 taining two infertile eggs was only a few yards off. 

 Marking the spot with my handkerchief, I returned 

 as fast as possible for my camera ; but by the time 

 I got back, a few minutes later, the tiny youngsters 

 had gone through long heather and ling a distance 

 of between ten and twenty yards, which is rather 

 an extraordinary record ior such small chicks in 

 so short a time. On returning to my Grouse's 

 nest I was delighted to find her sitting as close 

 as ever, and succeeded in getting some very good 

 pictures of her on the nest at a distance of about 

 six feet. 



Sometimes a dwarf egg is found in a Grouse's 

 nest, and I have in my possession one which is 

 little bigger than a Blackbird's. The period of 

 incubation is between seventeen and twenty- 

 one days, depending somewhat, I think, on the 

 altitude of the nesting site, and the amount 

 of frost experienced. At times the hen Grouse 

 will nest on an islet in a bog, and in such a 

 position it must be a very difficult undertaking 

 to get her young through the marsh. Often the 

 hens are greatJy disturbed by ants, and I have 

 seen a nest, from which the mother bird had just 

 risen, swarming with these insects, so probably 

 she had been having a very uncomfortable time 

 of it. 



By the end of June the majority of the young 

 Grouse are strong on the wing, for the young of 

 both the Grouse and the Ptarmigan are able to 

 fly long befoie they are full grown, and when only 



