46 BIRDS OF LOCH AND MOUNTAIN 



has a feeling of loneliness and a desire for com- 

 panionship. 



At last we reached the sitting Ptarmigan, but 

 she was only found after a careful search, as she 

 harmonised in an astonishing manner with her 

 surroundings. The dew had fallen on her back, 

 and each time she breathed it glistened in the rising 

 sun. She was sitting in close proximity to a snow- 

 field, which is shown on the top left-hand side of 

 the photograph. We reached civilisation once more, 

 thirteen hours later, and from eight o'clock the 

 night before till five the next day, one or two sand- 

 wiches were all we had by way of refreshments. 



Latterly I think the Ptarmigan have suffered 

 more than usual at the hands of the Common Gull. 

 This bird nests on the high mountain tarns, and 

 seems greatly to like an egg diet. I have seen 

 these Gulls hawking up and down the plateaux, 

 and few nests can escape their keen eyesight. 

 Last year I knew of at least four sucked nests, 

 and probably half the birds in the neighbour- 

 hood had their eggs destroyed. Amongst them I 

 am sorry to say was the hen whose photograph 

 forms one of the illustrations. One pair had 

 evidently profited by past experience, and had 

 made their nest under a large stone, which is a 

 most unusual situation. 



The eggs of the Ptarmigan number from seven 

 to nine. They are very similar to those of the 

 Grouse in fact, very often it is impossible to dis- 

 tinguish them ; but sometimes they are redder in 

 colour, with their spots and blotches closer together. 

 The nest, unlike that of its near relative, is usually 

 in the most exposed situation, sometimes on a hill- 

 top, where the sitting bird catches every breath 



