PTABMIGAN- SHOOTING 



IT is worth while to make an excursion to the rocky 

 haunts of the ptarmigan, if only for the splendid views 

 they command, and the strange novelty of the scene. 

 Ben-Lomond, Ben-Vein, Ben-Voirla, and indeed all that 

 lofty range in the west, are inhabited by these solitary 

 denizens of the mountain-top. Except for this additional 

 motive, however, not many sportsmen would be tempted 

 to ascend them for the chance of the few shots they would 

 be likely to obtain. Some of the mountains of Eoss-shire 

 and Inverness-shire are far easier of access, and the birds 

 much more numerous : as many as ten or twelve brace 

 may there be bagged in a day. Not having had the good 

 fortune to shoot upon them, I can only speak from my 

 experience in the West Highlands. The sportsman who 

 climbs any of the mountains I have named, and falls in 

 with the ptarmigan, cannot fail to observe how well it 

 harmonises with the scene. Perched upon a ledge of the 

 shelving rock, which it nearly resembles in colour, its wild 

 look seems in contrast with the little dread it shows at the 



