PTARMIGAN-SHOOTING. 97 



PTARMIGAN 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 Ross-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 High- 

 lands. The sportsman who climbs any of the mountains 

 I have named, and falls in with the ptarmigan, cannot 

 fail to observe how well it harmonizes with the scene. 

 Perched upon a ledge of the shelving rock, which it 

 nearly resembles in colour, its wild look seems in con- 

 trast with the little dread it shows at the sight of man, 

 who so seldom disturbs its craggy abode. They are even 

 so stupid, that if stones are thrown over the pack, they 

 will sometimes crouch down, in dread of their more 



