96 



PTABMIGAN-SHOOTING. 



IT is worth while to make an excursion to the rocky haunts 

 of the ptarmigan, if only for the splendid views they com- 

 mand, 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 

 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 

 common enemy, the eagle ; and, bewildered at the sound of 

 the gun, suffer themselves to be massacred one by one. This 

 experiment, however, more often fails, when they all take 



