40 



KEARTONS' NATURE PICTURES 



PTARMIGAN'S NEST AND EGOS. 



had sucked the eggs. By dint of much 

 searching we found another nest close 

 by a huge patch of unmelted snow, 

 but its owner was unusually wild, and 

 would not tolerate the camera within a 

 gunshot of her. Taking stretch after 

 stretch of likely ground we beat each 

 one carefully, but although we frequently 

 put up birds that flew away uttering 

 their melancholy croaking notes, we only 

 found empty nests with egg-shells scat- 

 tered round them, and were at last 

 compelled to retrace our steps and 

 devote our attention to the first seen 



bird. Luckily she proved a good sitter, 

 in a double sense of the term, and we 

 exposed plates upon her from every 

 possible point of view. 



As an illustration of the difficulties 

 of detecting a bird of this species on her 

 nest, and the closeness with which she 

 will sit when on the point of hatching, 

 I have heard of an ornithologist who 

 had sought hard and long in vain. 

 Whilst sitting upon a stone eating his 

 luncheon he happened to look down, 

 and was astonished to discover that the 

 crumbs from his sandwich were falling 

 upon the back of a Ptarmigan on her 

 eggs between his feet ! 



This species lays from seven to ten, 

 and sometimes as many as twelve, eggs, 

 of a pale reddish or greyish-white 

 ground colour, blotched and spotted 

 with reddish-brown markings. 



When the female is disturbed whilst 

 covering her chicks she flutters round 

 and round the intruder, feigning injury, 

 and in an instant the young ones have 

 scattered north, south, east, and west, 

 and vanished as completely as if the 

 earth had suddenly opened and swal- 

 lowed them up. 



