68 



different sport to the slaughter of the innocents in 

 August. The hills have now put on their winter 

 covering of snow and ice, and a good bag of White 

 Grouse is seldom made without considerable risk. 

 This is particularly the case in the north-west of 

 Perthshire where the hills are high and the beats 

 extensive. It is a matter of small importance to be 

 lost all night on a Ptarmigan hill during the summer 

 months, but to miss one's way on a winter's evening 

 with a snow-storm coming on might possibly be 

 attended with serious consequences. 



In order to avoid such a mishap I used when 

 making an expedition for these birds to leave the 

 Lodge by 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning, and so 

 reaching the high ground about 8 o'clock (which 

 was as early as it was possible to commence shoot- 

 ing) I was enabled to get four or five hour's sport 

 and then have the advantage of daylight for the 

 roughest part of the homeward journey. 



Frequently after scrambling uphill in the 

 dark we have discovered on arriving at the spot 

 where we expected to meet with the birds that the 

 whole of the summits were enveloped in cloud and 

 mist. Under such circumstances, all sport of course 

 being out of the question, the only thing left to be 

 done would be to beat a speedy retreat and hope 

 for more propitious weather on the next attempt. 



The specimens in the case were obtained on 

 the hills to the north-west of the river Lyon in 

 Perthshire in December, 1867. 



At this season the males may readily be distin- 

 guished from the females by their showing a black 

 mark between the beak and eye. 



See " Rough Notes," Vol. II, Plate 12. 



BEAN GOOSE. 



Case 81. 

 Although some authors have stated that this 



