COL. FEILDEN ON VERTEBRATE AND PLANT LIFE ON BEN NEVIS. 245 
IT. 
VERTEBRATE AND PLANT LIFE ON BEN NEVIS. 
By Colonel II. W. Feildkn, Y.-P. 
H ad dOth September , 189G. 
I walked up Ben Nevis on the 27th of August last. On reaching 
the top, about mid-day, it was clear, and for half an hour we 
i enjoyed a magnificent view. Then the mist closed in. About 8H0 
feet from the summit I saw the first Snow Bunting, a female; 
another female alighted on the thermometer screen, close to the 
observatory. Within a few yards of Wragge’s well, sixty -six 
feet below the Ordnance cairn, which marks the summit of the 
mountain, 4406 feet, I came across the remains of three male 
Snow Buntings lately killed. I do not think that the cat at the 
observatory is answerable for their death, for in each case the 
feathers had been plucked out on the spot, and in one the freshly 
picked sternum lay amongst the feathers. This is not the way in 
which puss treats her prey, as a rule she munches up the bones of 
a small bird. I should have credited the capture of these Snow 
Buntings to a Merlin Hawk, but Mr. <T. Niel, an employe at the 
observatory, told me he had never seen a small hawk at any season 
of the year, nor on any occasion, near the summit of the mountain, 
lie further gave me the following interesting notes : — Three, if not 
four different broods of Snoiv Buntings were hatched out this 
summer on the top of Ben Nevis ; and that scarcely a day had 
passed, since the broods left their nests, but old and young were 
hopping about close to the observatory wdien he opened the 
kitchen door early in the morning. He had never been successful 
in finding their nests though he had searched diligently. I may 
mention that the wing feathers of the male birds whose remains 
I found showed that moulting had just taken place,, and the 
primaries had not all attained full development. Mr. Niel also 
