OF NORTH AMERICA. 105 
sounds calculated to attract the female and 
exalt it in her estimation; and, in the case of 
the ruffed grouse, the act is termed “ drum- 
ming.” At this time they seem to be oblivious 
of all else, but he is a good man who can sur- 
prise the bird even then. 
Any discussion of the habits of the bird 
would seem superfluous; volumes have been 
written on the subject, and more will follow 
just as long as man can walk the fields. 
117. WILLOW PTARMIGAN. 
Lagopus lagopus. 
There is no American bird which exhibits 
such peculiarities of plumage as do the Ptar- 
migans. For they are constantly moulting, 
and there are no two weeks in the year when 
a bird would correspond to any accurate de- 
scription ; and no bird exhibits such a complete 
change, for even the horny coverings of the 
bill and toes are cast off with the “feathers, 
and the plumage varies in every gradation 
of color, from the beautifully mott! ed summer 
coat of blacks and browns to the nearly uni- 
form white of winter. 
In the full spring breeding plumage, the 
predominant color is rich brown, inclined to 
tawny, mottled and barred with black and 
white; the most of the wings and the abdo- 
men white. The female is similar, but more 
tawny, including the abdomen. ‘The legs are 
feathered to the toes; the winter plumage is 
