4r.2 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



tlie capillaries in the skin of the abdomen heconie enjvorged with serons fluid, 

 and give to the bird a disgusting ajipearanee. ilr. Dall obtained eggs in an 

 ojien tundra near the mouth of tlie Yukon in the latter part of June. 

 The female defended her nest bravely, and rather than desert licr eggs 

 allowed herself to be torn to pieces by a dog. 



Mr. Bannister was also struck with the strong attachment shown to each 

 other by both se.xes during the breeding-season. He has known the male 

 bird to sacrifice his own life, rather than desert his wounded mate. He 

 mentions them as common at St. Michaels and the adjoining mainland 

 during the greater part of the year, but especially abundant in the spiing, 

 when tliey are found singly or in ]iairs all over the country. In the fall 

 and winter they kept more to the tluckets of willows. The greater part 

 of tlieni were supposed to have gone into tiie wooded district of the interior 

 for better shelter and more abundant food. 



The eggs of this species vary consideraljly in lengtii and breadth ; they 

 average about 1.85 inciies in length and l.liO in breadth, and are oval in 

 shape, one end a little less obtuse than the other. They are all beautifully 

 variegated and marked with bold confluent l:>lotches of a dark claret color, 

 upon a ground of a deep cream tinged with a reddish shading. 



Lagopus mutus, var. riipestris, Leach. ^' ^'. 



ROCK PTAEMIGAN. / ■% ?- 



Tetrao rupcstris, GsiELiK, Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 751 (haacA on Rock Grouse of Pennant). — ,i . 

 L.VTHAM, Ind. Orn. II, 1790, 312. — S.\bine, Supplcm. Parry's First Voyage, page ' /. / 

 cxcv. — Richardson, Append. Parry's Second Voyage, .348. — Aud. Orn. Biog. IV, 

 1838, 483, pi. ccclxviii. Lagopus rupcstris, Le.\c'H, Zoiil. Misc. II, 290. — Bii.v. List, 

 1838. — Aud. Syn. 208. — Ib. Birds Amer. V, 1842, 122, pi. ccci. — Baird, Birds N. 

 Am. 1858, 635. —Elliot, Monog. Tetraon. pi. — Gray, Cat. Brit. Mus. V, 18C7, 92. 

 — Uall & Bakxister, Tr. Chicago Ac. I, 1869, 287. Tetrao {Lagopus) rttjicslris. 

 Swains. F. Bor. Am. II, 1831, 354, pi. Ixiv. Attagen rupcstris, Reich. Av. Syst. Nat. 

 1851, page xxix. Rock Grouse, Pennant, Arctic Zobl. II, 312. Lagopus islandorum. 

 Fab. Prod, der Island. Orn. page 6. — Gray, Gen. — Ib. Cat. B. Brit. Mus. HI, 47, 

 1844. Tetrao lagopus islandicus, SoHLEG. Rev. Crit. des Ois. d'Eur. p. 76. Tetrao 

 islandicus, Breh.m, Eur. Vog. II, 448. Lagopus reinJuirdti, BuEHM. Lagopus 

 groenlandicus, Bueiim, Vcigelfang, p. cclxiv, note. 1 Tetrao lagopus, Sabine, E. Suppl. 

 Parry's First Voyage, p. cxcvii. — Sabine, J. Franklin's Jour. 682. — Rich. App. Parry's 

 Second Voyage, 350. Tetrao {Lagopus) mutus. Rich. F. B. A. II, 1831, 350. Tetrao 

 mutus, Aud. Orn. Biog. V, 1839, 196. Lagopus mutus. Gray, Cat. B. Brit. Mu.s. 

 1867, 91 (Ft. Resolution and Ft. Simpson). Lagopus avicricanus, AuD. Syn. 1839, 

 207, B. Am. V, 1842, 119, ])I. ccc. — Baird, Birds N. .Am. 1858, 637. 



Sp. Char. Bill slender ; distance from the nasal groove to tip (.35) greater than height 

 at base (.27). In summer tlie feather.s of back black, banded distinctly with yellowish- 

 brown and tipped with white. In winter white, the tail black ; the male with a black 

 bar from bill through eye. Size considerably less than that of L. albus. Length, about 

 14.50; wing, 7.50: tail. 4..50. 



