GREY PTARMIGAN. 197 



Ptarmigan at that season ; and it would be curious to try the 

 effect of plucking the feathers of a bird, such as the Raven, and 

 exposing it to cold while they were growing again. Moreover 

 those feathers in the Ptarmigan which, springing in winter, 

 are partially coloured, are found to have their coloured part, 

 which is generally basal, defined by an abrupt line, usually 

 darker even than the rest, which would not be the case were 

 the cold gradually to whiten the coloured feathers. Still less 

 can the alleojed cause account for those feathers which in Octo- 

 ber are found having their basal half v/hite, and their terminal 

 half coloured. 



Vahiations. — The changes which the plumage undergoes 

 have already been detailed, so that it only remains here to be 

 mentioned that adult individuals in all the stages of their 

 coloured feathering differ considerably from each other, some 

 being very finely banded or dotted, others more strongly, and 

 some even patched or spotted with black. The oldest indivi- 

 duals, I believe, have the finest markings, and those which are 

 of the lightest grey in autumn are probably older than those 

 much tinged at that season with yellow or black. As to size, 

 individuals differ greatly, as will readily be believed by those 

 who have compared the variations of any well-known species, 

 the Magpie or Blackbird for example, in that respect. The 

 shortest male that I have measured w^as 13i inches long, the 

 longest loi. But as the feathers of the tail are not fully de- 

 veloped until winter, measurements ought to be taken, for 

 comparison with other species, real or supposed, at that season 

 only. 



Habits. — The Grey Ptarmigan inhabits the bare and weather- 

 beaten summits of the higher mountains of the middle and 

 northern divisions of Scotland. It is stated to have occurred 

 formerly in Wales and the north of England ; but there is no 

 evidence that it has been seen there within the last forty years ; 

 and even in the transition range of the south of Scotland, many 

 of the mountains of which, being more than two thousand feet 

 high, seem well adapted for it, no individuals are ever met 



