WILLOW PTARMIGAN. 45 



where moss abounds, or in the shelter of the low, creeping 

 bushes, forming the only woody growth of these naked and 

 sterile regions. The eggs, 7 to 15, are oblong, of a rufous 

 yellow, from the great number of large and small spots of black 

 or of reddish black with which they are covered. From the 

 lingering attachment of the male to his mate when killed, it is 

 probable that the species may be monogamous, or even con- 

 stantly mated. After the young are fully grown, and released 

 from the care of their parents, they and the old are seen to 

 assemble in flocks of two or three hundred, about the begin- 

 ning of October, when they appear to migrate a little to the 

 south in quest of food, or rather from the mountains towards 

 the plains. At this time they are seen in great numbers round 

 Hudson Bay, where they assemble for subsistence ; and as 

 the store diminishes, they push their tardy migrations in other 

 directions for a fresh supply. Unsuspicious of the wiles and 

 appetites of man, Ptarmigans appear often as tame as domes- 

 tic chickens, more particularly when the weather is mild; 

 they are allured even by crumbs of bread, and on throwing a 

 hat towards them, or any strange object, they are so attracted 

 by the appearance as to allow of an approach so near that a 

 noose may be thrown round their necks, or, approached from 

 behind, they may be knocked down with poles. Sometimes, 

 however, they become wild enough to fly, but soon grow weary, 

 and as tame as usual. When about to fly ofl" to a distance 

 from the hunters, they are instantly brought to settle down by 

 imitating the cry of their enemy the Hawk. At times, trusting 

 to the concealment of their winter livery, they will remain 

 motionless upon the snow, from which they are still distinguish- 

 able by their more dazzling whiteness. 



They are much esteemed as food in every country where 

 they occur, and are commonly taken in nets, which are merely 

 made to fall over the place where they assemble, or to which 

 they are driven ; and so numerous are they at Hudson Bay 

 that fifty or seventy are sometimes obtained at a single haul of 

 a net about twenty feet square. Between November and April 

 as many as ten thousand are taken for the use of the settle- 



