no. 1727. BIRDS OF THE 1906 " [LB I TL'Oss " r/,'/ /*/■; CLARK. 55 



LAGOPUS RUPESTRIS NELSONI Stejneger. 

 NELSON'S PTARMIGAN. 



I found this bird rather common about thesummil of t be i Mountain 

 on Dutch Harbor Island, Unalaska, and also saw it frequently on the 

 lower slopes, except in the immediate vicinity of Dutch Harbor. At 

 the time of my visit the birds were mostly paired, and were very shy, 

 rarely allowing a near approach. Most of the birds were in the 

 dark plumage, but many were mottled with white and one was not !<•<•< I 

 almost entirely wdiite. The males were very noisy, and their croaking 

 could be heard on all sides; several were seen to fly up into the air to a 

 considerable height and then sail down, emitting their peculiar croak- 

 ing rattle. The powers of flight possessed by these birds is very great ; 

 few that were flushed alighted within half a mile, and several Hew 

 directly out across the bay toward the mountains on the other side, over 

 two miles away. Practically all the birds seen were on or in the imme- 

 diate vicinity of snow, none being found in the comparatively level 

 giassy districts near the towms of Dutch Harbor or Unalaska, where 

 the snow had all melted. On the rugged northeastern end of Dutch 

 Harbor Island, however, the birds were found on the mossy lower 

 slopes, and one or two on the seacoast itself about the mouth of 

 snow-filled ravines. The six specimens obtained are all typical and 

 exhibit no peculiarities. 



LAGOPUS RUPESTRIS ATKHENSIS (Turner). 

 TURNER'S PTARMIGAN. 



At Atka I was much surprised to find ptarmigan abundant all over 

 the grassy lowlands, and none at all even on the lower slopes of the 

 mountain, just the reverse of my experience at Unalaska. As on 

 that island, the birds were usually in pairs and very shy, rising a long 

 distance away. Their white wings made them very conspicuous. 

 They never went far after being flushed, however, and, the ground 

 being fairly level, it was usually possible to obtain a second shot. 

 Ptarmigan appear to be much more numerous here than at Unalaska, 

 occurring even in the vicinity of the town, and I had no trouble in 

 securing all the specimens I wished. 



LAGOPUS EVERMANNI Elliot. 

 ATTU PTARMIGAN. 



I did not find this bird at all common on Attn, doubtless because I 

 did not succeed in locating its favorite haunts. During an entire 

 day's trip over the mountains on the right of the harbor, behind the 

 town, and about the large lake at, the summer encampment only 

 three were seen, one in the mountains above the lake and two in the 



