224 BULLETIN 16 2, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Nothing seems to have been published about the nesting habits of 

 this ptarmigan. There is a set of six eggs in P. B. Phillipp's collec- 

 tion, of which the average measurements are 42.2 by 29.7 millime- 

 ters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 43.9 by 29.9, 42.3 

 by 30.4, and 40.8 by 29.4 millimeters. 



Doctor Grinnell (1909) quotes from Mr. Dixon's notes, as follows: 



Their flight was very swift, more like that of a falcon than a quail. The 

 males would fly out over the mountain side, hover for a moment and then 

 swoop down, and alight on a rock, uttering their loud, rasping call, which 

 sounds similar to the noise produced by running a lead pencil over a stiff 

 rubber comb. 



Alfred M. Bailey (1927) gives us two good pictures of Dixon's 

 ptarmigan in its autumn habitat : 



During October there appeared a wealth of small birds, and many Ptarmigan 

 were seen and collected. The vegetation was in the height of its " autumn 

 glory," and a peculiar " lily pad," which flourishes abundantly, colored the hills 

 an intense yellow above timber line, while still higher, among the piled 

 boulders, there was a small ever-green growth upon which the Ptarmigan were 

 feeding. A few were found in such a site, and some of them were extremely 

 wild. The Ptarmigan in Granite Creek were taken among the boulders and 

 slide rock on the summit of the highest mountains surrounding the valley, 

 at an altitude of over 4.000 feet. There was absolutely no vegetation. That 

 they are well named "Rock Ptarmigan" there can be no doubt after noting 

 their habit of sunning themselves upon the tops of large boulders; one rested 

 upon a little overhanging ledge which left a sheer drop to the valley floor far 

 below. Several small flocks were seen flying about like so many Doves. 

 They raised from the mountain on which we were hunting and sailed across the 

 valley to the foot of a hanging glacier. One band flew over me and I tried to 

 drop a bird on our narrow ridge, but the tumbling Ptarmigan sailed on into 

 space and dropped at least 1,500 feet to the valley floor. 



Again, on November 11, he wrote in his notes : 



When just above timber line I saw a Three-toed Woodpecker on a dwarfed 

 hemlock, and, on the snow fields above, about thirty Ptarmigan. The tops were 

 icy, making creepers a necessity. The birds were in full winter plumage, won- 

 derfully handsome fellows, the white of the males being relieved by the black 

 eye patch. Their call notes could be heard from all sides of the snow covered 

 mountains, and here and there cream-colored birds, gleaming in the sun-light, 

 could be seen. Overhead an eagle circled, and soon the air was filled with 

 flying Ptarmigan, although I did not see the Eagle make a swoop toward them. 

 Of all the birds seen, only five were in one band, while the others were scat- 

 tered in singles or pairs, and I wondered if they spread to feed among the 

 little patches of grass sticking through the snow, or for the protection which 

 isolation sometimes brings. The call note of the males was constantly heard. 

 This note has an individuality about it which can be mistaken for no other bird. 

 The Ptarmigan were tame, and often allowed us within good photographing 

 distance, especially if we tried to imitate their note. They rise from the ground 

 with great speed, and usually their flight is direct, although when flying out 

 over a valley, they often slant down as though to attain greater speed. A few 

 specimens were taken, and we found it difficult to secure our birds, for immedi- 



