216 BULLETIN 162, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



channel. Here, between June 5 and 9, 1911, we found them quite 

 common on a small mountain, locally known as " Ballyhoo," where 

 we collected most of our birds, shooting nine one day and seven 

 another. This mountain is only about 1,800 feet high, but is very 

 steep and is topped by a knife-edged ridge covered with crusted snow. 

 It is a stiff climb up the south side where the steep slope is clothed in 

 soft mosses, with a sparse growth of coarse grasses, cow-parsnip, and 

 other small herbaceous plants and with bare soil or rocks here and 

 there. The north side breaks off suddenly into precipitous, rocky 

 cliffs, straight down to the bay below. One day I started out to hunt 

 ptarmigan on this mountain in a cold driving rain typical of Aleutian 

 Islands weather; when halfway up the rain changed to snow, and 

 when I reached the crest of the ridge the bay below was hidden in a 

 blanket of fog, and across the bay a snow-capped mountain stood out 

 in bright sunlight. Austin H. Clark (1910) found these birds at 

 " the rugged northeastern end " of this island " on the mossy lower 

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

 filled ravines." But all of our birds were taken well up on the sides 

 of the mountains. 



Courtship. — At the time of our visit the ptarmigan were busy 

 with their courtships. The males were very noisy and conspicuous; 

 usually several could be seen sitting on little hummocks, as we looked 

 up the mountainside; evidently each cock bird has his own special 

 hummock, which he defends against intruders, for it is well dec- 

 orated with droppings and molted feathers. Here he sits or struts 

 about, clucking and displaying his charms, with the flaming red 

 combs above his eyes fully extended, while his prospective mate, 

 now inconspicuous in her mottled summer dress, walks about in 

 the vicinity quite unconcerned. At frequent intervals he rises into 

 the air 30 or 40 feet above the ground and floats or flutters down- 

 ward, sometimes scaling on down-curved wings, uttering during 

 the descent his loud clucking, or rattling, call, icvck, wuclc, ivuck, 

 many times repeated. A pair of birds could often be located by 

 seeing this song flight of the male, his white wings being quite 

 conspicuous at a long distance. It is a very pretty performance 

 and makes a striking display. Lucien M. Turner (1886) refers 

 to a performance that is evidently part of the courtship : " In the 

 male the neck is stretched along the ground, the tail spread and 

 thrown over the back, the wings outstretched, while he utters a 

 rattling croak that may be heard for a long distance." 



Nesting. — We found no nests of this ptarmigan, and none of the 

 females collected were anywhere nearly ready to lay. We assumed 

 that the}' would nest later in the season on the lower, more grassy 

 slopes. Turner's (1886) remarks probably refer in part to this 



