UNGAVA PTARMIGAN 199 



with a few feathers from the parent bird, which is now in the height of the 

 molt from the winter to the pre-aestival plumage. The first eggs obtained were 

 two on June 1, 1S84. 



Young. — Referring to the period of incubation, Turner writes: 



It is a rather difficult matter to determine, as the female is compelled, 

 during a stress of severe weather, to sit upon her eggs to prevent them 

 being lost by cold or rain. It is not unusual for severe snow and sleet accom- 

 panied by cold rains and even a severe freeze to occur during the early half 

 of June at Fort Chimo. Some of the most dismal days of the year occur in 

 early June. The parent bird, during such weather, may be two or three days 

 on the nest after the first young bird has appeared and thus prevented from 

 giving such attention to the young as these tender creatures require. It is 

 not rare to find a nest containing two or three eggs and near by to find one 

 or more young which have perished while the mother has perhaps wandered 

 off with three or four young which were able to follow her. 



He says that "the Indians consider the downy young of the 

 ptarmigan a special delicacy. Even taken from the shell the bird 

 serves in lieu of an oyster." He frequently saw them eating the 

 embryos taken from eggs that they were blowing. He says that 

 they make special excursions to collect the small chicks for food. 

 One party that he saw returning from such a hunt had more than 

 250 of these helpless young. 



At Ukjuktok Bay, on August 3, 1912, I surprised a family party 

 of willow ptarmigan in a boggy, grassy hollow. The young, which 

 were about half grown, rose with a startling rush of wings and 

 went whirring off like a flock of quail. The old birds did not flush. 

 The female feigned lameness, in spite of the fact that the young had 

 all flown; I could not make her fly, and she finally walked away. 

 The male walked boldly out into the open marsh, looking at me, 

 too close to shoot, then ran behind some spruces and flew away to 

 join the young. I followed them up and flushed the male first; 

 then three of the young rose singly. I could not find any more of 

 the young, but a little later I found both old birds in the exact 

 spot where I had first seen them. 



Voice. — O. J. Murie has sent me the following good description of 



the ptarmigan's notes: 



The call of the Ptarmigan is very striking. It consists of a rattling krrr- 

 r-r-ruk-uk-uk-uk-uk, followed by a more deliberate, low-toned, throaty puk-que'-o, 

 puk-que'-o, puk-que'-o. I thought it fitted well with the surrounding hills of 

 rough granite and the scant growth of ragged, twisted spruces. Sometimes 

 the female was heard responding with a peculiar whirring sound, a nasal 

 nyek, nyek, somewhat similar to some notes of other members of the grouse 

 family. By imitating this note we frequently drew the male to us in a head- 

 long flight. He would drop on a knoll near by and send out his startling call. 

 The Eskimos take advantage of this trait and decoy the birds to be shot. 



Winter. — Ptarmigan are great wanderers in w T inter, but very 

 erratic in their movements, appearing in enormous numbers dur- 



