Alexander's ptarmigan 195 



smaller and narrower bill, the general color above being deep, rich 

 chestnut thickly vermiculated with black. The most typical birds 

 of this race are found on the islands along the coast of southern 

 Alaska; the type came from Baranof Island. It was described by 

 Dr. Joseph Grinnell (1909) and was named in honor of Miss Annie 

 M. Alexander. Alfred M. Bailey (1927) first saw them on Wil- 

 loughby Island in Glacier Bay, of which he says : 



This island is about five miles in length, with scant vegetation, other than 

 alder and stunted spruce. The knobs are devoid of plant life, and it is only on 

 the terraces that soil can hold. The southern and eastern slopes are rather 

 densely clothed with alders, however, and form ideal cover for Ptarmigan. 

 Seven other birds were seen by Young, one of which was still in the winter 

 white. The pair collected were breeding birds. 



He suggests a good reason why they should prefer to live on the 

 islands : 



The lack of predatory animals was very noticeable, for with the exception 

 of two Eagles, none was noted, and no signs of predatory animals were seen 

 on the outer Beardslee Island, although those nearer shore must have some 

 carnivorous mammals. We saw a fox in June and August on the mainland 

 shore, and wolves are abundant. It is rather apparent then that the birds are 

 free from molestation, in direct contrast to their life upon the mountain slopes 

 of the mainland. Ravaged by fur-bearers, it is possible the Ptarmigan first used 

 the islands for protection, and having found both food and comparative safety, 

 have continued to live under such conditions. On the other hand, the islands 

 might be considered as being alpine in nature, with timber-line conditions, as 

 the spruce are small and willow and alder predominate, with the characteristic 

 profusion of small growths. The soil is scant, the glacial sands and moraine 

 debris being exposed, while the windward shores of the outer Beardslee are pre- 

 cipitous; the glacial winds sweep down channel, icebergs line the shores, and 

 taking all into consideration, the region is probably the coldest of south- 

 eastern Alaska. 



Harry S. Swarth (1924) noted that the birds he collected in the 

 Skeena River region of northern British Columbia " are intermediate 

 in color between lagopus of the interior and alexandrae from the 

 islands; the average is nearer alexandrae." He says of their haunts 

 there : 



Ptarmigan are said to occur occasionally in the lowlands of the Hazelton 

 region in midwinter, but during most of the year they are restricted to the 

 Alpine-Arctic mountain tops. We found them in limited numbers on the timber- 

 less summit of Nine-mile Mountain. There are miles of open country on the 

 two converging ridges that form the top of this mountain, barren of trees save 

 for occasional thickets of dwarfed or prostrate Alpine conifers, and here, at long 

 intervals, we encountered ptarmigan. 



Nesting. — We know very little about the nesting habits of Alexan- 

 der's Ptarmigan. According to Doctor Grinnell (1909), Joseph 

 Dixon " records that at Coppermine Cove, Glacier Bay, July 10 to 20, 

 the feathers and bones of a ptarmigan were found near a nest of 

 broken eggs on the summit of the mountain, 2,100 feet. The nest was 



