192 BULLETIN 16 2, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



b}?- Napoleon A. Comeau from Godbout, Quebec. Perhaps the range 

 of alleni should be extended to include eastern Quebec. 



Allen's ptarmigan are very abundant and widely distributed in 

 Newfoundland, on the upland tundra in the central and northern 

 parts of the island and on the mountains. J. It. Whitaker tells 

 me that from about the middle of April to September 20 they live 

 on the high tundras and rocky ridges; he has never seen a bird on 

 the lower ground during summer. F. S. Hersey, who went to New- 

 foundland in September and October, 1913, to collect ptarmigan for 

 me, found these birds more abundant than he ever found willow 

 ptarmigan anywhere in northern Alaska. He found them on the 

 hills a few miles back from Cape Ray, and some were seen in the 

 Lewis Hills near the west coast ; but they were most numerous about 

 Gafftopsail in the interior of the island. This is a rough, barren, 

 open region, tending to run into low, rocky ridges, separated by 

 lower marshy areas, carpeted with thick mosses, often knee-deep, 

 and dotted with small ponds. There is a little cover here, although 

 a few sheltered spots may have low shrubs and nearly prostrate 

 blueberry bushes, and in a few places there are small areas of 

 exceedingly tough, thick, dwarf spruces. 



Courtship. — Referring to the courtship of this ptarmigan, Mr. 

 Whitaker says in his notes : 



The cock bird nearly always mounts a rock to utter his challenge; having 

 gained this vantage point he looks all around, then with head erect and breast 

 expanded bleats out his notes ; they will start a little before sunrise and 

 continue for a short time and are seldom heard during the day. After the 

 young are hatched crowing appears to cease entirely. The crow of this bird 

 is very like the British red grouse ; it is quite easy to imitate, but to me, very 

 difficult to write. The first part sounds like the low trembling bleat of a 

 nanny goat, or, if one can imagine it, a very coarse drum of a snipe ; there 

 are usually five quickly uttered tremulous notes run off er-er-cr-cr, followed 

 by three or four gobcck-gobeek^gobeck ; these latter may be copied perfectly 

 by partly closing your throat and uttering gobeck harshly through the nose. 



Nesting. — Whitaker says that 



nesting begins in May and the young are usually full grown by the end of 

 August. The nest is usually placed at the base of some bowlder and is well 

 hidden ; the hen bird sits very close indeed. Some years ago a nest was 

 found close to a watershoot by the railway; several trains a week stopped 

 here for water ; the train hands used to take passengers to see the bird 

 sitting, which did not upset her in the least. 



A set of eight fresh eggs, collected for me near Gafftopsail on 

 June 16, 1912, was taken from a hollow in the tundra moss, under 

 a little bush, but in plain sight, between two hummocks. Mr. Hersey 



