WILLOW PTARMIGAN 181 



shot weighed 358.2 grams. In addition to being one-third heavier than the 

 gull the cock ptarmigan flies much the faster of the two, and when he hits a 

 gull it is almost like a Duck Hawk striking a duck. 



Eggs. — The willow ptarmigan lays commonly 7 to 10 eggs; as 

 many as 17 have been found in a nest, and in late or second sets 

 there may be only 5 or 6. An egg is laid each day, and incubation 

 does not begin until the last egg is laid. For a description of the 

 beautiful eggs, I can not do better than to quote Mr. Brandt's 

 remarks, as follows : 



Eggs in the same set follow the same type of ground color, the same style 

 of markings, and are nearly uniform in size ; and as each bird seems to lay a 

 type of egg individually its own, it may be noted that scarcely any two sets of 

 eggs of this interesting species are exactly alike. In shape the egg is almost 

 always ovate, but in rare instances tend to short ovate with stubby ends, and 

 nearly elongate ovate when more slender in shape. The surface of the shell 

 is smooth and often somewhat greasy like that of a duck egg; the texture is 

 hard ; and the egg sturdy like its parents. The luster is rather shiny and this 

 apparently increases somewhat as incubation progresses. 



A study of the coloration of the egg of the willow ptarmigan is of special 

 interest because of its change of hue after it is laid. When the egg first 

 appears, the markings are from " ox-blood red " to " scarlet red," and the whole 

 surface is vivid and moist, and it appears as if it has been dipped in fresh, 

 red paint. This undried pigment is very easily rubbed off, and in consequence, 

 it is unusual that an egg does not show the sign somewhere on the surface of 

 being brushed by the feathers of the parent bird. In fact, these rubbed spots 

 may show distinctly the individual barbs of the ptarmigan feather that 

 scratched it when it was wet. As the moisture from the egg dries, however, the 

 pigment sets rapidly, and at the same time so darkens, like congealed blood, 

 that by the time the eggs are a few hours old, the brilliant reds turn to blackish 

 brown. Once the pigment becomes dry and sets, it is very durable, and egg- 

 shells that have lain out in the weather from the previous year still retain their 

 bold markings. 



The ground color is usually inconspicuous, because it is seldom that more 

 than half of it is visible, and often it is all practically hidden by the overlying 

 spots. The only place that the ground color is prominent is on those areas 

 where there is an aforementioned rubbed spot. This ground color exhibits 

 many variations of the pale creamy tints, such as " ivory yellow " and " sea- 

 foam yellow," but a few sets are further decorated with paler reds, making the 

 ground color " orange-crimson " to " vinaceous-tawny " and " pecan brown," 

 while the ground color of one egg is even " ocher red." 



The markings are the richest of any egg we collected at Hooper Bay and are 

 irregularly flecked in profusion all over the surface. In size, these spots range 

 from the finest pepperings to blotches thumb-nail in size, and are all more or 

 less confluent, some so much so that they cover the surface and almost envelope 

 the ground color. When the spots are large, the ground color is often well 

 defined, and then the most handsome effects are produced. If the ground color 

 is distinctly reddish, the surface markings are usually not nearly so numerous, 

 and because of their sparse distribution, the egg then approaches in appearance 

 that of the spruce grouse {Canachites canadensis). The markings show almost 

 uniformly blackish brown with a reddish suggestion, yet where the pigment 

 has been scratched very thin, the color is often as light as "maroon" and ev. u 



74564—32 13 



