THE PTARMIGAN 116 



back, but the cocks were conspicuous by reason of their 

 red combs and erect, strutting manner of walking. A day 

 or two later a crust formed on the surface of the snow, 

 and one's footmarks thus remained impressed for a con- 

 siderable time. 



I was interested to observe on one occasion that most 

 of the Ptarmigan of that particular neighbourhood had 

 discovered an ideal shelter-ground in these footprints, 

 in which they dozed or pecked at the snow on the sides 

 of the hollows until they were herded out by new-comers. 

 After more than one morning spent in endeavouring to stalk 

 the Ptarmigan of the corrie, I came to the conclusion that 

 the birds were more wary after about two o'clock in the 

 afternoon than during the morning ; this may have been 

 because in the earlier part of the day they were engaged 

 in foraging for their main meal of the twenty-four hours. 



In connection with the migration of the Ptarmigan 

 into the corrie at the commencement of the blizzard, I 

 am interested to find Mr. J. G. Millais writing as follows 

 on the subject of his experience in Norway in September 

 1907 : " Two days of ordinary snow made no impression 

 on these hardy birds, but a blizzard from the north on the 

 third day made all the Ptarmigan, to the number of, I 

 should say, 800 to 1000, leave the tops and north faces 

 and come flying in coveys to a sheltered corner. They 

 kept arriving for about two hours in a continuous stream. 

 Next morning I passed through this sheltered hollow, 

 and moved thousands of Ptarmigan, which only flew for a 

 short distance." 



The disinclination of Ptarmigan to pay even short 

 flights to lower levels can be accounted for by the fact 

 that their heart and arteries are said to be specially 

 adapted for the low atmospheric pressure under which they 

 live ; and thus the birds necessarily suffer inconvenience 

 when this pressure is greatly increased. In spite of this 



